Inclusive education is more than the process of solving students' problems that fall outside the school system, it gives equal prospects to all students, regardless of their ability, needs, age, sex, ethnicity, knowledge, or status. According to this strategy, every student at any stage of his /her studies may need additional support (except special educational needs) conditioned by other various factors that also need to be evaluated and clarified in the educational process implementation (Farrell, 2002). Like many countries worldwide, during the past 20 years, the Republic of Armenia has undertaken the solution of difficult, long-lasting resources requiring the subject of inclusive education by applying appropriate educational and legislative reforms (No. 370-N Order of the Minister of Education and Science, 2017; UN CRPD, 2016; RA Law on General Education 2009).

Educational reforms, first of all, suggest the adoption of relevant educational policies by upholding certain problematic issues in the field. While this process besides the positive changes causes various problematic issues (Harutyunyan, Hovyan, Saratikyan, Azatyan, Muradyan, & Tanajyan, 2019).

According to the N18 Protocol Decision of the RA Government on 18.02.2016 on the approval of Action Plan and schedule of the introduction of Full Inclusive Education system, since 2016 introduction actions of Full Inclusive Education System have been implemented in Armenia with the necessary costs for the outline of this system and the implementation of the curriculum, and with the means provided by the state budget. Point 9 of Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) stresses the fact that in-depth modification of educational systems legislation, policy and funding, management, delivery, and education monitoring mechanisms are must prerequisites of inclusive education. Still, from this point of view, legislative changes regarding full inclusion may be controversial in the sense that relevant actions were not conducted and a sufficient environment was not created. In this regard, the issue highlighted in point 11 of Article 24 of UN CRPD is noteworthy that “inclusion of students with disabilities in mainstream school without constructive changes, such as organizing programs and learning strategies, isn’t considered inclusion”. In addition, integration does not mechanically guarantee to pass towards inclusion through segregation. It can be assumed that the need for unifying education of children with special educational needs in the turning point of the current educational reforms for the Republic of Armenia, implies accessibility to education for all aimed at meeting diverse needs of children.

According to the N6 Protocol Decision of the RA Government on 18.02.2016 on the approval of the Action Plan and schedule of the introduction of the Full Inclusive Education system, the number of pedagogical and psychological assistance services in schools has been reduced by the average annual number of students in need of special education. This responsibility was relocated to the newly created regional pedagogical-psychological support centers.

Based on new legislation, the position of a teacher’s assistant was established with quite diverse responsibilities (1391-N Decision of RA Government, 14.10.2010, Description XIV) which don’t correspond to the content of the work performed by them. This issue becomes more worrying when it becomes obvious that the majority of teachers' assistants lack professional education and corresponding skills and knowledge to work with children with diverse needs (Harutyunyan, Hovyan, Saratikyan, Azatyan, Muradyan, & Tanajyan, 2019).

Based on all mentioned above the aim of this study is to understand the benefits and weaknesses of legislative changes within the scope of inclusive education in Armenia. Thus the research question is formulated: How can you define inclusive education in school from the perspective of reform and real situations in the field?

Narrative inquiry has been used as a methodology within the frame of current qualitative research. This approach is based on the stories of research participants, and these stories themselves convert the raw data (Wang & Geale, 2015). In this study, this approach has been used to learn more about the benefits and weaknesses of legislative changes within the scope of inclusive education from the perception of teachers working with children with diverse needs in schools (Tavush, Lori, Syunik regions in Armenia). In-depth interviews have been carried out with teachers and teacher assistants. The questions of in-depth interviews were developed based on the current legislative changes. A total of four questions were defined. All interviews were organized in schools, after obtaining prior approval from school principals and teachers. A random sample method from a larger population was used in order to have a representative sample of the larger group and less likely to be subject to bias (Cherry, 2020). As a total, 51 in-depth interviews (17 in each region, including urban and rural areas) were conducted with 30 teachers - participants of the research and 21 teacher assistants (n=51; T=30; TA=21), with the duration of 30-40 minutes. The data collection process lasted 3 months. The thematic analysis method was used to analyze the qualitative data generated from the interview transcripts (Caulfield, 2019). Once the recorded interviews were transcribed, the reading and re-reading process has started which ended on marking the particular messages and citations of the participants connected to the questions, and afterward, the final themes were generated.

The findings of the current research are indicated by the followings themes: 1. Inclusive education is implemented partially. 2. Social and environmental conditions are non-inclusive, nor friendly. 3. The law and reality are incompatible. 4. Special schools are a necessity․ 5. The pedagogical team needs to recognize the functions of other specialists․ 6. Teachers' assistants have nursemaid duties. 7. Training and continuous attention might be a guarantee of a pledge of inclusiveness. 8. Visit of the specialist from regional pedagogical-psychological support centers is a positive circumstance with low effectiveness. Based on the research findings and summary, the recommendations have been provided to relevant structures (General Education System, Public sector, RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport). Describing findings connected to the existing situation related to full inclusion and the emerged issues in the Republic of Armenia accurately within the procedure of education system development and the preparation and transition to the full inclusion allows to state the need for: • organization of in-depth review of existing policies and legal decisions regarding full inclusive education, clarifying the requirements and conditions for full inclusive education in line with the practical arrangements and educational resources needed for the children with special educational needs in general; • provision and implementation of primary solutions related to the adaptation of the physical environment of the schools, as well as to the training of specialists and increase in their number and to the questions related to the expansion of their activities; • increase of public awareness regarding acting legislation and situation in school; • creating teacher’s assistant role model while working in class and in school life in general; • review the full inclusive education model adopted by the state offering alternative options for children with special educational needs having moderate and severe profound disabilities and their families.

1.Caulfield, J. (2019). How to do thematic analysis, Scribbr 2.Cherry, K. (2020). The Random Selection Experiment Method, Student Resources, Verywellmind. 3.Farrell, P. (ed.) (2002). Making special education inclusive. London: Fulton. 4.Harutyunyan, M., Hovyan, G., Saratikyan, L., Azatyan, T., Muradyan, S., Tanajyan, K. (2019). Evaluation of universal inclusion processes consistency in Tavush, Lori, and Syunik regions in the Republic of Armenia; Yerevan, 100p. 5.Order N 370-N of the RA Minister of Education and Science of April 13, 2017, on approving the procedure for providing pedagogical-psychological support services for the organization of education. 6.RA Government Session 18.02.2016 Protocol Decision No. 6 on approving the action plan and schedule for the implementation of the universal inclusive education system. 7.RA Government Decision 14.10.2010 N1391 on approving the list of positions of pedagogical staff of the general educational institutions implementing general programs and descriptions of the Republic of Armenia 8.RA Law on General Education (2009). 9.United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), 2016. 10.Wang, C.C., & Geale, S. K. (2015). The power of story: Narrative inquiry as a methodology in nursing research, International Journal of Nursing Sciences, Vol. 2, Issue 2, June, 195-198.