Įgalinančio ugdymo raiškos edukacinės įtraukties sąlygomis analizė

Author(s): Alvyra Galkienė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 1/2018

In the research, the empowerment strategy application efficiency is analysed in the context of the construct of inclusive education, taking into account that the application of an empowerment strategy in the education process often determines the nature of interpersonal interaction as well. The research question raised: in what manner does the application of empowerment strategy encourage inclusive education processes? The research was carried out by means of qualitative case study strategy. The object of analysis is the socio-educational experience of one class teacher. The data was collected via diary method. In her diary, the teacher reflects on her experiences in the following fields: education design, co-operation experiences, response to pupils’ needs, education process and environment, and curriculum. It was revealed that various activities of pupil empowerment in the education process (setting rules, autonomous formulation of goals, progressive problem solving, information sharing) serve as a basis for the realization of inclusive education and are directly linked to various dimensions of the construct of the given education system. The activation process of inclusive education values benefits from clearly defining the limits to interpersonal actions through systematic reflection on community situations, discussion on pupils’ creative activities, and involving pupils in solving problematic organizational issues within the community. Enabling pupils to continuously participate in solving matters of the learning community allows to avoid the indoctrination of values and creates conditions to internalize the values of community spirit and respect through the recognition of differences between community members as a natural phenomenon. Research results show that the construct of empowering education provides preconditions to involve the pupils into the activities of planning, implementing, and evaluating the education process. Conscious formulation of educational goals in the context of a learning community together with others, as well as taking decisions towards those goals accumulate energy needed to carry out activities and overcome problems, and provide encouragement to plan new, higher, goals. The research reveals that the following two types of empowerment principles are applied in the process of inclusive education: direct empowerment – positive generalizations; information presented openly; providing freedom to decide and accepting the decision; indirect empowerment – demonstrating the teacher’s interest; encouragement; creating conditions to look for solutions; teacher’s contribution to the pupil’s successful result; search for solutions in groups. In order to achieve the realization of inclusive education in schools, it is obligatory to shift from instruction oriented teaching of pupils to trust-based empowerment of the pupils to learn.

Vaikų nuostatos dėl integruotos kūno kultūros pamokos, kaip instrumento, validumas Lietuvoje

Author(s): Mindaugas Kavaliauskas,Kazimieras Pukėnas,Martin Block,Diana Rėklaitienė,Dovilė Selickaitė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 4/2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Children’s Attitudes Towards Integrated Physical Education – Revised (CAIPE-R), using a sample of the Lithuanian comprehensive school students. In the course of the survey, 1204 students from 5th8th grades from 14 comprehensive education schools were surveyed. During this study the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that CAIPE-LT instrument, which structural model consists of two factors, is suitable to analyse data. The CAIPE-LT instrument (α = 0.87; test-retest r = 0.81) and this instrument’s subscales (“General attitude” α = 0.86, test-retest r = 0.79; “Sport modification” α = 0.71, test-retest r = 0.77 ) are reliable. Based on the results we approve confirm that CAIPE-LT is a valid and reliable instrument. And this instrument is suitable to carry outa comprehensive study, which would reveal the attitudes of the Lithuanian comprehensive school students towards the inclusion of peers with physical disabilitiesinto physical education classes.

Įtraukusis ugdymas nuo ikimokyklinio ugdymo iki aukštosios mokyklos. Tęstinumo poreikis

Author(s): Dovilė Lisauskienė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 4/2018

