Special Needs Education Basis:
Historical and Conceptual
Approach
Philippe Tremblay
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Tivat, Montenegro
November 2007
Special Education is “specially” designed
instruction to meet the unique needs and
abilities of exceptional students.
Special Education is relatively new.
Historically, people with disabilities were
often placed in hospitals, asylums, or other
institutions that provided little, if any,
education.
What is Special Needs Education?
Greek et Roman
Era of Extermination
Disability is a “punishment of the gods” – A
bad or evil sign
“Individual is what he is, now and forever”
Plato & Aristotle call for infanticide
Ciceron calls for the purity of the race, a
society free of “defectives” Need for military
superiority
Therefore, someone with a disability resulting
from war (soldiers) is taken in charge by the
City.
Greek & Roman
Consequences of Philosophy:
Chaining - Left on hills to die - Thrown off
cliffs - Locked away – Drown
Father had right to terminate child’s life
Deaf, blind & Ill children had little more
chance.
Old Testament
« God created man in his own image » !!!
Disability is an impurity.
A disabled person cannot approach sacred
places
New Testament
Jesus helps disabled persons (ex: blind
miracle)
Disability is less a fault or an evil sign
Need of assistance, help
Help them is an occasion for “winning ones
salvation”
Example : Down’s Syndrome
Angels . . .
Mutterings revelations
Benefit through alms
“Children of Great Spirit”
Angels from heaven
Devils
Changelings
Martin Luther (demons,
Punishment for sins)
Intercourse with devil
Middle Ages
Era of Ridicule
Rigid caste system
Those with disabilities were:
a) Used as servants or fools
b) Some were still put to death
c) Dwarfs were used as clowns
d) Overall, ridiculed for deformities and
behavior
Renaissance
Era of Asylum
Catholic Church accepts those with
disabilities as wards of state
Cared in isolation
No education at first, but humane treatment
Belief: Once disabled, always disabled
EducabilityEducability
Without education, no humanity.
There’s no Human and half-Human
equality between man.
All knowledge comes through the senses
(John Locke and Etienne Condillac)
First experiences
Pedro Ponce de Léon (1578) in Spain
created the first documented experience
about education of deaf children (from
nobility)
Abbé Charles Michel de l’Epée (1760) in
Paris created the “Institut pour sourds”
(Institute for deaf)
Louis Braille invented “Braille script” (1829).
Pioneers in Special Education
1. Itard (wild boy)
2. Seguin
3. Montessori
4. Decroly
5. …
Maria Montessori Eduard Seguin
Jean-Marc
Itard
Ovide Decroly
Jean Marc Gaspard Itard (1774-1838)
French physician and educator Jean Marc Gaspard
Itard was one of the earliest teachers to argue that
special teaching methods could be effective in
educating disabled children.
Between 1801 and 1805, Itard used systematic
techniques to teach a boy, named Victor, how to
communicate with others and how to perform daily
living skills, such as dressing himself.
Description of Wild Boy
“. . . He is unusual to our food, selecting his nourishment by
smell but at the same time indifferent to fragrant or foul odors;
lying flat on the ground to drink; tearing garments placed upon
him and trying constantly to escape; walking often on all fours;
fighting with his teeth; giving few marks of intelligence; having
no articulate language even devoid of the faculty of speech. It
was later discovered that the boy’s hearing was insensitive to
loud noises and to music; yet he readily heard the fall of a nut.
His sense of touch was likewise deficient. As to sight, his eyes
constantly wandered and could not be fixed on objects”
Bonaterre (1798)
Five primary goals
1. To interest him in social life – try to make his life better than
before
2. To improve his awareness of environmental stimuli – but the
context was controlled
3. To extend the range of his ideas (e.g. introduce him to games,
culture, etc.)
