Introduction
In 1977, the Italian government passed Law 517. This closed all special schools, units and other non-inclusive provisions. This law is still in force and subsequent amendments have strengthened the inclusive nature of the Italian education system (Cornoldi et al 1998). Not only did this close segregated educational facilities for children with a range of disabilities, but it also removed the possibility of exclusion from school as a corrective sanction. A paper prepared after 20 years of inclusion reported strong support in the teaching profession (Cornoldi et al 1998).
In British schools, permanent exclusion is rare (< 1%), but is often justified as being a way of protecting the vast majority of students in a school or a way of accessing services for troubled and troublesome pupils. However, the efficacy of this process is highly questionable as the educational outcomes for excluded children are very poor.
If the Italian Law 517 operates as it was intended in 1977, Italy will be most unusual in having a genuinely inclusive education system.
This project seeks to answer four simple questions:
- Is the Italian education system genuinely inclusive, with exclusion not being used for corrective purposes?
- What are the processes for addressing difficult and challenging behaviour in Italian schools?
- What have been the results of a totally inclusive education system for children with challenging behaviour?
- Are there elements of the Italian system which can illuminate educational practice in the UK?