2019 Vol. 11 №1

In this study, we examine the current state and prospects of inclusive education for learners with special needs and disabilities in the countries of the Baltic region (Poland, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Norway, and Russia). We present a SWOT analysis of the development of inclusive education in different countries and analyse its strengths and weaknesses, risks, threats, and challenges from a political, economic, and technological perspective. In our analysis, we dissociate the issue of inclusive education from the problem of teaching learners with disabilities and examine the political, economic, social, and technological aspects of the environment that affect the educational situation of learners with disabilities. We consider inclusive education in the context of the documents of the Euro­pean Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education — an active educational institution that facilitates the preparation and adaptation of all learners to life in complex multicultural and integrated societies through rights, freedom, tolerance, and non-discrimination of per­sons with disabilities. Our analysis of inclusive education trends relies on the assessment of the goals and objectives, accessibility, and socio-cultural and economic feasibility of inclu­sive educational systems. We stress political, socio-cultural, and technological differences in practices, dynamics, and prospects for inclusive education in the Baltic region countries and Russia.

The South-East Baltic is a meeting place of three branches of Christianity: Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Lutheranism. Dominant in the Baltic region, these religious confessions define the cultural landscape of the area. At the same time, they have an indirect effect on socio-economic development. In this study, we aim to identify the main components of the territorial structure and the formation and transformation factors of the denominational space in the South-East Baltic. The complexity of the denominational structure of the local population stems from the centuries-long position of this region as a political buffer zone. We calculate the potential denominational structure and the potential religious fractionalisation index at the level of basic territorial units and regions southeast of the Baltic Sea. Based on this, we identify the main components of the territorial structure of the denominational space, which includes three denominational shields and contact zones between them. From a practical viewpoint, these components suggest a new variant of the territorial differentiation of the Baltic region. This variant has only limited relevance to ethnic and socioeconomic zoning.

The Pârâul Pețea Nature Reserve is located in Bihor County (Romania), in the area of the Băile-Felix rural tourist system. It has gained international popularity due to the existence of an ecosystem with thermal waters. Thermal springs are the habitat of rare fauna (Scardinius racovitzai, Melanopsis parreyssi) and flora species including the unique Nymphaea lotus var. thermalis, a tertiary relict lotus flower. Situated on the Hel Peninsula of the Baltic Sea, Hel Marine Station (HMS) is one of the most interesting tourist attractions thanks to the project aimed at the protection of the grey seal in the Polish waters. We employed a number of tools and methods (including observation and monitoring) over a period of three years for the creation of a comprehensive database. We studied the actual condition of separate elements of the two tourist systems and compared the two tourist destinations. We identified differences and similarities between the two places. The lotus flower and the grey seal have become an integral part of the local, national and international collective mentality. Special attention was paid to the causes of almost total extinction of rare species despite being indispensable elements in the promotion and rebranding of the two tourist destinations. We explored the degree of knowledge and the awareness of their value in the local mentality.