"In recent years martial arts has become more open to the general public. Also disadvantaged people and people with disabilities are now also involved in the martial arts (MA) trainings. This new situation however identified that the teachers and trainers are unprepared to respond to the specific needs of (disadvantaged) students (with disabilities) who want to join MA classes. MAINCLUSION project was designed to equip sport teachers and trainers with the necessary knowledge and skills to teach martial arts within the evolving system of inclusive education and inclusive sports.Sport in general can be a very powerful tool for education and inclusion when working with young people because it can be very motivating and engaging. In Bulgaria as well as in other Balkan countries and Turkey, people with disabilities and those from other disadvantaged groups have limited access to the mainstream education, employment and community life from a young age. This social isolation deprives them of opportunities to develop relationships with others —opportunities essential to their social development and important determinants of health and well-being. The martial arts as concrete sport activity are well suited to helping disadvantaged young people acquire social skills they may be lacking. It teaches them how to communicate effectively as well as the significance of teamwork and cooperation, goal-setting, self-discipline, respect for others, and the importance of rules.The MAINCLUSION project had as main objective to train sports teachers in mainstream schools including those from remote/rural areas to introduce Martial Arts to socially disadvantaged youth, regardless of age, race, gender or ability. The project introduced a range of innovative techniques to stimulate and facilitate the uptake of inclusive martial arts sport trainings, using a mobile and online training platform.The main outputs delivered by MAINCLUSION project are: IO1 Case studies IO2 MAINCLUSION curriculum and ""Train the trainers"" handbook IO3 (Online/Mobile) course/training material IO4 Online peer support and training portal platform IO5 Set of interactive training videos IO6 Mobile training app with individual learning pathThese IOs were developed as a result of a cooperation among project partners and were actively promoted over the project to a large number of stakeholders – more than 50 000 in Bulgaria, Belgium, Greece and Turkey as well as on EU level.Starting December 2018 all outcomes were tested by physical activity teachers and sport trainers in all partners countries and the results from pilot testing explicitly confirmed that the training modules, videos and other interactive materials are useful and support the inclusion of people with disabilities in martial art classes. For more information see the country pilot reports uploaded onto Dropbox Within the project's 3 joint staff training events were organised in Malatya – Turkey, Sofia - Bulgaria, and Athens Greece. The workshops within the visits were led by sports school teachers, martial art trainers including those with disabilities as well as representatives of sport NGOs oriented to young people with disabilities. The project has been realised by 7 organisations from 4 countries (Bulgaria, Belgium, Greece and Turkey) and includes:- P1 Marie Curie Association – MCA as Non-governmental organisation providing trainings to youth - BG- P2 Yamato Sport Club as Martial Art Sport Club - BG- P3 “Paisii Hilendarski” as Secondary public school - BG- P4 European WingTsun Organisation as Martial Art Association - BG- P6 PHOENIXKM BVBA as Inclusion oriented SME - BE- P7 PENTHESILEIA Inclusion oriented NGO - EL- P8 INONU UNIVERSITY Higher education institution on sport teaching - TRTo promote and mainstream the 6 IOs, partners implemented 3 Multiplier Events in Belgium (Ypres), Greece (Athens) and Bulgaria (Sofia). They were attended by more than 220 stakeholders who expressed interest to use the MAINCLUSION results in their daily work. Additionally partners from “Paisii Hilendarski“ school and EWTO implemented more than 30 workshops where inclusive martial arts techniques were demonstrated to students with and without disabilities. Some of these workshops were recorded (video) and were used as internal training materials for physical activity teachers working in the public schools or MA clubs. These workshops were an unanticipated benefit both for students and teachers as they demonstrated the power of martial arts as an effective tool towards inclusion."