The aim of the paper is to find out the state of continuity of inclusive education from schools to higher education institutions considering persons who are excluded. Inclusive education is discussed in the context of Paul Freire’s transformational education concept in order to emphasize the power of inclusion of higher education. According to Freire, education is never neutral; it either domesticates learners like pets or frees them up to construct their lives and social reality. Paulo Freire’s aim wasfor socially vulnerable persons not to be passive but to perceive their social environment and be able to change it themselves. In this context, inclusive education is understood as a power tool for persons who experience difficulty in managing their own lives. Thus, continuity of inclusive education from pre-school education to higher education has a positive impact on the person’s future life. The analysis of scientific literature focused on the contexts where accessibility is a prerequisite for the successful development of inclusive education. In realizing the concept of inclusive education, it is necessary to develop a culture of inclusive education: the values and the positive attitudes of educators, helping specialists, community members is considered to be a basis. This paper consists of three parts. After introduction, Part One presents the concept of inclusive higher education, based on the concept of transformational education by Paul Freire, and reveals its relationship with accessibility of higher education. Part Two highlights the problems and opportunities for inclusion of marginalized groups into higher education emphasizing the continuity of inclusive education. Part Three, based on the successful experiences of Ireland and Israel, examines whether the Inclusive Education Concept by Freire is realized.

Исследование потребностей педагогических коллективов школ в условиях институционализации инклюзивного образования слепых и слабовидящих

Author(s): Natalia Victorovna Nemirova,Vitaly Zorakhovich Kantor / Language(s): Russian Issue: 3/2020

Introduction. In the context of ongoing diversification of education for children with disabilities, including the blind and visually impaired, it is of fundamental importance to understand how institutionalization of inclusive education affects the key needs of school teaching staff working with children with special educational needs (SEN). The research undertaken in 2018 focused on studying the hierarchy and internal content of staffing, competency, methodological and professional communication needs of schools where children with severe visual impairments are taught in the context of building an institutional balance between differentiation and inclusion. Materials and Methods. The study was based on the content analysis. The texts of the following documents, which were published on the websites of 153 schools, where blind and visually impaired children are taught in an inclusive or differentiated format, were analyzed: the development strategy of the education setting, the results of self-assessment, and parent-teacher meeting reports. The subject of the analysis was the needs of education settings for new education professionals, for advanced training, continuing professional development and methodological support for teaching staff, as well as for enhancing their interaction within the professional community. The units of calculation were, respectively, the demand for new education professionals and their main fields of specialization, the desired topics and duration of professional development programmes for teaching staff, the desired formats of their support and issues relevant to professional and public discussions in various forms. Results. It has been established that in general, the key needs of school teaching staff providing training for blind and visually impaired children are the needs for advanced training (professional development programmes) and methodological support for currently working education professionals, which dominate over the needs for new personnel and for professional and social communication. At the same time, in terms of content, the need for advanced training appears, according to the obtained data, to be a request to create its personalized model, taking into account the digitalization of education and the institutionalization of inclusion. The content of the need for methodological support is determined by the tasks of implementing adapted educational programs, using information and distance technologies in teaching children with severe visual impairments. The need for personnel is associated, along with the retraining of the current employees, with the involvement of advanced specialists – defectologists (speech therapists), tutors, etc. Finally, the need for professional and social communication appears as a need for network partnerships, cooperation and exchange of experience in solving methodological problems of teaching the blind and visually impaired relying on various forms of joint activities for different categories of teachers. Moreover, the study revealed that the hierarchy of teaching staff needs and the nature of their combination varies depending on the school educational format for children with visual impairments and is mediated by the collective awareness of the specific problems of education for the blind and visually impaired. Teaching staff of schools where children with SEN are taught inclusively, to a lesser extent feel the need for methodological support of their activities and the need for communication with the professional community, rather than teaching staff of special schools for blind and visually impaired children, but at the same time as much more urgent feel the need for staff development. The staff members of those schools teaching blind and visually impaired children in the format of internal inclusion have a more pronounced need for new education professionals. Conclusions. The study showed that the institutionalization of inclusive education for children with severe visual impairments is a factor, on the one hand, actualizing, and, on the other hand, hierarchizing the needs of schools for staffing, competency, organizational, methodological and professional communication support of their activities. Moreover, institutionalization, combined with the establishment of new regulatory and methodological requirements for education for the blind and visually impaired and its digitalization, specifically mediates the content of these needs.

