The annual Slovenian Education Days conference in took place in Portorož at the end of March. The Slovenian Special Education Association (DSRPS) and Association of Training Organisations organised the conference, in collaboration with the National Education Institute (ZRSS).
The conference theme was ‘Inclusive approaches: challenges and solutions’. Participants explored the challenges of inclusive education and shared examples of inclusive practices, programmes and tools. Keynote speeches from experts in inclusive and special needs education presented information on the education system in Slovenia, including updates on recent data and trends. During smaller parallel sessions, research presentations and case studies explored the benefits and challenges of inclusion and working with learners with special educational needs. Learners with special needs also provided their experiences of the education system.
During the conference, EASNIE representative Gareth Hughes gave a presentation on capacity building for inclusive education. He gave an overview of EASNIE’s work and presented examples of practical tools to help schools build capacity for inclusion. These include the Teacher Professional Learning for Inclusion profile and policy self-review tool, the school leadership self-reflection tool, and the Guidance for Establishing a Culture of Effective Communication in Education. He also discussed the relevance of the European Agency Statistics on Inclusive Education data for monitoring and evaluation.
The DSRPS website provides more information on the conference.
A professional meeting of leaders and managers in the field of special needs education was held after the conference. Read more about the meeting on the ZRSS news pages.