<< Objectives >>The project aims to provide adequate training to- school staff and especially teachers in primary/secondary education on how to accommodate STICORDI teaching approaches for children with disabilities; and on how to specifically accommodate for children with dyslexia;- parents on how to specifically accommodate for children with dyslexia when studying at home (doing homework) or following online education.We also aim to lobby policy makers by targeting ministries of education.<< Implementation >>As project we will:- develop/pilot STICORDI measures adapted from best practices in Belgium and transfer them to Bulgaria and Turkey through customisation and adaptation to the local realities;- develop/pilot training manuals for school staff/teachers from primary/secondary education how to apply STICORDI measures, and how to address students with dyslexia;- develop/pilot training manuals for parents how to overcome current barriers/challenges with children with dyslexia studying from home.<< Results >>White papers towards policy makers to strengthen inclusive education and provide adequate training to school staff in primary and secondary education;A dedicated manual with STICORDI measures for schools in EN, BG, TR;A dyslexia manual for school teachers in primary and secondary education in EN, BG, TR;A dyslexia manual for parents of children with dyslexia in EN, BG, TR.All the above will be supported by an online and mobile (iOS, Android) multilingual training platform.

"NEEDS:Teacher education on the one hand focuses on the aspects of digital technologies that are generic to the teaching profession (we will especially consider the DigCompEdu framework ). Of equal importance though is that teacher education also must be sensitive to the more specific disciplinary practices and features characterizing each individual school subject and in particular those practices that can address the challenges faced in a COVID-19 rocked educational system across Europe. This is the more important when we consider those most affected from the pandemic impact on schooling: children with special needs that get lost in the new teaching reality (support teachers not present in person, different daily structure, etc.) as well as those that do not have the means to participate in online teaching (lack of hardware, software). For this, few actions have been undertaken in Europe, neither are they harmonised.SOLUTION:There is an obvious need for digital and inclusive pedagogical competences of educators especially in the countries tackled in this proposal - Spain, Bulgaria, Greece and Belgium. Our project aims to design and enact inclusive learning activities, where the scientific disciplines, the professional disciplines (pedagogy and subject didactics), and inclusive practices add up to a coherent whole. This also refers to the design of inclusive learning environments and learning trajectories. It is in the design that generic, inclusive and subject-specific aspects of the technologies merge and are operationalized in a fully inclusive educational practice.Another considerable issue, that we would like to tackle with this proposal is to enrich the teacher’s competences on how to implement regular teaching of lesson into digital content – what didactic approaches to use, what activities might be suitable and what are the open source solutions, which they may use in order to accomplish it.This project will enable the development of a model for embedding digital resources into teachers’ pedagogical practice. This model will consist of two dimensions: one dealing with the types of factors associated with teacher take-up of digital content; and the other concerned with the characteristics of various stakeholders and the nature of digital curriculum resources (the content) and supporting technology (the tools).Dedicated toolkit will be provided that offers (aspiring) teachers the means to create digital learning content and to deploy digital inclusive education practices almost instantly:• searchable database of inclusive digital teaching practices / learning trajectories / learning environments, including an objective assessment• detailed searchable overview supporting online digital open source repositories (training material, software, etc.) • instructive graphs both online, mobile and printable• supporting explanatory animated videosTARGET GROUPS:• (aspiring) teachers in primary and secondary education• support teachers and staffBeneficiaries of the improved learning process will be:• children:- with disabilities- from poor families- from minorities• their familiesINTELLECTUAL OUTPUTS, which will be developed are:• IO1: New didactic model for embedding digital curriculum resources into inclusive teachers’ pedagogical practice• IO2: Handbook ""Steps for transferring a course online in an inclusive manner""• IO3: Set of instructive graphs (online, mobile and printable) and explanatory animated videos to support the implementation of inclusive remote education• IO4: Supportive portal with searchable database with regards to inclusive remote teaching practices, trajectories, inclusive learning environments and accessible open source repositories (training material, software, etc.) PARTNERSHIP:Above mentioned solution is planned to be implemented by a multi-disciplinary consortium, which involves: methodological experts in education (P1, P2, P3), secondary school (P4), primary school (P6), center for special educational support (P8) and 2 ICT developers, who will support the technical solutions (P5 and P7).EXPECTED IMPACT:The project will contribute to the conceptualisation of professional inclusive digital and remote teaching competences in the teaching profession. This will operationalize a currently missed dimension in teacher education and prepare the student teachers to develop future and inclusive oriented designs for teaching and learning. The project will also update the inclusive teachers' profile, taking into account the specific requirements needed for educational implementation in COVID-19 pandemic circumstances, that necessitates remote teaching/learning and ensuring access to above underrepresented groups.TRANSFERABILITY:The project has a cross-sectoral dimension, its intellectual outputs will be helpful and easy adaptable for any kind of pedagogical staff in VET/Adult/Higher education."