Oprostite, čije slobodno vrijeme?! iskustvo slobodnog vremena obitelji djeteta s teškoćama u razvoju

Author(s): Ana Blažević Simić,Marija Đurašin / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 1/2020

The purpose of the paper was to research leisure in families with children with developmental disabilities from the parents' point of view, a topic that has been marginally researched in Croatia as well as in the region. Qualitative methodology was used, and information was gathered by interviewing nine mothers of children with developmental disabilities. The results show that mothers achieve family leisure through a large spectrum of activities, during which they assign great importance to interaction. To organise family leisure, they face numerous challenges (e.g. stress, fatigue, difficulties in finding suitable activities) and use various strategies (e.g. planning carefully, obtaining materials, consulting other parents/experts). As benefits of family leisure, they report family member bonding, relaxation and fun for the child with developmental disability as well as maturity and empathy in the siblings of typical development. However, when asked whether they can use the family leisure as their own leisure, answers were contradictory.

Smart learning environments in a contemporary museum: a case study

Author(s): Judita Kasperiūnienė,Ilona Tandzegolskienė / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

Aim. The modern museum becomes an attractive learning place and space where the visitor, depending on age and competence, develops personal experience, and constructs the learning process based on personalized goals. The article aims to reveal how spaces in museums are exploited, in what ways visitors are involved in a narrative that connects the present and the past. Concept. The research uses a case-study method to investigate the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews (Poland), Ruhr Museum (Germany), and Vienna Technical Museum (Austria). Within the smart learning environment context, this study explains how to encourage museum visitors to learn and seek answers. Results and conclusion. Four main directions are emphasized: the construction of a narrative through the creation of spaces and places, the creation of a historical narrative through simulacra, the educational effect of smart solutions, and the edutainment. The findings show that change in the museum by combining design solutions, historical narrative, time experience, and smart technologies leads to cognitive, engaging learning, touching, feeling, and experiencing different emotions, encouraging a return to the museum, inviting to learn, and shaping one's personal experience. Cognitive value. Contemporary museums invite visitors to a new experience combining artistic space design, storytelling, individual time management, and the use of smart learning environments. These challenges are shifting museum narratives and influencing non-formal learning programs. Authors raise a discussion of how, by exploiting museum spaces, the visitors are involved in the stories, and how the smart learning environment is created in a modern museum.

VIEW OF OBESITY, PHYSICAL CONDITION AND MOTOR SKILLS OF ADOLESCENTS WITH A LOWER DEGREE OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY BASED ON LITERATURE

Author(s): Jerzy Rottermund,Lucia Ludvigh Cintulová,Andrzej Knapik / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2020

Introduction. People with intellectual disabilities are much more likely to be exposed to various types of health disorders compared to people who are without functional or physical problems. These disorders include frequent occurrence of obesity typical for people with intellectual disabilities (NI), limited physical health/condition and reduced motor skills. Methods: The aim of the research is to assess obesity, physical condition and motor skills of the young people with intellectual disabilities that are based on the literature. Results: The research study has presented the results of the health condition and physical trim of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities. The aim of the research is to highlight the problem of assessing obesity, physical trim and motor skills. Conclusion: Intellectual disability and multiple diseases occurring together with existing deficits create additional barriers for an active lifestyle. This new public health problem should be solved by encouraging physical activity, promoting a healthy lifestyle and creating habits conducive to health aimed at the population of people with intellectual disabilities.

THE PARENT’ S ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE INTEGRATION OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Author(s): Daciana Lupu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

The present article is a quantitative research which it responds to the following question: what is parent’s attitude towards the integration of the students with special needs. The attitudes were measured using a scale designed for this purpose. The results showed the degree of proximity to this category of students influenced the attitude positively.

Dreptul la educaţie al persoanelor cu handicap

Author(s): Anna Maria Neagoe / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 4/2012

of various degrees between moderate and severe. The right to education is laid down in several international and regional binding documents signed by Romania. The latest and most important one is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a document whose purpose is to promote, to protect and to provide full exercise of all the fundamental human rights by all persons with disabilities. At national level, the article surveys the most relevant normative acts on inclusive education.

