‘The opportunity or right to use something or to see somebody/something’; ‘Entering or reaching a place’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

Within an educational context, the right to enter educational settings (schools and classes) is important, as well as the ability to use financial, human and technical resources.

Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities defines ‘accessibility’ as follows:

To enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas (United Nations, 2006, p. 9).

Accessibility is a right to be ensured in all areas. These include education and the right to appropriate education and active citizenship through access to a flexible curriculum through personalised learning approaches.

‘Being responsible for your decisions or actions and expected to explain them when you are asked’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

Accountability may be vertical (top down) or horizontal (e.g. school-to-school or peer-to-peer support systems). It may include compliance with regulations, adherence to professional norms and/or be driven by outcomes. The purpose of accountability is widely accepted as one of strengthening the education system (Brill, Grayson, Kuhn and O’Donnell, 2018).

Accountability starts with governments, as primary duty bearers of the right to education … Governments should therefore take steps towards developing credible and efficient regulations with associated sanctions for all education providers, public and private, that ensure non-discrimination and the quality of education … No approach to accountability will be successful without a strong enabling environment that provides actors with adequate resources, capacity and information to fulfil their responsibilities (SDG-Education 2030 Steering Committee, 2018, p. 2).

‘The freedom for a country, a region or an organization to govern itself independently’; ‘The ability to act and make decisions without being controlled by anyone else’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

In education, autonomy may include local-governance autonomy, school autonomy and teacher autonomy (the extent to which teachers can make autonomous decisions about what they teach to learners and how they teach it). Also important are parent autonomy (around curriculum, school performance) and learner autonomy (giving learners control over their own learning process) (adapted from ‘autonomy’ in the Glossary of Education Reform).

A barrier is ‘a problem, rule or situation that prevents somebody from doing something, or that makes something impossible’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

Disability is often considered to be due to ‘disabling barriers’. These can be addressed by designing enabling, accessible environments.

In education – and during the learning process – there may be many barriers or circumstances that restrict the full participation of learners. Many learners will have different requirements (short and longer term) that may require consideration to enable them to take part in all activities and gain full benefit from the opportunities on offer.

Full and active participation may be affected by negative attitudes and deficit thinking, physical barriers, poor access to communication aids and appropriate information in accessible formats or a lack of confidence and/or training in the skills necessary to take part (European Agency, no date b).

Capacity building refers to the process of developing and strengthening mainstream schools’ capacity to meet all learners’ needs, rather than distributing additional resources for learners with additional support needs. This process involves increasing the knowledge and skills of all education professionals (i.e. leaders, teachers and specialist staff) and enhancing collaborative practices within schools and across local communities. The ultimate aim is to transform teaching and learning and improve learner outcomes.

Cross-sectoral policies (e.g. for youth) should be: ‘formulated and implemented with the participation of the authorities in charge of all important domains for the life of young people’ (European Commission, 2018c).

Community-based approach motivates women, girls, boys and men in the community to participate in a process which allows them to express their needs and to decide their own future with a view to their empowerment. It requires recognition that they are active participants in decision-making. It also seeks to understand the community’s concerns and priorities, mobilizing community members and engaging them in protection and programming (Defined Term, no date).

Competences:

… are conceptualised as a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes and the definition of each key competence states the knowledge, skills and attitudes relevant for it. This approach supported the definition of learning outcomes and its translation into curricula or learning programmes.

• Knowledge – facts and figures, concepts, ideas and theories which are already established … [and] support the understanding of a certain area or subject;
• Skills – ability and capacity to carry out processes and use the existing knowledge to achieve results;
• Attitudes – disposition and mind-sets to act/react to ideas, persons or situations; in the European Framework of Key Competences also including values, thoughts and beliefs.

The definition of the individual competences and their related knowledge, skills and attitudes overlap and interlock; they reinforce each other (European Commission, 2018b, p. 7).

Teachers and leaders need to increase their capacity, skills and motivation to provide all learners with equitable opportunities for academic and wider success. Effective professional development must include activities connected to classroom practice and school improvement priorities. Working with other teachers and professionals within and beyond school can extend knowledge and skills and equip teachers to develop their practice to meet the diverse needs of all learners.