An estimated 93 million children worldwide live with disabilities (UNICEF data 2021). Like all children, children with disabilities have ambitions and dreams for their futures. Like all children, they need quality education to develop their skills and realize their full potential. Yet, children with disabilities are often overlooked in policymaking, limiting their access to education and their ability to participate in social, economic and political life. Worldwide, these children are among the most likely to be out of school. They face persistent barriers to education stemming from discrimination, stigma and the routine failure of decision makers to incorporate disability in school services. Disability is the single most serious barrier to education across the globe. Inclusion in education means placing children with disabilities into a general education with necessary support to make sure the student is successful in general education. One key is that children are “based” in general education classrooms. By being based in general education students with disabilities are viewed as members rather than visitors to the class, and as a result they are more likely to be accepted and befriended by peers. With this project the inclusive education in Bulgaria and Turkey was extended as an approach to allow sutiable delivery of education, that supports and welcomes diversity amongst all learners including those with disabilities, learning difficulties, talants etc. It is a concept of effective schools where every child has a place to study and teachers become facilitators of learning rather than providers of information. With this project we have trained more than 150 teachers in Bulgaria and Turkey as “inclusive education ambassadors”. In this role we involved teachers, trainers, psychologists, resource tutors, who support the development, implementation and mainstreaming of successful inclusive education practices. Our approach followed the universal design of learning, which enabled accessible provision of education to all students with and without disabilities and learning difficulties. As such those ambassadors gained professional skills to work towards integrative schools and do active outreach to open up schools as institutions towards inclusive education practices. We have equipped them with necessarily knowledge and skills in managing diversity and we have enabled them to be able to suggest strategies to promote inclusive practices at mainstream schools. At the end of the project the participated ambassadors have the ability to create a learning community in which everyone – staff, students, parents are involved and valued for their input-to promote the inclusion and integration of all students no matter what their origin, previous experience, abilities and social skills are. In addition, they acquired ability to support teachers and schools staff in dealing with diversified groups of learners. All 20 participating schools during piloting process shared their experience and good practices focusing on abilities rather than disabilities. They improved their individual support system by introducing the good practice of other countries (like Sticordi measures from Belgium) and therefore reduced the risk of failure and preventing students drop outs. These teachers, trainers, psychologists, resource tutors learnt how to make effective and motivating study materials adapted to the individual needs of every student which led to a greater success and also learnt how to use the project and its intellectual outputs as a resource in long-term development of the mainstream schools. They have raise their motivation to recognize and support individual needs of students, they have developed new professional skills, competences and inclusive education strategies and were trained as inclusive education ambassadors which will be maintained beyond the project lifetime as a sustainability action. Among key outcomes of this project is also the empowerment of participants in the sense of their capability to identify techniques and approaches that are suitable for them in everyday life and their work. As final project results, we have developed the following Intellectual outputs in EN, BG, TR & NL languages:IO1: Principles, beliefs and role of the inclusive education ambassadors guideExtra outputs:Annex I: CONSOLIDATED SURVEY RESULTSAnnex II: DISTANCE INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19 (exclusive additional result prepared as support to teacher during COVID-19 pandemic) IO2: Handbook “How to strengthen the implementation of the inclusive education at mainstream schools?” IO3: Guide for setting up and delivery of cross-school peer support IO4: Mobile app for blended learning and cross-school networking and communication They are freely accessible via:- https://inclusive-ambassadors.eu/elearning- Google Play - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inclusiveambassadors.mobile