Сравнение отношения студентов высших учебных заведений различного профиля образования к сокурсникам с ограниченными возможностями здоровья

Author(s): Ida Antonovna Mikhalenkova,Iya Evgenievna Rostomashvili,Yulia Vladimirovna Shumova,Aleksandr Vladimirovich Shumov,Lemka Sultanovna Izmailova / Language(s): Russian Issue: 1/2021

Introduction. The article addresses the relevant problem of designing an accessible socio-psychological environment within the framework of higher education institutions for people with special education needs and disabilities. The purpose of this study is to evaluate readiness of students majoring in different branches of science to understand, respect and accept rights and needs of fellow students with disabilities, as well as to interact with them. Materials and Methods. The authors provide a review of Russian and international literature on the priority of social inclusion for people with disabilities (V.N. Myasishchev, D. Thompson, K.R. Fisher, M. Biggeri, etc.) In order to reveal the attitudes of undergraduates majoring in different branches of science (Engineering, Psychology, Education, Law, Physical Education and Sports) to fellow students with disabilities the authors used the ‘Unfinished sentences’ inventory (adapted by I.A. Mikhalenkova and I.E. Rostomashvilli). The sample consisted of 370 students aged between 18 and 50 from 9 universities of the Russian Federation. Results. The study has revealed the peculiarities of developing attitudes towards fellow students with disabilities among undergraduates majoring in different branches of science, summarized the findings about the attitudes towards students with disabilities in the inclusive educational environment of higher educational institutions. The authors explained and clarified the concept of ‘attitude’ as a complex psychological phenomenon comprising cognitive, emotional and moral and ethical components. It is emphasized that students majoring in Education and Psychology are more tolerant, responsive and empathic to fellow students with disabilities than students doing degrees in Economics. According to the research findings, undergraduates’ attitudes towards fellow students with disabilities are determined by their moral and ethical values. It has been found that young adults who choose universities of a humanitarian orientation have a more mature value system. The authors have distinguished three types of attitudes to people with disabilities. The study has shown that undergraduates majoring in different branches of science are tolerant to the inclusion of students with disabilities in degree programmes. Most of them are ready to help, however, they try to avoid making disabled friends. Conclusions. The article concludes that the differentiated approach to creating an accessible socio-psychological inclusive learning environment, taking into account the attitudes of fellow students, is a leading factor in designing an accessible environment for inclusive education of university students majoring in different branches of science.

A FESTIVAL AS A PEDAGOGICAL TOOL TO PROMOTE INCLUSION IN THE COMMUNITY AND IN SCHOOLS

Author(s): Katja Jeznik,Klara Skubic Ermenc,Jasna Mažgoň / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2018

The focus of education policies on greater equity and accessibility of education for all exposes an important difference between narrow and broad definitions of the concept of inclusion. The narrow definition is tied above all to the school context, where responsibility for the realisation of inclusion lies with pedagogical workers. The broad definition refers to an understanding of inclusion as the embracing of diversity as a positive value for the community, regardless of the institutional context in which we endeavour to achieve inclusion. The research discussed the inclusive educational practice of a special educational institution catering for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Using a sample of 139 participants at the international inclusive festival Play With Me, the attitudes towards inclusion and towards persons with special needs (a Likert scale was created) were researched. The results indicate that respondents generally had positive attitudes towards inclusion; there were differences between them, depending on the roles they undertook at the festival (mentors of students taking part in the festival and volunteers running various festival activities), the institutions they came from (special or mainstream educational institutions, associations, NGOs), and whether or not they had experience of individuals with special educational needs (SEN), either in their work or in their studies. Although a broad understanding of inclusive culture is present in the statements of respondents, it appears that both general and special teachers (in the role of mentors) still incline slightly more towards a narrow understanding of inclusion than volunteers do, which raises questions about pedagogical workers' conception of education.

