Inclusive education is a principle that numerous international and national bodies promote (European Commission, 2021; Ministry of Education - 2023). The benefits of inclusive education extend to the entire school community but also beyond it at a societal level (Kart & Kart, 2021). Romania has also adopted the legal framework for educational inclusion nationally, aligning with European and international recommendations (Ministry of Education, 2023). However, Romanian educational research reported disparities in concepts, policy implementation, challenges related to attitudes, or teacher training in inclusive education (Jurca et al., 2024).

Inclusive Education (IE) is a dynamic concept oscillating between individualized learning and standardized system expectations (Kohout-Daz, 2023). Inclusive education addresses all children, ensuring their access and participation in education, regardless of their particularities, and considering their individual needs (Ministry of Education, 2023). The barriers to school inclusion identified in Romanian research refer to teacher preparation, stereotypes, labelling, physical and financial barriers, and negative attitudes (Marin & Vrăsmaș, 2019). The vulnerability of the IE process in Romania is associated with a high level of discomfort and uncertainty among teachers about integrating children with SEN (Gherguț, 2020). Romanian teachers still need continuous training in inclusive education, mainly focused on inclusive practices (Ionescu & Vrăsmaș, 2024).

Studying teachers' perceptions is essential to understanding which aspects of inclusion are well implemented and which require improvement. Thus, recommendations based on scientific evidence can be made for inclusive educational policies and for increasing the level of inclusivity in schools at the local level. Research highlighting the development and implementation of IE in Romanian schools is needed (Ionescu & Vrăsmaș, 2024). It is also important to assess teachers' perceptions of implementing IE in schools (Van Mieghem et al., 2018).

This research is based on Booth & Ainscow's (2016) understanding of inclusive education, operationalized in the Index for Inclusion (IfI) (Booth & Ainscow, 2016). The IfI refers to the whole process of providing equal access to education for all children and young people, which aligns with the concept of 'schools for all' (Booth & Ainscow, 2016). Developing inclusive cultures, policies, and practices are the three dimensions of IfI that can contribute to improving a more inclusive school environment. By analyzing inclusive policies, practices, and cultures, the index acts diagnostically as a basis for concrete action in institutional development. Schools in different countries engaging in activities based on the index have reported a deeper understanding of inclusion and observed improvements in school development (Nes, 2009).

Applying IE in practice poses numerous challenges due to its abstract nature and the lack of a transparent, accepted approach for school-wide implementation (Nilholm, 2020). Research has been exploring how educational systems can become more inclusive by investigating both the instruments and interventions that could determine the development of school inclusiveness (Ewe & Galvin, 2023). In Romania, few studies analyze inclusive education from the perspective of the school's level of inclusivity.

This research aims to identify teachers' perceptions of school inclusiveness, focusing on the opportunities and challenges of implementing inclusive education in Romanian schools. The results obtained can contribute to proposing inclusive educational policies at the national level and providing culturally specific evidence to international research.

Using an explanatory, non-experimental design, this study aimed to investigate teachers' perceptions regarding the implementation of IE in Romanian schools. General research question: What is the perception of the teachers regarding implementing inclusive education in Romania? Specific research questions: Q1: From the perspective of teachers, what are the strongest elements of inclusion in Romanian schools? Q2: From the perspective of teachers, what are the challenges of inclusion in Romanian schools? Instrument The IfI (Booth & Ainscow, 2016) is an instrument for assessing school inclusion and has become one of the most widely utilized resources in the evaluation of inclusive education (Velez-Calvo et al., 2018). It comprises three dimensions (policies, practices, and inclusive culture), each with two sub-dimensions, resulting in six factors. IfI was culturally adapted and validated for the Romanian population, serving as a quantitative measure to assess the degree of inclusion. The IfI demonstrated its validity as a quantitative measure for assessing school inclusion in the Romanian context (χ2=9156.274, CFI=.99, IFI=.99, RMSEA=.064, SRMR=.035). The final version of the Romanian IfI consisted of 64 items and an additional 12 demographic questions. Procedure IfI was distributed through e-mail in a convenient recruitment process followed by snowballing procedures to teachers and educational managers, A total of 125 teachers with managerial positions and 964 teachers with varied specializations actively participated in this study. The Friedman test was applied to determine whether statistically significant differences exist between the rankings of the analyzed items within each dimension based on teachers' perceptions. We defined the items with the two highest rankings as the perceived strengths of inclusion and those with the two lowest rankings as the perceived challenges.

