Inclusion and Exclusion in the Educational Systems of the European Union

Abstract

The paper presents the approach and some important results " INCLUD- ED : Strategies for inclusion and social cohesion in Europe from education (2006-2011) "Project funded by the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission and coordinated by a central Spanish research (CREA , University of Barcelona) (being both Ramón Flecha and Marta Soler its principal researchers) , and develops at the same time, some general considerations about the current trends in educational processes in the European Union. Without ignoring the fact that the school can reproduce social inequalities, the approach to Included is clearly focused on the role of education in preventing exclusion. With this perspective, the task of researchers is to identify the components and strategies that could promote school success for all children: this can be done through through the analysis of successful practices and the obstacles that hinder their implementation. Also, attention should be paid to those social groups who are at the highest risk of educational exclusion and discrimination, as women and girls, immigrants, religious and cultural minorities, people with disabilities. From these assumptions, the INCLUDE -ED Project has developed multiple levels of research: literary analysi , policy analysis, quantitative surveys and fieldwork. The importance of the political dimension clearly appeared throughout the project, as a clear need to change the existing policies, which, especially in this time of crisis, postpone the well-being of European children due strictly to economic and monetary reasons. One of the main recommendations of this project is the relevance to ensure that the views of vulnerable groups should be included in the decision-making processes, which leads to the issue of policies that affect them, and the importance of their active participation in all processes of education.