ASSESSMENTS FOR LEARNING IN GRADES 1-9 IN A SPECIAL SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY IN SWEDEN

Author(s): Lotta Anderson,Daniel Östlund / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2017

The aim of this research is to analyze teachers’ and paraprofessionals’ work and reflections on assessments for learning in a Swedish compulsory special school. Research has shown that assessment for learning is a powerful tool to improve student achievement. The theoretical perspectives discuss concepts such as situated learning and collaboration. The research adopted a participatory design; the researchers followed four teams, totally 20 teachers and paraprofessionals’ work through video observation, discussions, feedback and lectures on assessment. The teams documented classroom teaching and assessment of students' abilities in different subject. The data in this study are based on teams’ written texts. The texts are analyzed using a qualitative content analysis and contribute to research on formative assessment by including teachers as well as paraprofessionals. Results show, that professions have developed their educational philosophy and their ability to give children feedback, which will help their learning. The results also highlight the discussion between learning and caring, regarding the duties of teachers and paraprofessionals. A challenge for the teams is to unite the children’s care needs with the curriculum knowledge requirements and ensure them to learn within a holistic perspective. Teaching and assessing students with extensive learning difficulties and in need of alternative communication is another challenge for the teams as well as awareness that change processes take time.

DEVELOPING PSYCHOPEDAGOGICAL AND METHODICAL COMPETENCES IN SPECIAL / INCLUSIVE EDUCATION TEACHERS

Author(s): Valentin Cosmin Blândul,Adela Bradea / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2017

In a general sense, competence represents a higher finality which ensures the transfer of acquired theoretical knowledge to effective teaching practices. In the teaching profession, there are three types of competences: professional (they show the teacher's theoretical knowledge), psycho-pedagogical (they concern the teacher's ability to know their students and to establish interhuman relationships with them) and methodical (concerns the teacher's ability to teach effectively the elements of the didactic content). Due to the particularities of special / inclusive education, teachers involved in this form of education should possess mainly psycho-pedagogical and methodical competences so that they can meet successfully the educational needs of students with disabilities. The aim of the research was to identify the psycho-pedagogical and methodical competences of special / inclusive education teachers, as well as ways to improve them using continued professional training activities. The sample consisted of 225 teachers, who work in various forms of special education in Bihor County, Romania. The instrument consisted of a questionnaire with 21 items. The research was conducted in April 2017. The results of the research showed that special education teachers are more empathetic and use a more diversified range of didactic strategies, while inclusive education teachers are concerned with continued professional training in the field of special education.

THE OPPORTUNITIES AND OBSTACLES OF SCHOOL PATHS OF FINNISH YOUNG PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY (ID)

Author(s): Anneli Hermanoff,Kaarina Määttä,Satu Uusiautti / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2017

The experiences and perceptions that people with intellectual disability (ID) who have participated in vocational education have about their study paths is a less studied theme in Finland and also internationally. The purpose of this research was to find out whether their transitions from basic education to vocational education have been successful in their opinion and how their parents perceived the study paths. The purpose of this research was to analyze the study paths of young adults with ID and their school experiences as described by themselves and their parents. The focus was on memories of basic education, transition to vocational education, and studies at the vocational special education school. The research participants comprised 14 young adults with ID (aged 17-23, 10 boys and 4 girls) and their parents (N= 14). They all had personal study plans in basic education, and except for one, they all had completed basic education according to their study plans. The research leaned on the narrative research approach. The youngsters and their parents were interviewed personally in 2012 and 2014. The study paths of young people with ID could be grouped into three narratives: the fluent, complex, and interrupted study paths. Study success in young people with ID is a sum of many factors. The study illustrates four core factors directing the study processes: the student, school community, curriculum, and teacher. In addition, support from home is extremely important to the fluency of study paths. The purpose of education should be to prepare train, rehabilitate, and guide students with ID into good life that includes work, health, and relationships. Based on this study, educational options for people with ID are limited and should be developed so that secondary education would educate future experts to work markets and promote learning and societal participation in the young who need special support.

Editorial

Author(s): Carolina Bodea-Haţegan / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2021

Inkluzívna edukácia a výchova k zdraviu rómskych žiakov

Author(s): Jozef Liba / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 1/2018

The paper specifies several adverse factors of the life-style of Romanies as both the manifestation and consequence of their social, cultural, educational and linguistic incompatibility. It discusses adverse health-related and socialpathological parameters of Romany children (pupils). The role of school is conceived as that of an educational institution that guarantees the generation, stabilization and interiorization of health-related values and rules. The author points out the potential of inclusive education in the process of education to health designed for Romany pupils. Several supportive pro-health strategies are introduced and discussed with regard to their applicability in the process of inclusive education.

