‘The act of making something different to suit the needs of a particular person, place, etc.’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

Individualisation is led by the teacher, who provides instruction and tasks/activities to accommodate the learning needs of each learner. This can include the use of digital technology. The teacher should ensure that there is sufficient time to interact with learners and also involve them in managing their own learning, moving towards a more personalised approach. (See definition of ‘Personalisation’). Care should be taken to ensure that individual tasks do not increase segregation.

Individualised forms of support may be provided in mainstream groups or classes for learners who have special needs, including learners with disabilities, to enable them to participate in learning opportunities with their peers.

‘Facts or details about somebody/something’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

The ICT4IAL Guidelines focus on the aim of sharing messages to inform and build knowledge in a learning environment. Within the ICT4IAL Guidelines, the different types of information considered are text, image, audio and video (European Agency, 2015c).

[W]ithin the i-access project the term ‘information’ is extended to information in any given format – print or electronic, audio or visual – and is also extended to communication and interaction to cover, for example, the possibility of contacting an organisation to get relevant information. The project focus is on information relevant for lifelong learning. However, the recommendations of the i-access project will be equally valuable for any form of information provision (European Agency, 2012a, p. 48).

ICT ‘covers all technical means used to handle information and aid communication. This includes both computer and network hardware, as well as their software’ (‘Information and communication technology (ICT)’ in Eurostat, no date a).

Any individual or organisation that creates and distributes information.

Information society is ‘a society in which the creation, distribution and treatment of information have become the most significant economic and cultural activities’ (United Nations University, 2016, p. 8). The information society is ‘considered as a necessary previous step to build Knowledge Societies’ (ibid., p. 9).

Initial identification refers to the recognition/detection of possible barriers to learning. This recognition should lead to the systematic collection of information that can be used to develop a profile of strengths and areas for development that can inform approaches to teaching and learning and support. Initial identification of additional learning/support needs may be linked to other assessment procedures. It may involve professionals outside of the mainstream school (including health professionals). In most countries, separate legislation directly governs the procedures for initial identification of additional support needs.

‘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’)

See ‘Needs-based funding’

Instructional leadership emphasises the importance of establishing clear educational goals, planning the curriculum and evaluating teachers and teaching. The prime focus is on leaders’ responsibility for promoting better measurable outcomes for learners, highlighting the importance of enhancing the quality of classroom teaching and learning (Day, Gu and Sammons, 2016).

Instructional leadership furthermore emphasises the creation of a supportive, encouraging work environment that can support the development of teaching practices best suited to improve academic performance (Hansen and Lárusdóttir, 2015). This type of leadership has also been termed ‘learning-centred leadership, leadership for learning or curriculum leadership’, as one key dimension focuses on developing and co-ordinating an effective school curriculum (Gumus, Bellibas, Esen and Gumus, 2018) (European Agency, 2020, p. 41).

This is generally linked to the placement of learners in mainstream schools. It carries with it an idea that learners need to be educationally and/or socially ‘ready’ for transfer from specialist provision to mainstream schools. The expectation is that learners will adapt to the school, rather than the school changing to accommodate the learners and meet a wider range of diverse needs.

(See also ‘Partial integration’)

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).

Education programmes at ISCED level 0 are coded 01 for early childhood educational development programmes and 02 for pre-primary education programmes. 

Programmes at ISCED level 0, or early childhood education, are typically designed with a holistic approach to support children’s early cognitive, physical, social and emotional development and introduce young children to organized instruction outside of the family context. ISCED level 0 refers to early childhood programmes that have an intentional education component. These programmes aim to develop socio-emotional skills necessary for participation in school and society. They also develop some of the skills needed for academic readiness and prepare children for entry into primary education (UNESCO/UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2012, p. 26).

Programmes at ISCED level 1, or “primary” education, are typically designed to provide students with fundamental skills in reading, writing and mathematics (i.e. literacy and numeracy), and to establish a sound foundation for learning and understanding of core areas of knowledge, personal and social development, preparing for lower secondary education. It focuses on learning at a basic level of complexity with little if any specialisation (UNESCO, 2011, p. 26).

Programmes at ISCED level 2, or “lower secondary” education, are typically designed to build upon the learning outcomes from ISCED level 1. Usually, the educational aim is to lay the foundation for lifelong learning and human development on which education systems may systematically expand further educational opportunities. Some education systems may already offer vocational education programmes at ISCED level 2 to provide individuals with skills relevant to employment (UNESCO, 2011, p. 29).