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New ideas about the education of children with and without disabilities: a  change of paradigm

For decades it has been considered a pedagogic and social achievement to have independent educational institutions for disabled children in Austria. But changes in the social environment and new pedagogic insights and attitudes have changed our ideas about school education:

• Many parents of disabled children want to avoid an early separation of their disabled children from the group of their peers.
• In general social evaluation a disabled child going to a Special Needs School is stigmatised in addition to the disability.
• As a rather large number of disabilities occur rather infrequently, there is often only one school in a whole province to deal with this disability. This means a long way to school or boarding.
• Integration is recognised as a positive value by large parts of the population. It implies social acceptance and solidarity.
• In many countries all over the world disabled children are not educated in special schools, but together with their peers wherever possible.
• The faith in specialists and therapists is waning. The main argument being that medical therapy focuses on the defect of a human being and keeps emphasising the difference.
• Research has thrown some doubt on the value of the educational work in Special Needs Schools with regard to the overall development of the child.

It is for these reasons that the Austrian government has changed ist policy and is now strongly supporting (and financing) the education of all children (with and without disabilities) in local primary and secondary schools.

In most provinces parents and teachers associations have formed with the aim to improve the school situation and the living conditions of disabled children. These are the key points:

• Social integration of disabled people is a social decision.
• Social integration is a right of disabled people and prior to educational or therapeutic measures (as long as this is agreed on by the disabled person).
• Integration of disabled children into a regular class might mean insecurity at the beginning, more work and higher costs, but above all it will mean more quality of life and a richer experience for everybody involved.

Disabled children need the model of healthy children and the possibility of collecting experiences in real-life surroundings in order to be able to find their own identity. At the same time, healthy children have the chance to learn how to respect individuality and deviation from the norm as well as to be considerate and offer help where necessary.

Students are invited to to do Task 3

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