High-quality professional development should support research and innovation, rather than expert inputs or single, short courses. It should move from seeing teachers as users of research produced by others, to seeing teachers as collaborative problem-solvers who share potential solutions and actively consider the relevance of various approaches for different learners and different situations (adapted from European Agency, 2017 and European Agency, 2018b).

(See also ‘Teacher professional learning’)

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states that: ‘Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others’ (United Nations, 2006, Article 1).

Refers to those who are more likely to experience low levels of well‑being (OECD, 2017a).

‘Disadvantaged youth’ in many countries is used as an umbrella category which embraces all young people with fewer opportunities than their peers and in some countries other terms like youth-at-risk, vulnerable youth, disconnected youth or social excluded youth are preferred to describe social inequality among young people (Bendit & Stokes, 2003). […] Empirically, access to education and transitions in the life course are structured by categories of social inequality such as socio-economic status and class, gender and ‘ethnicity’. These categories impact the educational and career options available for a young person in an inter-sectional way and lead to different forms of social inclusion and exclusion (GOETE, no date).

‘The practice of treating somebody or a particular group in society less fairly than others’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

Legislation is in place in many countries to ensure the right of individuals to be treated equally, for example in education and employment.

‘A difference, especially one connected with unfair treatment’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

This firstly involves the devolution of responsibilities to middle leadership teams that are able to support and manage the transfer of knowledge and skills when necessary. Secondly, it enables all staff and school stakeholders to take responsibility by promoting flexibility and sharing practice. Thus, this leadership model involves the interactions between those in formal and informal leadership roles much more than the actions they perform. The main concern is how leadership influences organisational and instructional improvement (European Agency, 2020, p. 39).

A multi-faceted concept that can contain many elements and levels of distinction, e.g. age, ethnicity, class, gender, physical abilities, race, sexual orientation, religious status, educational background, geographical location, income, marital status, parental status and work experiences. The OECD defines diversity as: ‘characteristics that can affect the specific ways in which developmental potential and learning are realised, including cultural, linguistic, ethnic, religious and socio-economic differences’ (2010, p. 21).

Diversity refers to the cultural, linguistic, ethnic, developmental and other aspects of human difference that represent some of the many elements of identity that characterise both individuals and groups and account for differences between people (Florian and Pantić, 2017).

‘A state of affairs or result whereby all members of a group enjoy the same inputs, outputs or outcomes in terms of status, rights and responsibilities’ (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 419).

‘Ensuring that there is a concern with fairness, such that the education of all learners is seen as being of equal importance’ (UNESCO, 2017, p. 7).

The OECD, in the publication No More Failures: Ten Steps to Equity in Education (2007), highlighted two dimensions of equity in education – fairness, ‘which implies ensuring that personal and social circumstances […] should not be an obstacle to achieving educational potential’, and inclusion, which implies ‘ensuring a basic minimum standard of education for all’. Fair and inclusive education is one of the most powerful levers available to make society more equitable.

According to the Council of the European Union:

… equality and equity are not identical and […] education systems must move away from the traditional ‘one-size-fits all’ mentality. Equal opportunities for all are crucial, but not sufficient: there is a need to pursue ‘equity’ in the aims, content, teaching methods and forms of learning being provided for by education and training systems to achieve a high quality education for all (2017, p. 4).

‘The act of preventing somebody/something from entering a place or taking part in something’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

‘Any form of direct or indirect prevention of access’ (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 419).

Social exclusion occurs when people cannot fully participate or contribute to society because of ‘the denial of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights’.

[Definitions indicate that] exclusion results from ‘a combination of linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, bad health and family breakdown’.

[…] Groups, communities and individuals who because of deprivation, poverty or discrimination are unable to realise their potential and participate and contribute to society are excluded (UNESCO, no date).

See ‘Education finance’.

(See also ‘Funding’)

Resource allocation mechanisms (financial, human, technical, etc.).

Within an educational context, public funding may come from central, regional or local sources, with variations in transfer of resources between levels and the allocations that schools receive. Degrees of autonomy also vary between system levels.

(See also ‘Education finance’)

Governance refers to how decision making happens in education systems. It refers to the institutions and dynamics through which education systems allocate roles and responsibilities, determine priorities and designs, and carry out education policies and programmes. In today’s increasingly complex social environments, many countries are working to ensure effective planning, implementation and delivery of education policies (OECD, 2019).

