Inclusive Education in Montenegro Ohrid, Octobar 2011.

1. Inclusive Education in Montenegro Ohrid, Octobar 2011.

2. BASIS IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION STRATEGY: Leading principle is quality and accessible education for all children and young people with special education needs according to their interests, abilities and needs. STRATEGY ORIENTATION:Education is not merely a process of adopting academic knowledge, but a process through which everyday skills and knowledge are gained for the purpose of proactive inclusion in community where they live.

3. Inclusive principles: • Retained abilities, emotional and social characteristics of the child are the basis for development of individual developmental-educational plans (IDEP); • A child receives support during joint activities in group/class, whenever possible, and in exceptional cases, individual support; • Parents are school partners and active participants in planning and following their child’s development; • Only in extraordinary cases for the child best interests they are oriented to the special institution. The following terminology are in use: Children with special educational needs: • Children with developmental disabilities: physical, mental, sensory and combined disabilities; • Children with developmental difficulties with: behavioral difficulties, severe chronic illnesses; long-term illnesses; learning difficulties and other caused by emotional, social, language and cultural deprivation.

4. Law on education of children with special educational needs • Applies the principle that education is process in which everyday skills and knowledge are gained for the purpose of proactive inclusion in community where they live. • Resource center provides educational services for the children with severe and combined disabilities, also as counseling and expert support for the concrete disability, mainstream teachers’ trainings etc. • All institutions are obliged to provide adequate educational technologies, as additional means and ways to encourage communication. • Daily Care Centers- are social services for the rehabilitation and support for the children with middle and severe disabilities on local level – and they CAN perform educational work in which everyday skills and knowledge are gained. • Schools are obliged to enable participation of “teaching assistance” – as support for the child during the teaching, as a rule, as a volunteer.

5. Rule book about orientation of children with special educational needs • Commission members: pediatrician, psychologist, pedagogue, defectologist, social worker and doctor specialist. • Commission gives proposal based on child abilities and special educational needs: assessment of relationship between disability/difficulties and mitigating and aggravating factors of the environment. • Institutions, according their abilities, commission decision and the IDEP, provide conditions and adjust space, equipment, teaching aids and assistants according.

6. Trainings Bureau for Education through the Department for professional development is constantly working on training staff in the schools. Number of teachers and directors who have attended training seminars and the number realized in the period 2004-2008. years is 5375. In 2009 for the basic level are 148 participants, for the advanced level 5 trainings – 148 participants. In 2010 – 4 seminars. This year are planed 2 seminars that will be done at the end of October / begging of November: one for the elementary schools, one for the Gymnasiums, and others based on the Catalogue of Accredited programs.. During the previous and this year in organization of acreditate NGO’s in trainings were involved 4 schools with all stuff. This school year will be covered 3 more schools. Overview of Training in cooperation with Save the Children UK - for inclusive education in schools and pre-school facilities by the end of 2007/2008 indicates that trained a total of: 1023 and data for 2008 and 2009 indicate that the number of trained teachers and professional staff the 596. In the Finnish project / development of inclusive education in Montenegro "Towards inclusive education" 2006-2008: on short-term training for directors, deputy directors, and inspectors foreman: of 40 directors and assistant directors; 38 advisors for the improvement of the educational process from the Bureau of Education; short-term training for teachers and other professionals in education – 39; school psychologist and pedagogues, teachers who have attended postgraduate studies - 27

7. IPA 2010 • IPA 2010, Ministry of Education and Sports are involved in Project “Social Welfare and Child Care System Reform: Enhancing Social Inclusion” • In component 1– Inclusive education - process of transformation of Special schools into the resource centers is planed. Resource centers will be responsible for the concrete disability, providing educational, expert, counseling support, mainstream teachers’ trainings, etc. • Condition for the children integration will be advanced: development of a detailed plan for a SEN pupils examination process; Development of examination catalogues (including guidelines for development of tests according to standards); Development of assessment items data base (collection of questions/tasks); Development of assessment of students’ school improvements through personalized tests.

8. Supporting network for the Inclusive Education • Commissions’ members are trained. • Working instrument done, printed Manual for the members work. • Stuff from the developmental centers, centers for social work, daily care center are trained. • In this moment: trainings for the schools in which we have special classes. • Promotion of pupils rights in those shools. Promoter – person with disability. • Development of operative procedures of intersectoral cooperation to support social inclusion.

