The Education of Children with Special Needs: Barriers and Opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe [antikvár]

Executive Summary Throughout the world children who have disabilities and many others who experience difficulties in learning have traditionally been marginalized within or excluded from schools. This paper examines the situation in countries of Central and Eastern Europe, focusing in particular on developments that have occurred over recent years and comparing these with overall international patterns. As a result of the 1990 World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs, the challenge of exclusion from education has been put on the political agenda in many countries. This has helped to focus attention on a much broader range of children who may be excluded from or marginalized within education systems because of their apparent difficulties. These may include those who are already enrolled in education but for a variety of reasons do not achieve adequately, those who are not enrolled in schools but who could participate if schools were more flexible in their responses, and the relatively small group of children with more severe impairments who may have a need for some form of additional support. Given this broad range of children, all of whom may be seen as having special needs, the paper argues that it is essential to consider special education policies and practices in relation to overall educational arrangements within any given national context. This points immediately to a major difficulty facing anybody wishing to summarize international trends in this field. That is to say, when suggesting "patterns", one must take care to engage with the ways in which children come to be defined as being special within particular places, since a child categorized as having special needs in one country might not be so categorized in another. Consequently, it is necessary to examine the forms of education provided for all children within a given context, including a consideration of which children are given the opportunity to participate in schools and who is excluded. The analysis of the situation in the region is contrasted with overall international trends. These trends include an emphasis on moves towards more inclusive arrangements whereby schools are reformed in ways that extend their capacity to respond to diversity. However it is important to recognize that, throughout the world, such trends are the subject of considerable debate, not least as a result of arguments made by those who believe that the education of children with special needs can be provided more effectively through separate, specialized provision of various kinds. The paper provides evidence of similar arguments within the region under consideration. Unfortunately these may act as a barrier to improvement Abstract Children with disabilities and many others who experience difficulties in learning are often marginalized within or even excluded from school systems. This paper considers the situation in countries of Central and Eastern Europe, examining particular developments that have occurred in recent years and how these compare with overall trends intemationally. This analysis suggests certain barriers to progress, including attitudes within communities towards certain groups of children, traditional practices in the field of special education, and the effects of the depressed economic situation within the region. The paper concludes with a consideration of possible opportunities for improvements in provision and an outline of issues that need to be kept in mind. Keywords: Children with Disabilities, Special Education, Inclusive Education, Central and Eastem Europe JEL classification: H4,12, J7 ¦ 1. Introduction Throughout the world, children with disabilities and many others who experience difficulties in learning are often marginalized within or, indeed, even sometimes excluded from school systems. This paper provides an overall picture of the current situation with regard to the education of such children in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Specifically, it asks: • What arrangements are made for children defined as "having special needs"? • How have these arrangements developed, particularly in recent years? • How do these arrangements compare with overall international trends in thinking and practice? • What are the implications of this analysis for future developments? Clearly this is a very wide and complex agenda. When it is coupled with the size and immense diversity of traditions, languages and cultures represented in the countries under review, the task of this paper clearly becomes a daunting one. For these reasons, the authors have chosen to adopt an approach which attempts to identify overall pattems, including similarities, differences and contradictions, both within and among countries, but in a way that guards against any temptation to over-generalize. So, whilst some general themes are indicated, far more attention is given to illustrating the diversity of current