Moving towards inclusive education in Cyprus?

Within the last decade, the government of Cyprus has encouraged and supported the education of children assessed as having special needs into the mainstream educational system. With the existing arrangements, however, many pupils who experience difficulties within schools (and many of those are pupils who have been integrated from special schools) are marginalized or even excluded from teaching. This paper looks at the existing arrangements of special education in Cyprus by analysing local practice to identify barriers to inclusion, to consider ways of improving schools and classrooms in relation to policy-making, and to see how to go forward towards inclusive education. Using four stories from the author's involvement with one school, and reflecting on them, the author presents what was seen as barriers to providing more inclusive education.