9. Additional support • Enabled ,,Books on Braille for the Elementary school printed”. • Resource center for the children with visual impairments prepare electronic editions. • In Campaign „Lets talk about abilities“, printed CD in which Convention of rights of Persons with disabilities, are presented in audio version, zoom text, sign language. • Made basis, dactylology (one-hand and both-hand signs for the two new letters of Montenegrin language) and Vocabulary of Basis for the Sign language in Montenegro (by areas). • Stimulative rooms/inclusive playgrounds opened in 5 schools in which we have the huge number of children with commission decision. They are equipped to encourage cognitive, emotional, physical and social children development. • For the schools with special classes provided specialized equipment.

10. Support for the inclusive vocational education (1) • Focus: Vocational education teachers and schools’ experts trainings • Duration: January 2011. – June 2013. • Project basis - „Strategy of Development of Vocational Education in Montenegro 2010-2014“, “Inclusive Education Strategy”, Mapping Policies and Practices for the Preparation of Teachers for Inclusive Education in Contexts of Social and Cultural Diversity, Country Report for Montenegro, (SCIENTER, Centre for Education Policy, ETF). • Needs for the Project –social inclusion of pupils with developmental disabilities is in the focus in future period. Those pupils must be provided support and must be developed potentials and abilities related to their better social integration. Vocational education inclusion is a new issue, and teachers and stuff are not adequately prepared for working with those pupils. There is a luck of basic knowledge about inclusive education process, abilities of pupils with disabilities, working skills, assessment skills, intervention skills according to the success in labor market. • Needs for the improvement of the cooperation between Ministry, Center for the Vocational Education, Bureau for the Educational Services, schools, resource centers, parents are recognized.

11. Support for the inclusive vocational education(2) • Short Project description: Austrian and Montenegrin experts, developing concept of trainings (3 modules per 3 days) and implement them as a pilot program. • Between modules are organized meeting (reflection) days with aim to support implementation of inclusive process in 7 schools. • From training’ materials and pilot process experience has to be developed Manual and guidelines for the vocational education inclusion. • From the trainings’ participants would be selected 2-4 additional trainers. It is planed for those person to disseminate supervised trainings for new groups of project participants. • Study visit for the Montenegrin stakeholders in Austria. • Project Goal – Support for the introduction of inclusion in the Montenegrin vocational education. • Beneficiaries – Teachers and schools’ psychologist and pedagogues from the 7 vocational schools, principals, pupils with disabilities, parents... • Project partners: Ministry of Education and Sports, Center for the Vocation Education, vocational schools.

12. Support for the inclusive vocational education (3) • Result 1 – Trainings for working with pupils with disabilities in vocational schools exists in version that are proofed in practice. • Indicator 1 – Concept for the practical teachers’ trainings is elaborated– Experts developed and elaborateded concept that is very practically oriented, with concrete steps for the school implementation. During the meeting days will be reflected how much is done and estimated in which ways trainings has to be further developed and adapted. Final Concept will be accredited as official program for the vocational teachers’ trainings. • Result 2 – Participants from 7 pilot school though 3 modules are got knowledge needed for the inclusive work. • Indicator 1 – Per 2 - 4 participants from 7 pilot schools were attending modules and received knowledge needed for the pupils with disabilities inclusion in their schools. Thanks to the reflection days they got experts’ support. • Module 1 – Inclusive Education Philosophy • Module 2 – Teaching methods adjusted to the pupils with disabilities • Module 3 – Developmental Strategy for the vocational education of pupils with disabilities • Till now are realized 2 modules and 2 reflection days – visits to 2 pilot schools. In trainings involved 24 teacher and school experts from 7 pilot schools, 3 teachers/experts from 3 Special school/resource centers.

13. Support for the inclusive vocational education (4) • Result 3 – Manual for the vocational education inclusion exist • Indicator 1 – Draft of Manual is tested in schools. Material for the Draft are collected during the trainings, from experts and other interested persons. Draft is tested with aim to get feed-back information. • Indicator 2 – Manual is done and distributed to all vocational schools in Montenegro. Based on feed-back information Manual is improved and finalized. To the end of 2012-2013 school year Manual is finished, printed and distributed to all vocational schools. • Result 4 – New trainers are selected from the participants. • Indicator 1 – up to 4 persons past through the intensive workshops: teaching methods in inclusive education, adults education, additional support, using of specialized didactics etc. • During the 2013 new trainers with supervision of key experts realized the trainings with topic Inclusion in vocational education for the new groups of teachers and vocational school experts. • Result 5: Based on international experience stakeholders work on Strategy for the implementation of vocational education inclusion. • Indicator 1- Up to 4-5 stakeholders thanks to the exchanging of experiences with Austrian stakeholders (during the Study visit) become familiar with different strategies for the implementation of inclusion in vocational education and become able to start with the same process in Montenegro.