| Abstract [eng] |
SUMMARY Strategic Factors of Inclusion of Students with Special Educational Needs into Private Schools in the Context of Sustainable Education One of the principles of the Lithuanian education system is inclusion. It means that the education system should enable every person to develop his or her capabilities and abilities to receive the necessary support, to succeed in learning, social, cultural and other activities, and not to be discriminated against on the basis of the diversity of his or her learning needs or the need for educational support. Between 2013 and 2023, the number of private schools in Lithuania grew rapidly from 42 to 102, and in 2023 they accounted for 11.03% of all state schools of general education. As the number of private schools tends to increase it is important to pay attention to the accessibility of all types of schools for children with SEN. There is a lack of research to substantiate what opportunities children with SEN have to be fully included in non– state schools and how much/to what extent school leaders devote resources and attention to the full inclusion of these pupils. Private schools are often identified in society with a business model and are seen as those that turn away “inconvenient“ clients or focus only on academically gifted students, hence this paper highlights the readiness of private schools to take an interest in educating students with SEN. The admission of pupils to private schools is determined by the owner and one of the selection criteria is the financial ability of the parents to pay the tuition fees, but this may include children who have SEN. The purpose of the research is to find out the strategic factors of the inclusion of students with SEN into private schools in the context of sustainable education. To achieve this, a qualitative research approach was used, collecting data through semi–structured interviews from 19 heads of private schools. The qualitative analysis process was carried out using qualitative content analysis. The results of the study showed that the main strategic factors that lead to the qualitative inclusion of students with SEN in the context of sustainable education are establishing a clear plan (at school and state level), staff training (formation of a team of educational support specialists and student assistants, professional training of teachers, ability to solve problems quickly and adapt to a changing environment, early identification of SEN), staff development (organization of training, formation of positive attitudes of teachers and administrators), adaptation of the environment (infrastructure, safe emotional environment, class size reduction), networking (need for smooth cooperation with education policy makers, Pedagogical and psychological service), public education (need for positive attitudes from the public and the parental community), ensured support (teachers, pupils), resource sufficiency (need for sufficient funding and resource assessment). Keywords: special educational needs, inclusion, strategy, sustainable education, private schools, inclusive education. |
