EDUCATION OF PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN SLOVENIA

1. EDUCATION OF PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN SLOVENIA QUALIFICATION OF TEACHERS

2. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH WITH SPECIAL NEEDS • The education of children with special needs is regulated by The Placement of Children with Special Needs Act (2000) • The Act defines procedures for placement of children with special needs in all types of education from pre-school to upper secondary education.

3. INTEGRATION • The Placement of Children with Special Needs Act enables the integration into regular forms of education of those children who, with additional professional help and the provision of adapted programmes, will be able to achieve comparable educational standards. • These are mostly children with sensory disorders and milder forms of behavioural disturbances. • A mobile special-education service provides additional help to children with sensory disorders.

4. PLACEMENT IN PROGRAMMES • Children are placed in regular programmes of pre-school, basic and secondary education, where they are offered adapted programmes and additional professional help.

5. ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL HELP - QUALIFICATION OF TEACHERS • It is provided by: • specialists for children with special needs who are especially trained in working with special-needs children; • by teachers additionally qualified to teach those children • It is provided either during normal classes or afterwards.

6. INCLUSION (PLACEMENT), DIAGNOSIS AND GUIDANCE • The school team consists of: • A vzgojitelj (pre-school teacher) or učitelj (teacher), • A paediatrician or physician with a specialisation diploma in school medicine, • A psychologist, • A social worker, • A specialist for children with special needs and physician with appropriate specialisation in various types of disorders. • The team places a child in an appropriate educational programme on the basis of documentation, co-operation with health and teaching institutions attended by the child, and findings in the procedure.

7. TEACHERS AND OTHER PROFESSIONAL STAFF IN EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH WITH SPECIAL NEEDS • In normal schools, specialists for children with special needs with appropriate specialisation in various types of disorders teach alongside class and specialist subject teachers, providing help to children with special needs. • Psychologists, speech therapists and social workers participate in the educational process as well.

8. GENERAL OBJECTIVES • to provide qualifications to each individual for a vocation and for an active life in their social environment: • equal opportunities with simultaneous consideration of the differences among children; • maintenance of a balance between different aspects of children’s physical and mental development; • involvement of parents in the educational proces; • assurance of appropriate conditions allowing optimal development of each individual; • timely placement in an appropriate educational programme; • organisation of education as near as possible to permanent residence; • integrity and complexity of education; • individualised approach, • continuity of educational programmes; • interdisciplinarity.

9. METHODS OF TEACHING AND TRAINING • methods should ensure the optimal development of each individual child and the achievement of optimal goals in the educational process; • the methods are defined in the annual school plan of action; • each school has to prepare an individualised programme for each integrated child, it also has to take into consideration the child’s disorder and needs in the educational process; • parents are also involved in the preparation of individualised programmes.

10. EDUCATIONAL OFFER OF SEMINARS FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS OVERVIEW OF CATALOGUE FOR PERMANENT PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION OF TEACHERS

11. ORGANIZATION OF SEMINARS • Seminars are organized and financed by state institutions, there are no private institutions as organizers: • University of Ljubljana (Pedagogical Faculty, Department for Special Education); • Centres for blind and weak-sighted, Centres for hearing and speech correction (secondary schools with adapted programmes); • Slovene central establishment for schools and sport.

12. TARGET GROUPS • Regular school teachers from pre-schools to high schools (pre-school educators, primary school teachers, secondary school teachers) who are qualified, trained professionals (linguists, biologists, mathematicians …) who fulfil standards for teaching, however have no knowledge of special education for teaching pupils with special needs (behavioural disturbances, sight, hearing or physical impairments); • Teachers in schools with adapted programmes who work daily with children with special needs, • social workers who work with children with special needs.

13. SEMINARS’ THEMES AND OBJECTIVES • to raise awareness and sensibility of teachers who work with integrated children; • to learn about the psychology of persons with mental or physical disabilities; • to gain knowledge and skills for organization of work in classes with integrated children; • social integration of children with special needs is emphasized, especially of children with behavioural disturbances;

14. SEMINARS’ THEMES AND OBJECTIVES • special consideration is paid to methods which should be used in successful temamwork with parents; • a wide range of seminars offers knowledge of didactics and also knowledge of various methods in teaching children with special needs; • methods, used in adapted teaching of deaf, blind pupils are being thoroughly presented; • an important segment of educational offer also deals with instructions for preparing an individualized programme for an integrated child.

15. SEMINARS’ THEMES AND OBJECTIVESCONCLUSION • The Slovene educational public as a whole moves towards sensibility for children with special needs. • Teachers should learn what kind of disabilities there are, how to carry out the lessons, how to prepare individualized programmes, how to really help integrated children. • The whole idea behind the seminars is to equip, support teachers with appropriate knowledge, methods and techniques for effective teaching.