Governance mechanisms refer to the structures and processes that are designed to ensure the education system’s accountability, transparency and responsiveness. 

Good governance has been accepted as one of the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is also expected to be participatory, accountable, effective and equitable and to promote the rule of law.

‘Something that encourages you to do something’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

Within the education field, financing and/or funding mechanisms may be incentives or disincentives to inclusive education. Such mechanisms may also act as incentives for unwanted (so-called) strategic behaviours, such as the over-referral of learners for official labels of special needs that are associated with funding.

Inclusion is both a principle and a process: ‘Inclusion and equity in and through education is the cornerstone of a transformative education agenda […] No education target should be considered met unless met by all’ (World Education Forum, 2015, p. 2).

It can be seen as: ‘A process consisting of actions and practices that embrace diversity and build a sense of belonging, rooted in the belief that every person has value and potential and should be respected’ (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 419).

The term was often associated with disability, but now extends to wider groups as ‘a response to increasingly complex and diverse societies. It treats diversity as an asset which helps prepare individuals for life and active citizenship in increasingly complex, demanding, multi-cultural and integrated societies’ (Soriano, Watkins and Ebersold, 2017, p. 7).

‘An education that promotes mutual respect and value for all persons and builds educational environments in which the approach to learning, the institutional culture and the curriculum reflect the value of diversity’ (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 420).

The Agency views inclusive education as ‘a systemic approach to providing high quality education in mainstream schools that effectively meets the academic and social learning needs of all the learners from the school’s local community’ (European Agency, 2015, p. 2).

Inclusive education supposes a real change at both policy and practice levels regarding education. Learners are placed at the centre of a system that needs to be able to recognise, accept and respond to learner diversity. Inclusive education aims to respond to the principles of efficiency, equality and equity, where diversity is perceived as an asset. Learners also need to be prepared to engage in society, to access meaningful citizenship and to acknowledge the values of human rights, freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination (Soriano, Watkins and Ebersold, 2017, p. 6).

‘An inclusive setting refers to education where the pupil with SEN [special educational needs] follows education in mainstream classes alongside their mainstream peers for the largest part – 80% or more – of the school week’ (European Agency, 2016b, p. 13).

UNESCO stresses the need for a systemic, capacity-building approach to developing inclusive education systems: ‘Implementing changes effectively and monitoring them for impact, recognizing that building inclusion and equity in education is an on-going process, rather than a one-time effort’ (UNESCO, 2017, p. 13).

‘The ultimate vision for inclusive education systems is to ensure that all learners of any age are provided with meaningful, high-quality educational opportunities in their local community, alongside their friends and peers’ (European Agency, 2015a).

An inclusive system in and around schools involves:

… a focus on a supportive, quality learning environment, a welcoming and caring school and classroom climate, addressing holistic needs of students, whether emotional, physical, cognitive or social, and recognising their individual talents and voices, preventing discrimination, as well as being open to the voices and active participation of parents and wider multidisciplinary teams and agencies.

This system takes ‘a particular focus on marginalised and vulnerable groups, including those at risk of early school leaving and alienation from society’ (Downes, Nairz-Wirth and Rusinaitė, 2017, p. 79).

‘Pre-service training provided to student teachers before they have undertaken any teaching, eventually leading to a teaching qualification. It usually takes place in higher education institutions’ (European Agency, 2015d, p. 8).

(See also ‘Teacher professional learning’)

Interdisciplinary framework refers to professionals from more than one academic discipline working together to examine a theme, issue, question or topic (Pedagogy in Action, no date).

‘Learners with additional support needs’ refers to learners from pre-primary up to higher education and lifelong learning who experience barriers to learning resulting from learner-environment interaction.

Good quality learning and teaching will meet a range of diverse needs without additional support. However, some learners will need additional support, different resources or adapted pedagogical approaches to ensure they gain the most benefit from their education.

There are many reasons why learners may need additional support (either short- or long-term) to help them learn. Such needs may be due to:

• disability or health;
• learning environment;
• family circumstances;
• social and emotional factors.

‘Collaborations of stakeholders around clusters of schools involving both school and community personnel, together with researchers, local area leaders and policy-makers’ (European Agency, 2015e, p. 7).