Empirical investigation into teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education: A study of future faculty of Qatari schools

Author(s): Mohamed S. Hamid,Nagwa Ibrahim A. Mohamed / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2021

Disabled students are capable of learning and growing equally to normal students, therefore the educational infrastructure of many developed countries is inclined towards an inclusive educational system. However, such students, unfortunately, are not treated well in developing countries where teachers’ attitudes are a key hindrance to an inclusive education system. This study assesses future faculty attitudes towards inclusive education in Qatari independent schools. A mixed population from Arabic studies, Islamic studies, English language, social studies, mathematics, and science sections of both primary and secondary programmes are selected from the College of Education at Qatar University. The Questionnaire of Attitudes towards Inclusion (QAI) is designed for populations of all genders and sections. Data are analysed statistically initially using the t-test and, later with descriptive statistics in SPSS software. The research findings suggests that future faculty show a positive attitude concerning with inclusive education. However, this attitude toward teaching special children varies which depends on the severity of disability and the nature. Further, teachers prefer to teach mild special children for instance those with learning disabilities. Additionally, the findings reveal no substantial differences in future faculty attitudes to special children in inclusive education with respect to gender or specialization. The study emphasizes the importance of academic and psychological preparation of teachers in Qatari independent schools to understand the nature of disability and motivate them to enhance their acceptance of children with disabilities.

The organizational culture in autism centers from the teachers’ viewpoint

Author(s): Obaid Abdlekarim Al-Sabayleh / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2021

The study Aims to identify the degree of availability of the prevailed organizational culture in autism centers from the teachers' viewpoint. The researcher adopted the descriptive survey approach and used the questionnaire as a tool to collect data. The study sample consisting of (116) teachers from Autism Centers in Jordan was selected in a simple random way. The results showed that the organizational culture in autism centers in Jordan was of a medium degree. The study recommended the necessity of developing a strong organizational culture in autism centers through effective collaboration between the center's administration and the teachers working in autism centers in Jordan to be consistent with the desires and expectations of all workers at Autism Centers.

Lithuanian undergraduate students' approaches to learning English for Specific Purposes

Author(s): Nijolė Burkšaitienė,Jolita Šliogerienė / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

Aim. It has been established by research that the nature of students’ learning is closely related to their approach to learning and to the learning environment in which learning occurs. In higher education environments, students’ approaches to learning have been widely investigated across different fields of study, however, little known research has focused on students’ approaches to learning foreign languages. To contribute to knowledge in this field, the present research aims to establish undergraduate students’ approaches to learning English for Specific purposes (ESP) at a university in Lithuania. Method. The research was conducted with the participation of 111 undergraduate students, majors in 11 different study programmes, who took a mandatory course in ESP. The data were collected from the structured questionnaires; to carry out the research, quantitative methodology was used. Results. The analysis of students’ engagement in the study activities, their willingness to go beyond the task and their ability to self-regulate their learning revealed that the study participants demonstrated both surface approach and deep approach to learning ESP. Conclusion. The results indicate that to guide the students towards deep approach to learning ESP at the university, their engagement in study activities should be fostered.

Towards a new model for inclusive education based on virtual social inclusion and mobile openness

Author(s): Timothy Read / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2020

The political and social instability in many parts of the world has led to large numbers of refugees forced to find a haven in Europe. Both social and political pressure is felt in these host countries as they see the resulting situation worsening dramatically. In this article, an analysis of the geo-sociological assumptions within the conventional conception of social inclusion is undertaken. As a result, an alternative is presented based upon the knowledge-based, network-oriented nature of modern European society. This is referred to as Virtual Social Inclusion and it aims primarily at two fundamental dimensions of human activity: education and employment. The article focuses on the nature and implications of VSI for inclusive education and its underlying principles, particularly mobility and openness. It also details the educational framework needed, and what VSI requires to turn from a theoretical framework into a practical reality and the foreseeable implications of its implementation are explored