Introduction to the STAIRS MOOC

The STAIRS project (Stakeholders Together Adapting Ideas to Readjust Local Systems to Promote Inclusive Education) aims to support national, regional, and local stakeholders who are working to promote inclusive education and training through a process of learning and adapting multi-agency initiatives based in other European countries. The STAIRS MOOC: Learn to do more - How to foster policy-related learning to achieve meaningful change towards inclusive education? aimed shine a light upon and promote social inclusion through education by documenting good practice exemplars which were particularly based upon multi-agency collaboration. This MOOC has been created by 7 institutions from Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal, and Slovenia within the STAIRS project (Stakeholders Together Adapting Ideas to Readjust Local Systems to Promote Inclusive Education). The MOOC takes the learner on a journey through modules that focus on policy and policy makers and the policy context of inclusion in education, schools and practitioners, vocational education, and special education initiatives. The MOOC also focuses on the impact of key agents of change such as policy makers, teachers, and other education practitioners in promoting and sustaining an inclusive ethos. The final part of the journey examines the task of change management and adapting initiatives at national, regional, and European level. The MOOC specifically examines the process of managing mindset change and explains the change management toolkit which was devised as part of the STAIRS project. The Change Management Toolkit (CMT) can be used by stakeholders who are interested in transforming education through multi-agency inclusive initiatives. Throughout the modules, a range of initiatives from Ireland and Portugal are used as exemplars of good practice. The modules plot their impact on tackling social and educational exclusion through multi-agency collaboration. It also explores how selected countries (Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia & Czechia) created their own national adaptation plans based on adapting elements of the Irish and Portuguese initiatives. It is hoped that by participating in the STAIRS MOOC, educators and policy makers will gain new knowledge and insights into the types of multi-agency collaboration that best promotes and sustains social and education inclusion for all citizens.

The STAIRS MOOC examines social inclusion measures targeted at marginalised and excluded communities and includes projects from pre-school to further education and training. Learners who engage with the STAIRS MOOC will gain insight from a wide variety of initiatives targeted at children and young people from marginalised backgrounds, those who are at risk of early school leaving or those who have left formal schooling without formal qualifications. There is also a focus on the link between early school leaving and SEN. The goal of the project is not only to document exemplars of good practice that address social exclusion and marginalisation, but also to find initiatives that fit target groups the best and which lend themselves to be adapted in another country. The project will document the planning that underpins the process of adapting an initiative, taking into consideration different policy, education, and national contexts. The adaption plans will document not only the process of adapting initiatives but will also serve as a basis of upscaling project results to other countries in Europe. Engaging with the MOOC will enable the learner to explore how the STAIRS project designed activities to support the development of country adaption plans. They will be guided through this process and will gain insight into the types of knowledge sharing that is required to extend inclusive practices beyond country borders. It provides a general framework for replicating and adapting education initiatives, whilst recognising specific national, regional, and local contexts. It will also document the kinds of adjustments and modifications that must be made for successful adaption. It will also outline the types of policy changes that are required to ensure these education initiatives can be replicated as smoothly as possible in other European countries.

This document provides a detailed outline of each of the modules contained in the STAIRS MOOC. It documents for each module, the recommended ECT, and a brief overview of the aims and syllabus. It also outlines the learning outcomes and indicative study resources. The main body of the document provides the detail underpinning each lesson and associated assessments. It is hoped this document will be used a guide for academics, policy makers etc. when designing modules and/or courses on topics such as multi-agency partnership in education, inclusive education, adapting and upscaling educational initiatives, and change management. The following pages document the content underpinning each module. The module syllabus, learning outcomes, study resources and assessment are documented.

The whole document can be downloaded from here!