Such communities share and critically reflect on practice in an on-going process that promotes further learning. Parents and community stakeholders play an important role in the learning and support network around schools, developing social capital.

Features of learning communities include:

• Shared values and vision
• Collective responsibility for and focus on learning and personal growth of learners/other stakeholders
• Respectful relationships that involve mutual trust and support
• ‘Shared’ authority
• Collaboration with external partners (European Agency, 2015e).

Lifelong learning encompasses all learning activities undertaken throughout life with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competences, within personal, civic, social or employment-related perspectives. The intention or aim to learn is the critical point that distinguishes these activities from non-learning activities, such as cultural or sporting activities (‘Lifelong learning’ in Eurostat, no date a).

Lifelong learning must cover learning from the pre-school age to that of post-retirement, including the entire spectrum of formal, non-formal and informal learning. … the principles in this context should be: the individual as the subject of learning, highlighting the importance of an authentic equality of opportunities, and quality in learning (Council of the European Union, 2002).

Authorities responsible for territorial units below regional level. Local authorities may comprise elected representatives or they may be administrative divisions of central authorities (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2014).

‘The process or result of making somebody feel as if they are not important and cannot influence decisions or events; the fact of putting somebody in a position in which they have no power’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

Barely provided for or able to access services or participate in society. Generally understood as a social process by which vulnerable groups are moved out of the mainstream to a powerless position in society.

‘An official action that is done in order to achieve a particular aim’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

Within education, measures may be policy- or practice-oriented.

‘A method or a system for achieving something’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

Within education, mechanisms are often strategies linked to progress towards specified policy goals or objectives.

‘Watching, checking something over a period of time to see how it develops, so that necessary changes can be made’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

The process of systematically tracking aspects of education/school ‘implementation, with a view toward data collection, accountability and/or enhancing effectiveness and/or quality’ (OECD, 2015, p. 235).

A monitoring framework should be designed to monitor quality at different levels (country, region, schools) and for different groups (school authorities, teachers, learners). It should ‘draw on a number of different tools and components to collect and organize data needed to monitor a system’s performance’. This includes tools at the school level for data on learners and teachers, ‘national education management information systems (EMIS), human resource or teacher management information systems for teacher recruitment and deployment, inspection and appraisal systems, and financial management systems’. The framework may also include system-level learner evaluations.

Monitoring may include compliance monitoring, diagnostic monitoring and performance monitoring, which may all co-exist within the system (UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning, 2021).

The top level of authority with responsibility for education in a given country, usually located at national (state) level. However, in Belgium, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, the ‘regions’ (Communautés, Länder, Comunidades Autónomas and devolved administrations, respectively) are responsible for all or most areas relating to education. They are therefore considered the top level of authority (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2014).

Needs-based funding (also sometimes referred to as ‘input funding’; see Meijer, 1999) is when the funding is based, for example, on the identified need of each of the destination levels, such as the number of learners with special needs in a school, municipality or region. Inputs may also be defined in terms of referral rates, low achievement scores, the number of disadvantaged learners and so on. The key point is that funding is based on the (expressed or measured) needs (European Agency, 2018d).

An official decision leads to a child/learner being recognised as eligible for additional educational support to meet their learning needs.

An official decision meets the following criteria:

• There has been some form of educational assessment procedure involving different people. This procedure may involve the child/learner, parents, school-based team members, as well as professionals from multi-disciplinary teams from outside the child/learner’s (pre-)school.
• There is some form of legal document (plan/programme, etc.) that describes the support the child/learner is eligible to receive, which is used as the basis for decision-making.
• There is some form of regular review process of the child/learner’s needs, progress and support (European Agency, 2021a, p. 8).

Inclusive education systems are most effectively supported by a complementary combination of prevention, intervention and compensation policy actions. The goal of inclusive education systems is supported by policy actions that are aimed at:

• Prevention – policy initiatives that aim to avoid educational exclusion and longer-term social exclusion, before these issues emerge (for example, anti-discrimination legislation promoting a rights approach, avoidance of disabling policies that lead to gaps in provision, lack of qualifications, etc.).
• Intervention – policy initiatives that support the effective implementation of inclusive education (for example, the existence of clear policies leading to high-quality flexible support systems for mainstream education).
• Compensation – policy initiatives that address the inability of legislation and/or provision to support meaningful inclusive education for all learners (for example, separate educational programmes or provision, support for failing schools, second-chance educational programmes) (European Agency, 2018, p. 19).

