Exploring inclusive education across Europe: some insights from the European Agency Statistics on Inclusive Education

The European Agency Statistics on Inclusive Education (EASIE) work focuses upon the collection and analysis of longitudinal, comparative national data related to inclusive education systems and learners with officially recognised special educational needs (SEN) among its 31 member countries. In this article, the EASIE work is discussed in relation to the key concepts of presence, placement, participation and progress within inclusive education systems. The findings of the EASIE work indicate differences and variations between countries in how they respond to all learners’ rights to an inclusive education. There are substantial differences in the identification rates of learners identified as having SEN across countries. In addition, the EASIE data shows that all countries use some form of fully segregated settings for some learners, indicating a gap between inclusive education as a societal goal and practice. Possibilities for future, more comprehensive comparative data collection concerning inclusive education systems are discussed.