Inclusive Policy and Academic Achievements in Mathematics of Student with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in Republic of Serbia

Abstract

One mechanism for evaluating educational systems for inclusion is through academic outputs of students who are taught in either segregated or inclusive setting. The goal of the research was to examine and compare the academic achievement in Mathematics of students with special education needs (SEN) in the fifth and sixth grade (11-12 years old students) in different educational settings in the Republic of Serbia. In this study, 175 students from 11 special and 7 regular schools participated in the research. Assessment results demonstrated statistically significant differences achievement for students in sixth grade in special schools compared to students with SEN in the same classes of regular schools. At fifth grade level there was no statistical difference between the students in special and regular schools. We discuss possible reasons why differences may or may not exist, including distinguishing between inclusion and integration as well as sociohistorical differences in grade levels.