UNICEF describes participation as:

… an ongoing process of children’s expression and active involvement in decision-making at different levels in matters that concern them, requiring information-sharing and dialogue between children/adolescents and adults based on mutual respect, and … [requiring] that full consideration of their views be given, taking into account the child’s age and maturity (2013, p. 7).

Like educational inclusion, participation is often seen as a human rights issue and an essential component of social justice (European Agency, 2011).

Participation is about the quality of the learning experience from a learner perspective, and therefore it must incorporate the views of the learners themselves. … It relates to school-level process factors which facilitate or hinder a sense of belonging and a sense of autonomy to the learner, as well as a sense of a meaningful participation with peers of the same age. As such, participation mainly refers to processes at the meso (school or classroom) and micro (individual learner) levels (Ramberg and Watkins, 2020, p. 90).

(See also ‘Meaningful participation’)

Policy refers to a stated course or principle of action that is either adopted or proposed in order to meet goals, aims and objectives. It is written in official documents to direct the implementation of agreed actions.

Policy and legislation are connected, but distinct. Legislation outlines the requirements and policy then details the framework for ensuring that the requirements are put into action. The implementation of actions then needs to be guided by supporting policy documents (rules, guidelines, guidance materials, etc.).

A policy framework brings together policies/policy elements that set out the requirements and processes for reaching policy goals in line with national/organisational values and principles. A policy framework outlines roles and responsibilities for policy development, stakeholder engagement, implementation, dissemination, monitoring/evaluation, governance and operational processes (European Agency, 2018d, p. 17).

Monitoring and accountability mechanisms that take a procedural approach encourage stakeholders to only follow prescribed administrative procedures and bureaucratic rules. Such control mechanisms can be seen as a barrier to, or disincentive for, innovation and school-led development.

A professional learning community refers to collaborations of education stakeholders ‘around clusters of schools involving …. school and community personnel, together with researchers, local area leaders and policy-makers’ (European Agency, 2015e, p. 7).

Professional learning communities may serve two broad purposes:

(1) improving the skills and knowledge of educators through collaborative study, expertise exchange, and professional dialogue, and (2) improving the educational aspirations, achievement, and attainment of students through stronger leadership and teaching. Professional learning communities often function as a form of action research—i.e., as a way to continually question, reevaluate, refine, and improve teaching strategies and knowledge (‘professional learning community’ in the Glossary of Education Reform).

(See also ‘Learning community’)

The term ‘provision’ includes all forms of support that may help the process of participation in education for all learners: curriculum, assessment procedures, forms of pedagogy, organisation and management and resources that contribute to the development of supportive systems that promote inclusive education.

‘The practice of managing the way goods are produced or services are provided to make sure they are kept at a high standard’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

Quality assurance refers to the ‘policies, procedures and practices designed to achieve, maintain and enhance quality in inclusive education’. It also involves ‘how educational organisations account for their activities, accept responsibility for them and share information on their results openly and transparently’ (European Agency, 2018e, p. 17).

Quality education:

a. gives access to learning to all pupils and students, particularly those in vulnerable or disadvantaged groups, adapted to their needs as appropriate;

b. provides a secure and non-violent learning environment in which the rights of all are respected;

c. develops each pupil’s and student’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential and encourages them to complete the educational programmes in which they enrol;

d. promotes democracy, respect for human rights and social justice in a learning environment which recognises everyone’s learning and social needs;

e. enables pupils and students to develop appropriate competences, self-confidence and critical thinking to help them become responsible citizens and improve their employability;

f. passes on universal and local cultural values to pupils and students while equipping them also to make their own decisions;

g. certifies outcomes of formal and non-formal learning in a transparent way based on fair assessment enabling acquired knowledge and competences to be recognised for further study, employment and other purposes;

h. relies on qualified teachers who are committed to continuous professional development;

i. is free of corruption (Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, 2012).

