Developing Inclusive Education Policies: A Study of the Roles of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and Local Educators

• In Event: Inclusion and Play in a Global Context

Abstract

World-wide, there are many international initiatives aimed at finding ways of creating forms of inclusive educational settings that can respond to children with special needs. The purpose of this study was to better understand the processes of local adaptation and modification of UNESCO’s inclusive education policies, the possible resistances to global forces in inclusive education in Turkey, and the consequences of the implications of those policies from local educators’ views. With that goal in mind, recently adopted Turkish inclusive educational policies implemented after the Salamanca Statement were reviewed. The analyses and discussion of the policy, document, and semi-structured interview analysis helped to make connections between the global inclusive education policy changes and local practices in the Turkish education system.

Author

• Aysegul Ciyer, Arizona State University