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.

‘Services and activities intended to assist individuals of any age and at any point throughout their lives, to make educational, training and occupational choices and to manage their careers’ (UNESCO-IBE, Glossary of Curriculum Terminology).

In schools, the practice is used to:

… support students in their choice of education and career path. Education and career guidance is provided by in-school guidance/counselling services and it may be taught in the classroom as a subject/topic which forms part of the compulsory curriculum. Guidance seeks to provide students with information as well as to develop the decision-making and other skills important in managing their own educational or career choices. Education and career guidance may also include psycho-educational work or counselling to help students in their progression through school, particularly for students at risk of leaving education early. Extra support is often provided at times of transition between the stages of education or when transferring to other pathways or tracks. Guidance may be complemented by extra-curricular activities and supported by external partners (e.g. for the provision of work experience, etc.) (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice/Cedefop, 2014, p. 139).

Compensatory approaches or policy initiatives are those 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).

A continuum of support and services matches the full range of additional needs encountered in every school. For children with special educational needs, a continuum of support should be provided. This ranges from minimal help in mainstream classrooms, to additional learning support programmes within the school. It also extends, where necessary, to assistance from specialist teachers and external support staff. (Refer to: UNESCO, 1994).

For teachers, support staff and school leaders, a continuum of support should be provided through the use of research, networking and links to universities and initial teacher education institutions. This will provide development opportunities for all groups as lifelong learners (European Agency, 2014).

A continuum of support ensures coherent transition within education systems, and from education systems to work. It also ensures co-operation among the different stakeholders involved.

(See also ‘Continuum of professional learning’)

ECI is a composite of services/provision for very young children and their families. It is provided at their request at a certain time in a child’s life. It covers any action undertaken when a child needs special support to ensure and enhance their personal development, strengthen the family’s own competences, and promote the social inclusion of the family and the child. Different elements that are relevant to ECI are: availability (a shared aim of ECI is to reach all children and families in need of support as early as possible); proximity (the idea of providing family-focused services); affordability (services are offered free of charge or at minimal cost to families); interdisciplinary working (professionals in charge of direct support to young children and their families belong to different disciplines (professions) and consequently have diverse backgrounds according to the service they are related to); and diversity of services (e.g. the involvement of different services – health, social services and education). (Refer to: European Agency, 2010).

‘Early tracking means the early streaming of pupils by abilities into different types of provision or school; this includes placing children into separate schools’ (European Agency, 2018a, p. 34). This is considered a segregation practice that increases inequality in learner outcomes, especially when it occurs before age 13 (INCLUD-ED, 2009). Therefore, it is suggested that support structures avoid early tracking into vocational or academic routes (European Agency, 2019a).

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).

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).

‘Design of products, environments, programmes and services to be usable by all to the greatest extent possible, with no need for adaptation or specialised design’ (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 420).

The Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University conceived and developed the seven principles of Universal Design: equitable use, flexibility in use, simple and intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, and size and space for approach and use. It is copyrighted material (The Center for Universal Design, 1997).

This stems from the general term ‘universal design’. However, it focuses on improving and optimising teaching and learning for all to ensure learners’ success and well-being. The Centre for Applied Special Technology owns the copyright for the term and the three principles for curriculum development based on a UDL approach:

1. Provide information through multiple means of representation (present information and content in different ways)
2. Provide multiple means of action and expression (differentiate the ways that learners can express what they know)
3. Provide multiple means of engagement (stimulate interest and motivation for learning).

UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials and assessments that work for everyone. It does not involve a single, one-size-fits-all solution, but rather flexible approaches that can be customised and adjusted to individual needs. (Refer to Centre for Applied Special Technology, no date).

Universal Design for Learning is an approach to addressing the diversity of learner needs by suggesting flexible goals, methods, materials, and assessment processes that support educators to meet varied needs. Curricula created using UDL are designed from the outset to meet the needs of all learners. A UDL framework incorporates flexible design of learning situations with customizable options, which allow all learners to progress from their own, individual starting points. (Refer to Centre for Applied Special Technology, no date).