3.4 EDUCATION
Education is at the core of the European Social Inclusion
Strategy, as it is mentioned in most of the objectives. Member States
have committed to develop measures that allow effective access to
education for people at risk of exclusion, and to put in place policies
which seek to prevent life crises, leading to situations of social
exclusion, such as exclusion from schools. From a social exclusion
perspective, it is fundamental that education systems are designed in
such a way as to take into account the specific needs of disabled
people.
In the earlier part of this study, when we made reference to the ECHP data,
we underlined the fact that disabled people have limited access to second
and third level education in comparison with the rest of the population.
Furthermore there are a high percentage of dropouts of disabled students,
particularly at secondary school level.
Data that we collected through our own survey (diagram 16) supports the
ECHP evidence, and also highlights the overall low education attainment
of disabled people.
Diagram 16
We have decided to focus in our research on the participation of disabled
children in mainstream education. An inclusive education is at the basis
of an inclusive society, and contributes strongly to the breaking down of
barriers. Disabled children and non-disabled children can mutually benefit
from being in the same educational environment. In diagram 17 you will
see the percentage of children according to the participants of the
survey in mainstream and in special education.
Diagram 17
The great majority of disabled children can take part in mainstream education.
The European Commission in its draft join report on social inclusion has
highlighted how several member states specifically recognise the
challenge of integrating children with disabilities into mainstream
education as a way to counter their very high risk of educational
disadvantage and social exclusion .
The following diagram highlights how the choice of the type of education for
a disabled child is more often the decision of the authorities, rather
than a decision of the parents themselves. Please note that respondents
had the possibility to give more than one answer, affecting therefore the
total value.
Diagram 18
In order to ensure effective inclusion of disabled children in ordinary
schools, educational, technical, and personal support must often be
foreseen. We asked the respondents to attempt an overall assessment of
the integration in mainstream education of children with disabilities, in
terms of the support provided (tutoring, personal assistance, technical
aids, etc.). The results of this assessment are shown in diagram 19.
Support provided to disabled children in mainstream education
was reported by 60% of the respondents as insufficient and by only 23% as
sufficient, while only 10% of the respondents considered that this
support is very good.
Diagram 19
In order to measure the level of inclusion and participation in the school of
disabled children, we further asked respondents whether support provided
in ordinary school covered also extra curricula activities organized by
the school. In diagram 20, one can see that this is hardly the case.
Diagram 20
In an attempt to provide an assessment by country of the support provided to
disabled children in mainstream education, we asked the respondents to
evaluate this in a scale of 0 to 10 (where 0=limited access and 10=
maximum access). The results are shown in diagram 21. Italy, Austria, and
Finland are the Countries with the highest scores, whereas, Sweden and
France reported the lowest scores.
Diagram 21
A special remark has to be added on the case of Sweden, as the diagram does
not reflect the situation on inclusive education if we compare it with
most of the other countries considered in our survey. It has however to
be added that respondents were asked to make a subjective assessment of
policies. As a result the values expressed depend on the general
awareness on disability, on the level of the political debate of the
country, and its economic strength. In other words, Swedish citizens
with disabilities have a higher level of expectations from their
Government, and therefore seem overcritical in comparison with disabled
people from other countries in their evaluation.
Education- Main findings
Lack of education is one of the main factors leading to social
exclusion and poverty.
Children with disabilities' chances to participate in mainstream
education are often limited. Both ECHP (Eurostat) data and our own
survey highlight the low educational attainment level of children with
disabilities.
Integration in ordinary education is still limited in many countries.
Only around 59% of children, according to our survey, are in the
mainstream schools, despite the fact that most of them could participate
in mainstream education if they received the necessary support.
Furthermore over 60% of the respondents consider insufficient the
support provided to disabled children in mainstream education to allow
them to integrate fully in their classroom and in the school activities.
This support is often limited to the academic courses. Over 73 % declare
that no support is provided for extra curricula activities organised by
the school, undermining the possibility of integration of children with
disabilities within their school environment.
Finally significant differences have been reported among countries on
the evaluation of the support provided. |
3.5 EMPLOYMENT
The conclusions of the Nice European Council emphasised the
priority of increasing participation in employment.
"More and better jobs are the key to social
inclusion. More accessible labour markets should be promoted, and diversity
in employment as a productive factor and a factor for social integration
should be encouraged".
Furthermore the Council underlined the need for policies on
employability:
"An approach of this kind presupposes in the first instance an
increase in the level of participation in the employment market, especially
by groups that are underrepresented or disadvantaged in it"
In the previous analysis, when we made use of the ECHP data, we showed
that disabled people are at a high risk of being unemployed, and show a
long-term dependence on welfare benefits. In our survey we reached
similar conclusions to the ECHP findings, since 21% of disabled people
are reported to be unemployed and around 42% to be dependent on
disability benefits.
Participation of disabled people in employment is not an issue exclusively
related to income, but also and foremost to a sense of belonging to the
community, bringing a contribution to society, and to the individual's
social status.
In order to elaborate further the main causes of unemployment among
disabled persons we asked the respondents to describe what are the main
factors contributing to their exclusion from the labour market. In a
hierarchical order with 1 the highest value, and 5 the lowest (see
diagram 22), the main reason for their unemployment are attributed to the
prejudice of employers, the lack of education and training, the severity
of their disability, the lack of adaptation of the working environment, and
the lack of psychological support services.
Among the other reasons, most of the respondents referred in their comments to
the
survey, to the existence of "benefit traps' preventing them to access
part or full time
employment, without losing their necessary income support.
Diagram 22
Since the objective of our exercise is to examine poverty and social exclusion
we thought that we should further investigate the economic status of
disabled people who belong in the labour market and are engaged in an
economic activity. We asked the respondents to classify their members
according to their salaries and we discovered that 57% of disabled
workers were placed in the low paid jobs category (Diagram 23).
Diagram 23
Employment – main findings
Unemployment is closely related to poverty and social exclusion
The results of our study research reveal that only 30.5 % of the
disabled labour force population is employed. The rest is either
unemployed (20.8%) or inactive (42%).
The main reasons for their unemployment or inactivity are according to
the respondents to our questionnaire the following: the prejudice
of employers, the lack of education and training, and the severity of
their disability, followed by the lack of adaptation of the workplace,
and finally the lack of psychological support, and guidance.
Moreover a high percentage of respondents indicated that the existence
of a "benefit trap" preventing disabled people to access to
part or full time jobs, without losing the necessary income support was
also to be listed among the barriers to employment.
Furthermore we asked the respondents to classify their members in
employment according to their level of wages and it was declared that
57% of disabled people belong to the low paid jobs category.
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