When talking about social inclusion, one can distinguish between two basic target perspectives: 1. Inclusion into sport Inclusion into sport focuses primarily on the introduction of under-represented, vulnerable groups to sport and the facilitation of the capacity to act within sport. This mainly concerns: - Sport for people with disabilities – Gender equality in and through sports – Inclusion of migrants and other disadvantaged groups in and through sports 2. Inclusion through sport Athletic processes that empower individuals by allowing them to gain experience and acquire skills, which they can apply to other social contexts, such as schools, workplaces and communities, etc.

1. Possibilities of social inclusion through ESSD
Gelly Aroni, Ph.D, EUPEA
Elementary School of Intercultural Education Athens, Greece

2. New challenges for education in times
of social change
If education is “the instrument both of the all-rounded development
of the human person and of that person’s participation in social life”
(UNESCO 1992:4), any major socio-political changes will
inevitably stimulate discussion – sometimes heated and
controversial – about the validity of the foundations and basic
assumptions of education. These discussions might cover such
issues as our concept of “humanity” or an “educated person” and
the skills essential for preparing young people for life. Eventually,
the discussion will lead to the revision or replacement of major
components of the framework of education (for example
educational objectives, values, attitudes and competencies) and the
ways in which they are to be put into practice in teaching and
learning.

3. The current socio-political situation
Societal changes have been underway in recent decades in Europe and
Worldwide:
These changes manifest themselves generally as long-term socio-political
processes with great dynamic force. They include:
– the globalization of finance and the economy, of work and recreation, with its
impact creating worldwide dependencies and uniform ways of life and lifestyles;

4. – rapidly increasing private and professional mobility;
– the expansion of migration, which in many countries has led to the
development of new minority groups in addition to already existing
ones.

5. These processes can create all kinds of social tensions and conflicts.
The increased interconnectedness and mobility – be it for work, pleasure
or for economic and political reasons– also bring ever more people in
closer physical and virtual contact with the Other (people from different
nations, cultures, ethnic groups and religions) and has an impact on the
way we see ourselves and the way we perceive the others.

6. Europe is in the second year of its biggest migration crisis since World War II.
The number of asylum seekers arriving at the EU borders is unparalleled in
recent times. In 2015 more than a million first-time asylum applications were
submitted in EU countries. The conflict in Syria continues to be by far the
biggest driver of migration. But the ongoing violence in Afghanistan and Iraq,
abuses in Eritrea, as well as poverty in Kosovo, are also leading people to look
for new lives elsewhere.

7. The role of education in current times
There is a real urgency – in many aspects of our lives – for education, which
can help citizens live together in our diverse societies. For this reason we all
need to develop intercultural competences. The ability to understand each other
across all types of cultural barriers is a fundamental prerequisite for making our
diverse democratic societies work. Practically, this means the development of
core transversal attitudes, skills and knowledge by every individual in order to be
able to live in and contribute to sustainable democratic societies.

8. Change in education comes sluggishly: the process of curricular
development is one that customarily mirrors societal change. We can
expect that it will take time for schools to change the content of
teaching and the methods employed to teach youngsters, but that
should not lead us to think that we cannot act while we anticipate
substantial changes in education policy.

9. Creativity can be employed in finding how an educator can contribute, in a
holistic way, through the content of teaching and through the
pedagogical methods employed, to the development of democratic
competences. The Council of Europe has identified and been working on
five different areas of competences for democracy:
► diversity and empathy: refers to intercultural competences and
mutual understanding;
► co-operation and participation: refers to the individual and group
efforts necessary for working together;
► human rights and equity: refers to aspects of social justice, anti-
discrimination and equal rights;
► knowledge construction and epistemology: refers to the way we
think about knowledge;
► self and interaction: refers to awareness of self in relation to the other.

10. Physical education for the development of
democratic competences
Physical education can provide an effective means
for the development of democratic competences.
Through carefully designed activities and practices
sport can provide opportunities to:
meet and communicate with other people; to
take different social roles; to learn particular
social skills and develop attitudes (such as
tolerance and respect for others); to adjust
to team/collective objectives (such as
cooperation and cohesion); With appropriate
methodologies physical education and sport
can have an important contribution to
processes of personality development and
psychological well-being.
Council of Europe report (Svoboda, 1994)

11. It is a celebration which provides the opportunity for schools to:
• Connect with other European countries
• Raise the profile of physical education (PE) and sport in schools
• Create fun and enjoyment through physical activity for young people
• Promote health and wellbeing for lifelong learning
• Empower social inclusion and develop social competence amongst
students.