The results revealed that, in the perception of teachers in Romania, the strongest points in school inclusion are accommodating new pupils, accepting all, and working to remove barriers to participation in the educational process. Another strong point is that teachers in Romania focus on curriculum topics such as health, relationships, and environmental education and encourage student participation in extracurricular activities. All students need to be prepared to lead fulfilling and healthy lives. In addition, the analysis carried out revealed some challenges in terms of less developed inclusive aspects in schools. The first challenge relates to diversity training and teaching in IE. Training programs in IE should aim at teachers teaching and learning inclusive practices. Accepting diversity, especially gender diversity, is more difficult to achieve in Romanian culture. The second challenge identified is coordinating support services. Less emphasis is placed on teacher collaboration and tailoring tasks to individual needs, indicating a mismatch between overall curricular goals and personalized learning practices. Teacher training courses are needed to build on a culture of collaboration and cooperation within the multidisciplinary team and case management. These results show that teachers need to work on policy aspects and practices, to develop inclusive cultures in the school (Ainscow, 2020). Professional training programs in inclusive education should emphasize collaboration not only in the multidisciplinary team for students with SEN but also in teaching, beyond exceptional cases, so that collaboration and synchronization of educational actions is a habit that leads to progress in student achievement. Individualization and differentiation in teaching should again be applied not only to students with SEN but to all students as an element of adapting teaching to the needs of students. The present results can serve as a benchmark for educational programs that contribute to developing inclusive schools.

Ainscow, M. (2020). Inclusion and equity in education: Making sense of global challenges. Prospects 49, 123–134. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-020-09506-w Booth, T., & Ainscow, M. (2016). The Index for Inclusion: a guide to school development led by inclusive values. Index for Inclusion Network. ISBN 978-0-9935122-0-9 European Commission. (2021). Union of Equality: Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030. European Union. https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1484&langId=en Ewe, L.P. & Galvin, T. (2023). Universal Design for Learning across Formal School Structures in Europe – A systematic Review. Education Sciences, 13, 867. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13090867 Gherguț, A. (2020). School Inclusion and Education of Children with Special Needs in Romanian Educational System; Analytical Study. Journal Plus Education, 25, 1/2020, 68-79. Ionescu, D., & Vrăsmaș, E. (2024). Training needs analysis for inclusive education. Journal of Pedagogy, LXXII(1), 193-222. https://doi.org/10.26755/RevPed/2024.1/193 Jurca, A., Lustrea, A., & Borca, C. (2024). Perceptions of educational managers and teachers on the implementation of inclusive education in Romanian schools. Podstawy Edukacji, 17, 161–190. https://doi.org/10.16926/pe.2024.17.12 Kart, A., & Kart, M. (2021). Academic and Social Effects of Inclusion on Students without Disabilities: A Review of the Literature. Education Sciences, 11(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11010016 Kohout‐Diaz, M. (2023). Inclusive education for all: Principles of a shared inclusive ethos. European Journal of Education, 58(2), 185–196. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12560 Marin, E., & Vrăsmaș, E. (2019). Nevoia de formare a cadrelor didactice pentru a face față sistemului educațional incluziv. Educația, prin lentila echității: Studii și cercetări doctorale de la Conferința Națională ”Acces și Participare la Educație”, 115. Ministry of Education. (2023). Pre-university Education Law No. 198/2023. https://edu.ro/sites/default/files/_fi%C8%99iere/Minister/2023/Legi_educatie_Romania_educata/legi_monitor/Legea_invatamantului_preuniversitar_nr_198.pdf Nes, K. (2009). The Role of the Index for Inclusion in Supporting School Development in Norway: a comparative perspective. Research in Comparative and International Education, 4(3), 305-320. http://dx.doi.org/10.2304/rcie.2009.4.3.305 Nilholm, C. (2020). Research about inclusive education in 2020 – How can we improve our theories in order to change practice? European Journal of Special Needs Education, 36(3), 358-370, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2020.1754547 Van Mieghem, A., Verschueren, K., Petry, K. & Struyf, E. (2018). An analysis of research on inclusive education: a systematic search and meta review, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 24 (6), 675–689. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1482012 Vélez Calvo, X., Tárraga Mínguez, R., Fernández Andrés, M. I., Pastor Cerezuela, G., & Peñaherrera Vélez, M. J. (2018). El Index for inclusion como herramienta para valorar la inclusión en la educación primaria. In VI Encuentro Latinoamericano de Metodología de las Ciencias Sociales (Ecuador, 7 al 9 de noviembre de 2018).