This paper sets out to examine the attitudes, views, and opinions of parents towards inclusion in England and Cyprus drawing upon data derived from questionnaire and focus group interviews. It reports on an on-going comparative study which is being undertaken in four primary schools – two in each country – as part of the Active Inclusion for Sustaining Communities Project (Lifelong Learning Programme, Comenius). 

Inclusion has gained momentum in recent years both in England and Cyprus. In England, Booth and Ainscow (2011) define inclusion as a ‘principled approach to the development of education and society’, which is ‘linked to democratic participation within and beyond education’ (p.20). In Cyprus, inclusion is primarily concerned with educational provision for children who have been identified as having special educational needs in mainstream settings (Mamas, 2011). This is affirmed by the respective piece of legislation passed in 1999 which was implemented in 2001 (Law 113(I)/99).

Much of the research in the field of inclusive education focused on the involvement, views, and attitudes of parents whose children have been identified as having special educational needs (Elkin, et al., 2003; Bryer, et al., 2004; Phtiaka, 2006). Teachers’ views and attitudes with regards to inclusion have also received a considerable attention (Avramidis & Norwich, 2002). However, the views and attitudes of parents whose children have not been identified as having special educational needs have remained relatively unexplored. This is not to say that parents of children who have been identified as such have been excluded from the study. All parents within the schools have been invited to participate in the research. The attitudes of parents are seen as crucial in the inclusion debate. It is very likely that inclusion will be more successful if parents are positive about it. Therefore, this study aims to understand and examine parental attitudes and views towards inclusion in the four participating mainstream primary schools in the two countries. As a result, the main research question that drives the research is:

- What are the attitudes, views and opinions of parents in England and Cyprus towards inclusion?  

The relationship between England and Cyprus is unique as until 1960 Cyprus was a British colonial state. As Liasidou (2008) maintains, Cyprus is a context that assimilates, to a great extent, policies and practices from other dominant contexts; especially from the UK. Persianis (1996) has pointed out that the practice of ‘borrowing’ policies from the British colonial education has immensely affected the post-colonial legislative and social structures of the island. In terms of inclusive education, Phtiaka (1999) argues that it is clear that the 1999 Education Act (Law 113(I)/99) has been strongly influenced by British educational philosophy and legislation, especially from the late 1970s and early 1980s, namely the Warnock Report of 1978 and the Education Act of 1981.

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