The partners in the project "Inclusion-Friendly Classroom: The ICF as a Problem Solving Tool for the Team around the Child in Educational Settings" are driven by the goal of elevating the quality of education through heightened focus on participation goals and fostering inclusion and equity. The consortium actively creates connections between different sectors involved in the education of students/pupils with disabilities (SwD) by introducing the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and implementing team-teaching methods. The specific objectives designed to realize the project's overarching goal include: • Enhancing the skills of educators to adopt a common ability-based and participation-focused language through the use of ICF. • Increasing participation goal orientation and inclusiveness in the classroom through the implementation of an ICF evaluation tool. • Promoting teamwork within the "team around the family." • Facilitating inclusion by encouraging reflective self-learning among teachers to improve teaching processes.
The partners found that despite the commitment of North Macedonia's government to prioritize and improve inclusion in education, challenges persisted. Lack of institutional capacity and mechanisms, and discriminatory attitudes among stakeholders were some of them. Teachers referred to lack of skills and knowledge on inclusion, scarcity of methodologies, didactic materials and resources. WHO’s International Classification of Functioning (ICF), offering a functional understanding of health, was seen as a possible solution. It proved to foster participation, provide a goal-oriented planning tool for teachers, and allow for a full engagement of the "team around the family”. Our partners brought knowledge, skills, and experience in inclusion, the ICF, and education of students with disabilities. Recognizing the disparities and challenges, project aimed to contribute to fostering inclusion, increasing education quality, and creating synergies between different sectors by introducing the ICF and providing team-teaching methods. The project addressed the need to address the developmental situations of SwD using a common language, fostering cooperation in relevant school teams, and providing concrete methodologies for inclusive education.