Inclusive education in the European Union: A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of education policy for autism

Figures & data

Figure 1. A representation of what a qualitative comparative analysis. Source: Adaptation of the illustration by Verweij (2015)

Table 1. The extent of autism policy present in European Union Member States

Autism Policy	Autism Strategy	General SEN Policy
Cyprus	Belgium-Flanders	Austria
England^1	France	Belgium-German community
Germany	Lithuania	Belgium-Wallonia
Luxembourg	Scotland^1	Czech Republic
Malta	Spain	Denmark
Northern Ireland^1	Wales^1	Estonia
Slovenia		Finland
		Germany-Bavaria
		Germany-Lower Saxony
		Germany-North Rhein Westphalia
		Germany-Saxony
		Hungary
		Latvia
		Netherlands
		Poland
		Slovakia
		Sweden

¹Exited the European Union after the data collection and analysis of this country was completed.

Table 2. Conditions and outcomes, descriptors and sources, and data calibration

Condition/Outcome	Calibration	Criteria	Abbreviation
Condition: Established definition of SEN	No (0), Yes (1)	Yes, if a definition of SEN is established through policy.	DefSEN
Condition: Right to education for children with SEN	No (0), Yes (1)	Yes, if the right to education for children with SEN is established through policy.	EduSEN
Condition: Support for teaching staff	None (0), Scarce (1), Elaborate (2)	Scarce support is indicated by either the presence of additional teacher training or supporting staff (e.g. teacher assistants); elaborate support is indicated by the presence of both those factors.	TeachSup
Condition: Support services for children with SEN	No (0), Yes (1)	Yes, if support services for children with SEN are established through policy.	SupServ
Condition: Inclusive education policies	No (0), Yes (1)	Yes, if policies specifically target the development of inclusive education.	IEP
Condition: Parental involvement	None (0), Passive (1), Active (2)	Passive parental involvement is characterized by only informing parents of the child’s progress in schools, while active involvement is a reciprocal relationship between schools and parents in order to optimize the learning environment for the child.	Parent
Condition: Individualized learning outcomes	No (0), Yes (1)	Yes, if there is a system in place that allows children with SEN to have an educational trajectory that deviates from the trajectory that typical children follow.	ILO
Condition: Mixed mainstream classes	No (0), Yes (1)	Yes, if children with SEN are admitted to mainstream classes in any form.	MMC
Outcome: Level of access to education	Exclusion (0), Segregation (1), Integration (2), Inclusion (3)	Exclusion refers to the situation in which children with SEN are barred from education entirely; segregation involves children with SEN being education in separate facilities; integration means that children with SEN able to follow mainstream education do so in combination with out-of-class support; and inclusion is defined by the systematic introduction of children with SEN in mainstream classrooms where they also receive the necessary support in that classroom.	AccEdu

Table 3. Necessary and sufficient causes for developing inclusive education

				Sufficient Conditions
Conditions		Necessary Conditions		Complex Solution
				1	2	3	4	5
Established definition of SEN				–	*	*
Support for teaching staff					*	*	*	*
General support services for children with SEN		*
Individualized learning outcomes					*		–	*
Parental involvement				*		–	–	*
Inclusive Education Policies				*	*	*	*	*
Mixed mainstream classes			*
Condition	Consistency	0.97	0.997	0.948	1	1	1	1
	Coverage	0.632	0.65	0.374	0.061	0.087	0.148	0.128
Solution	Consistency	0.966		0.811
	Coverage	0.652		0.691

Every column of sufficient causes is one separate causal pathway. The conditions in each pathway should be combined with a logical AND.