CONTEXT - Prevalence of students with autistic spectrum conditions (ASC) varies in European countries, from 4.4 - 19.7 per 1,000, aged 7-9 years.The UK Govt. autism strategy - ‘Fulfilling and rewarding lives’ (2014) has a particular focus on promoting innovation in service provision. Legislation provides for new duties and services including a disability support system that covers education (e.g., the ‘Children and Families Act 2014’).Up to 71% of students with ASC attend mainstream schools, and it is important to provide them with an environment adjusted to their needs, and free of any emotional trauma. However, research shows that mainstream schools are frequently fully neither educated nor equipped to deal with the needs of an autistic child, and give the necessary support. Without individualised support, it is highly unlikely that a pupil with ASC will make the academic and social progress that they should.60% of the teachers in England do not feel they have had the adequate training to teach children with autism, and that this situation is not improving (‘Ambitious About Autism’). 40% of children with ASC have been bullied (Autism Education Trust). A staggering 70% of parents are not satisfied with the level of understanding of autism in their child’s school.‘Autism Europe’ states that Education must be adapted, to allow: assessment to determine needs and strengths, fully informing and involving families, training to help pre-empt or manage challenging behaviour, individual education and support plans, opportunities to learn skills and engage in socially inclusive situations, and education and support to help prevent secondary consequences of their difficulties such as anxiety disorders and depression.OBJECTIVESTo address these challenges, our project will transfer and further refine an innovative AI-driven tool to help teachers, support staff, parents and carers to better understand the behavioural and cognitive processes related to the emotional state of students with ASC in classrooms. Research has shown that engagement increases when activities are tailored to personal needs and learners’ emotional states, and that effectiveness of the learning process is directly correlated with learners' engagement in learning activities. Our innovative digital tool will infer the level of engagement of students with autism, and predict and pre-empt ‘meltdown’ moments. Teachers, support staff, parents and carers can then use this information (presented via a well-designed dashboard) to:•Provide personalised learning pathways and support according to the specific needs of each child with autism.•Improve the understanding of autism both within school, and in the wider community.•Provide a learning environment free of emotional trauma. •Increase the likelihood that students with autism will make the academic and social progress that they should.•Decrease incidents of challenging behaviour, leading to improved mental wellbeing of individual students, and decreasing instances of absenteeism and bullying.•Improve access to teaching of academic, independent living, adaptive behaviours and social skills.•Help prevent secondary consequences of their difficulties such as anxiety disorders and depression.METHODS and RESULTS: Using mobile devices, the level of engagement in learning activities of students with autism, and their behavioural characteristics can be assessed in a non-intrusive manner using sensor data such as eye gaze, body posture and movements. Labels to train machine learning algorithms to predict engagement and challenging behaviour will be applied to these data, gathered by working with students with autism throughout the schools in our partnership. Once trained, our innovative user-friendly AI-tool (IO2/App) will allow teachers, parents, and carers to personalise learning based on individual needs, and pre-empt challenging behaviour. This App will be supported by an Online Database of latest autism-related methods (IO1), a Handbook (IO4) and a Pedagogical Framework (IO5) acting as a 'blueprint' for school staff to optimally introduce AI technology into their classrooms.CONTEXT - target groups & numbers- Teachers, teaching assistants, and special education needs coordinators in mainstream education, inclusive settings, and special educational settings (30/country).- Beneficiaries: students with ASC, and their families (100 in total).- Stakeholders: policy makers, pedagogical experts, schools, school authorities and their umbrella structures all over Europe. Service providers supporting students with ASC; Local education authorities at all levels, Associations for teachers and teacher unions.IMPACT - personalised learning solutions tailored according to the needs of students with autism, increased likelihood of academic and social progress, improved mental webbing - fewer incidents of challenging behaviour, and decreased absenteeism, smoother transition to the world of work.