Objectives

The aims of EBE-EUSMOSI were ambitious and include:

  1. Definition of a reference model to vali date the quality of school inclusion according to the principle of EBE;
  2. foundation of a European research network;
  3. researches in different countries concerning the topic of school inclusion according to the model’s lines;
  4. analysis of the impact on beneficiaries of the actions and delineation of shared guidelines;
  5. dissemination of the experience through Open Education Resources (OERs);
  6. dissemination of the model also through staff mobility.

The EBE-EUSMOSI initiative combined two relevant concepts, evidence-based education (EBE) and school inclusion, that affect both the field of educational research and the social dimension concerning those actions aimed at individuals with special educational needs (SEN). This is a field in which there are not yet operational models shared at European level, starting from which the results of research and practical applications (good practices) can be validated, disseminated and compared. The dimension of EBE refers to the notion that decisions in education should be taken based on the knowledge that empirical research provides, in relation to a greater or lesser effectiveness of different teaching actions. At this level, EBE-EUSMOSI worked on a model that indicates which types of researches can be considered as adequate to validate interventions aimed at individuals with SEN. The final EBE-EUSMOSI results include the EBE-EUSMOSI Model for School Inclusion that can be considered as the first European model for evidence-based inclusive school education.

EBE-EUSMOSI aims at identifying and integrating, within a reference model, the research procedures able to give evidences to the validation of educational programmes, directed to the school inclusion of every pupil. The question of the research shared by all the participants, is: “Which road to take to evaluate evidence-based education and their elements that really characterize a quality inclusive school?”

Main outputs and impact of EBE-EUSMOSI are:

  1. Definition of a reference model to validate the quality of school inclusion according to the principle of EBE;
  2. Foundation of a European research network;
  3. Research in different countries concerning the topic of school inclusion according to the model’s lines;
  4. Analysis of the impact on beneficiaries of the actions and delineation of shared guidelines;
  5. Dissemination of the experience through Open Education Resources (OERs);
  6. Dissemination of the model also through staff mobility.

Overall, EBE-EUSMOSI has achieved the expected results and foreseen impact:

  1. Positive reputational effects for the participating organisations;
  2. Increased awareness on inclusion in an EBE perspective;
  3. Increased influencing on policy and practice.