The regional level:

… is the first territorial unit below the national level in countries that do not have a federal or similar type of governmental structure, and the second territorial unit below the national level in countries with federal or similar … governmental structures. The regional level includes, among others, regional governments, regional education, financial and legislative authorities, and regional auditing services (OECD, 2017b, p. 292).

Resource centres are core educational centres and/or institutions dedicated to providing support and consultancy to promote inclusion. A resource centre is a transformed special school, which redefines itself as a dynamic, multi-functional space that brings together both human and material resources. The transformation requires stakeholders from special settings to act as consultants for mainstream settings, providing schools with their knowledge and accumulated experience. It mobilises the knowledge and skills of the school for inclusion, valuing the knowledge and experiences of all (European Agency, 2019b).

Resources include human resources, material resources and financial resources and may also consider the amount of time dedicated to instruction. Human resources include, for example, leaders, teachers and their professional development. Material resources include educational materials and physical infrastructure (e.g. classrooms, libraries, school facilities). Financial resources/spending on education covers teacher/staff salaries and other education expenditure, such as building maintenance, transport and other operational costs. Time can include learning time, extra-curricular activities, etc. (adapted from OECD, 2013).

Resourcing refers to the act or practice of providing what is needed to complete a task.

‘Resource allocation has implications for equity in a school system and, as such, is an important consideration for policy makers’ (OECD, 2013, p. 94).

As a strategic planning device, school development planning is concerned with long-term goals (the mission) to be translated into planned and prioritized short-term objectives and improvement actions (development planning), after careful analysis of the strength [sic] and weaknesses of the school (audit) (UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning, no date).

Social responsibility refers to ‘the obligation of an organization’s management towards the welfare and interests of the society in which it operates’ (Business Dictionary, no date).

SEN is a construct that countries usually define within their legislation. These definitions are then used to identify, assess and make provision for learners with different needs – including recognised disabilities – in different ways (Watkins, Ebersold and Lénárt, 2014). Special or ‘additional’ needs should not be seen as the result of ‘in-child’ factors, but rather ‘a discrepancy between what a system of schooling ordinarily provides and what the child needs to support their learning’ (Rouse, 2008, p. 6, cited by Soriano, Watkins and Ebersold, 2017, p. 22).

(See also ‘Official decision / statement of special educational needs (SEN)’)

The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) defines special needs education as:

Education designed to facilitate learning by individuals who, for a wide variety of reasons, require additional support and adaptive pedagogical methods in order to participate and meet learning objectives in an education programme. Reasons may include (but are not limited to) disadvantages in physical, behavioural, intellectual, emotional and social capacities. Education programmes in special needs education may follow a similar curriculum as that offered in the parallel regular education system, but they take individual needs into account by providing specific resources (e.g. specially-trained personnel, equipment or space) and, if appropriate, modified educational content or learning objectives. These programmes can be offered to individual students within already-existing education programmes or as a separate class in the same or separate educational institutions (UNESCO/UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2012, p. 83).

This ‘usually refers to decision-making that takes into account the actions and reactions of other … agents. Its essential feature is the recognition of the direct interdependence between one’s behaviour and that of others’ (Encyclopedia.com).

Within the education field, financing mechanisms may incentivise unwanted strategic behaviour. For example, ‘financial constraints may lead to strategic behaviour where schools directly link the support learners may need with an official decision’ (European Agency, 2022e, p. 12). ‘Similarly, parents may also demonstrate strategic behaviour that is not in line with the policy’ (Meijer, 1999, p. 20). ‘These forms of strategic behaviour may result in less inclusion, more labelling and rising costs’ (ibid., p. 12).

‘A plan that is intended to achieve a particular purpose’; ‘The process of planning something or putting a plan into operation’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

‘That can continue or be continued for a long time’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

‘Systems of support’ refers to systems that build the capacity of mainstream schools, rather than to the process of distributing additional resources. They help to make mainstream schools more accessible and capable of meeting the requirements of all learners.

Throughput funding is ‘based on the functions or tasks that have to be undertaken or developed. It is not based on needs, but rather on the services provided by a school, municipality or region’. Finances are allocated on the condition that particular services will be developed or maintained. ‘Schools, municipalities or regions are equally treated: funds are based on total enrolment or on other population indicators’. Of course, certain output conditions can be included in this model, but funding itself is not based on outputs (or inputs) (Meijer, 1999, p. 152).