- Засенко, В.В. (orcid.org/0000-0003-0325-4578) and Колупаєва, А.А. (orcid.org/0000-0002-4610-5081) (2014) Children with special needs: priorities for the national policy in education, social protection and healthcare in Ukraine Особлива дитина: навчання і виховання, 3 (71). pp. 20-29. ISSN 2312-2781
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Діти з особливими потребами- пріоритетні напрями державної політики України в галузі освіти, соціального захисту й охорони здоров’я.pdf - Published Version Download (892kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Today one of the priority areas of the national education policy is to promote the realization of the right to equal access to qualitative education for children with special needs. The number of such children is growing constantly and, according to psychological, medical and pedagogical support centers, exceeds 11% of the total child population of Ukraine. In this context, the strategic guidelines for the State are the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that was ratified by Ukraine in 2008, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children, and the National Strategy of Education Development in Ukraine till 2021, etc. Based on the international standards, a number of regulations were drafted to support the development of special education; the relevant instruments were prepared (Provision on Inclusive Education of Children with Psychological and/or Physical Disabilities; Provision on Special Evening School for the Deaf; Programme to Support Gifted Children with Disabilities and others). Currently the system of education for children with special needs, and first of all children with disabilities, is undergoing a reform that draws on the above guidelines as well as progressive global trends – from institualization to inclusion. The methodological paradigm for such a reform is based on the principles of child-centeredness, which means looking for the natural aptitudes of each child, creating conditions for his or her successful development, promoting the realization of personal potential in learning and life. The principles of child-centeredness move us from the strategy of providing education services to disability-specific groups of children in segregated settings, which until recently were represented by special boarding schools, to the strategy of meeting learning needs in settings that are chosen by parents of children with special needs taking into consideration the specific nature of organizational, pedagogical, instructional, methodological and developmental supports. This strategy is strengthened by a strong network of schools and preschools for children with certain physical and/or psychological disabilities that operates in Ukraine and includes special schools and preschools, education and rehabilitation centers, and regular schools with special education groups and classrooms. The recent research is changing the stereotypes in understanding the issues of educating children with special needs and urges us to shift away from focusing on person’s impairments. On the most fundamental level, the modern approaches to education are oriented at effective use of preserved functions that can be drawn on in the course of developmental interventions and can ensure a targeted development of psychological processes, which determine the level of knowledge and skills learnt, the child’s education as a result of such teaching and learning, and his or her integration in the society. The most complicated and the most responsible area for academics remains the task to update the curriculum based on Ukrainian culture and traditions, to pilot and introduce it into current school practice. However, along with this global objective and more concrete ones that are mentioned above, there exists a number of unsolved issues originating both at the national and local level.
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