12. School day: Sport and physical education teachers are the entering door to
turn the Day into a whole-school event. The toolkit makes this clear and
promotes the so-called whole-school approach when it takes into account
different stakeholders as:
“School life is not only what takes place in the classrooms but also non-formal
learning, such as extracurricular activities and school events. The school
involves all of its members, not only pupils and teachers, but also parents,
school leadership, support staff and other “stakeholders” such as the local
community.

13. •Programmatically speaking, a whole school approach can refer to the
potential inclusion of all members of a school community
“…The more the school as a whole is involved in the organizing process, the
more successful and progressive the event would be and the better a good
atmosphere could be created. It is related with the contribution of the
stakeholders outside of school (involving parents is very important), which
indicates many collaborating opportunities with the school”.
A whole school approach serves as a prerequisite for the empowerment of
social inclusion and development of social competence amongst
students

14. When talking about social inclusion, one can distinguish between two basic
target perspectives:
1. Inclusion into sport
Inclusion into sport focuses primarily on the introduction of under-
represented, vulnerable groups to sport and the facilitation of the
capacity to act within sport. This mainly concerns:
- Sport for people with disabilities
– Gender equality in and through sports
– Inclusion of migrants and other disadvantaged groups in and
through sports

15. 2. Inclusion through sport
Athletic processes that empower individuals by allowing them to gain
experience and acquire skills, which they can apply to other social
contexts, such as schools, workplaces and communities, etc.

16. The annex of the toolkit

17. Planning
-creating activities and equipment - stations, venues
Give children specific criteria and guidelines for these in order to fulfill the
inclusion requirement. Develop their awareness and sensitization of:
1. the diversity in the student population in terms of age, gender, religion,
culture, physical skills, preferences, abilities and disabilities.

18. It is important that sport and physical activities are carried out in a
manner that makes all participants feel comfortable and
secure. Being physically active comes naturally to some people,
but to others it may be linked with various
negative feelings. For example, a person with poor hand-eye
coordination may not be comfortable with games involving
throwing and catching a ball. A person who is not physically fit
may not feel good about exercising with others who are. A person
who was harassed in school during gym classes may be scared to
participate.

19. 2. the diversity of sport physical activities:
The terms ‘sport’ and ‘physical activity’ have different meanings in various
contexts. The word ‘sport’ often makes us think of games such as football,
basketball or tennis. It is usually associated with competition, tournaments and
rules. However for ESSD we can use a broader, internationally accepted concept
of sport as a starting point: Sport encompasses a wide range of human motives
for being physically active. Competition is one motivation, but being physically
healthy, forming relationships, having a sense of belonging, feeling joy, relaxing,
taking a break from everyday worries, having an adventure and being challenged
are equally valid reasons for being physically active.

20. Examples of activities may include:
1. Adapted international sport games
3. Local sport and traditional games
4. Multicultural games
5. Group movement games or cooperative
games
6. Dance

21. Cooperative games

22. Preparation
-promoting the event
-setting the stations taking into consideration accessibility to all and of any
religious or culturally related regulations with respect to girls/women or migrant
groups.

23. 1. Was there representation of all
students in ESSD (whether it is in
planning, preparation etc.)
2. Were specific sport pedagogic
concepts and methods used in the
preparation of ESSD which
promoted social inclusion?
3. Were there possibilities for
students to improve and practice
social and personal skills (e.g. self-
esteem, language and
communication skills) during the
ESSD?
- preparing for the evaluation and
communication tasks including, also,
specific criteria - both quantitative and
qualitative - for inclusion. For example:

24. Implementing
-taking part in the event
Opening and Closing ceremonies are included as they provide a great
opportunity for the different talents and groups of the school
- taking photos, making videos that are representative of the inclusion issue
meaning that they include elements of all the participating groups, possible
adaptation and additions in order to meet the requirements for it.

27. Evaluating and Monitoring
- helping to create questionnaires
- taking part in conducting researches about the event
- taking part in creating follow-up feedbacks

28. Communication
-creating reports, articles, photos, videos
about the event
- introducing the younger students the
organizational know-how of such events
The mentioned tasks are for mainly older
pupils, because these tasks indicate
responsibility, critical thinking and
communication skills. But the younger
generation will always have the more
adequate way of using social media.

29. So we can rely on them on documenting the event, creating articles,
updating the FB page, or post follow-ups in twitter. Special attention
can be placed here also to both quantity and quality of the accounts as
they should be representative of the effort to integrate the issue of
social inclusion.

30. Physical activity and social recreational sport provide value by
themselves for each of us taking part. But utilizing the situations
and settings of sport and physical activity for learning and social
processes adds a valuable dimension– in fact, it adds both value
and values.

31. Thank you