Exploring Educational Inclusion and School Segregation: New Perspectives from the Case Study of Romania

Abstract

The article discusses the relationship between school segregation and the inclusive education related goals, analysing auspices that could lead to the success of educational policies aimed at desegregating schools. It goes in depth with nuances necessary for understanding the school segregation phenomenon and mechanisms for monitoring school segregation as a public policy project stemming from the case of Romania. While previous studies on school segregation have focused on inter-school segregation (the distribution of students from various categories among different schools), we argue that it is equally important to consider the intra-school segregation side (i.e. segregation within the same school learning spaces). Relevant social context elements which are paramount for the success of desegregation policies are also discussed, such as the level of public support granted for such an educational policy, the impact of the "marketization" of educational services (degree of freedom in choosing educational services or the privatization thereof, etc.), awareness of the positive effects of school desegregation both from moral and economic perspective, and the necessity of ongoing monitoring of the phenomenon to prevent school re-segregation. The benefits of school desegregation are analysed from the perspective of different stakeholders, including parents of vulnerable students involved in schooling as well as parents of better-off students, placed at the top of the socioeconomic hierarchy. The conclusion we draw is that providing educational services in a desegregated manner is beneficial not only to society as a whole but also to each category of stakeholders considered separately. The article also suggests new future guidelines for researching and documenting school segregation.