Abstract:

The paper presents initial results of the research on the Project: "Inclusive Education: From Pedagogical Concepts to Practice", which is partially funded by the Secretariat for Science and Technological Development of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia.
The authors begin this article by considering the thesis that diversity, particularly cultural diversity, is not only "the fate of Europe," but the fate of the entire contemporary world, which accepts multitude of diversities and different ways for achieving essentially the same human aims as the highest values. So far, in the development of human society it is easy to identify distinctive changes in the relationships of the majority towards different, "marked" individuals and/or social groups. No doubt, there is ongoing the final stage of a long journey from the cruel rejection and segregation to inclusion. There is globally accepted and normatively supported opinion that ethical, cultural, religious, linguistic or any other differences must not prevent individuals from exercising their human rights, including the right to education.

Today the concept of inclusive education has been established as a particular pedagogical response to the challenges of growing diversities. Over time, the meaning of inclusive education notion has been modified: first it was related only to children with special needs, and then to children from particular minority or marginalized groups also. Now-a-days it refers to all children, youth and adults. Regardless of their mutual differences, all of them have the same right to be educated together in the inclusive school.

As in many other countries, the ongoing reform of the education system in Serbia is an attempt to replace the old school with the new, the inclusive one, which would better correspond with changed social context, accelerated development of contemporary science, demands of increasingly sophisticated information and communication technologies, need to promote and accomplish creative human relation with reality, nature, society and an individual itself. The open question remains: How?

Accordingly, the central part of the paper applies to the analysis of relevant didactic factors: theoretical assumptions, principles (multiculturalism, individualization, pupil's development) and innovative strategies (cooperative learning, team teaching), in order to determine their specific significance and pedagogical potential in the inclusive school context.The authors conclude that in a flexible, dynamic synthesis of these principles (which is mostly achievable on the basis of the individual education plan), and in conjunction with team, cooperative teaching and learning, it is possible to seek and find an optimal pedagogical treatment for everyone. In other words, it seems that the authentic personalization of comprehensive education process is an indispensable condition, the means and the goal of the next, near future developmental phase of education for all, in modern, inclusive and humane school.

Keywords:

Inclusion, inclusive school, cooperative learning, team-teaching, personalized instruction.