4. To teach him to speak & teach him to communicate by using
symbol systems, such as pictures and written words
5. To exercise the operations of his mind upon his physical wants,
from simple and proximal to complex and far
Itard’s results
Sleeping and eating habits and personal
hygiene got more regular and controlled
Senses of touch and taste became more
acute
Circle of wants increased
Learned some monosyllabic words
Learned to sequence objects
Itard’s failure
Victor never talked
He wanted to return to his old life
Too much exigencies ; lack of emotional attachment
Maybe Victor maybe had an autistic syndrome or a
mental retardation can also explain the
abandonment
First basis of Special Education needs
Individualization
Emotional attachment
Specific materials
Structure of contents
Segregation
Eduard Seguin (1812-1880)
In 1848 French psychologist Edouard Séguin,
who had studied with Itard, immigrated to the
United States and developed several
influential guidelines for educating children
with special needs (ex. Mental retardation).
Seguin’s education programs stressed the
importance of developing independence and
self-reliance in disabled students by
presenting them with a combination of
physical and intellectual tasks.
Edouard Seguin
Developed the physiological method
Sensory training
Focused on touch
Utilization of material
Motor training
Age appropriate activities
Simple to complex
Functional activities
Work and play
Seguin’s Basis
1. Frequent changes in activities
2. Analysis of tasks into their components
3. Differentiation of senses from intellect
4. Physical education
5. Sensory stimulation
6. Employment as an outcome of education
Maria Montessori (1870-1952)
Montessori education is a flow experience; it builds on the
continuing self-construction of the child—daily, weekly, yearly—
for the duration of the program. Although Montessori schools are
divided into multi-age classrooms:
parent infant (ages 0 to 3)
preschool (ages 3 to 6)
lower and upper elementary (ages 6 to 9 and 9 to 12)
middle school (ages 12 to 14)
The prepared environments introduce an uninterrupted series of
learning passages, a continuum.
The "prepared environment" is Maria Montessori's concept that
the environment can be designed to facilitate maximum
independent learning and exploration by the child.
Materials
Each material in a Montessori classroom isolates
one quality. In this way, the concept that the child is
to discover is isolated. For example, the material
known as the pink tower is made up of ten pink
cubes of varying sizes. The preschool-aged child
constructs a tower with the largest cube on the
bottom and the smallest on top. This material
isolates the concept of size. The cubes are all the
same color and texture; the only difference is their
size. Other materials isolate different concepts: color
tablets for color, geometry materials for form, …
Ovide Decroly (1871-1932)
“The school will be located wherever is the nature,
wherever life is, wherever the work is"
In 1901, Decroly founded a school for children
with mild disabilities (behavioral disorders,
learning disabilities, light mental retardation). He
gradually invented his pedagogy.
In 1907, he founded a school for “ordinary”
children with the same pedagogy.
Decroly’s basis
His pedagogy had 4 basis:
The hobbies and interests of the child as a guide to education.
4 Centers of needs
Globalization means that the child learns globally, without
order. It's a complete picture that we must give the child, then
he passes to particularity and analysis.
The class workshop or class laboratory in which the child lives
and works. The "class" strictly speaking is everywhere; he
advocated the breakup of places of learning: the kitchen,
shops, the street ...
The importance of the natural environment that puts the child in
a situation of discovery.
Dr. Anne Moore (1910)
“My study of the situation in New York convinces me
(1) that the horrors attendant upon feeblemindedness
have in no way been exaggerated;
(2) that the condition is neither circumscribed or local: . . .
(3) that there is a crying need for concerted action toward
control of the situation.
“ Realize that the feebleminded are a menace to our
present day civilization and that the problem of caring
for them can no longer be safely ignored. They agree
that the defect is often hereditary and incurable, that it
leads to poverty, degeneracy, crime and disease.”
“Solutions” ?
Lifelong segregation during the reproductive
period
Sterilization
“This remedy must in the opinion of this
committee be the principal agent used by society
in cutting off the supply of defectives” (Eugenics
section of the American Breeders Association,
1911)
Last Century (1900’s)
Biological emphasis Medical model
Institutional Care
1900-1950’s Compulsory education. Creation of
classes or schools for the mentally retarded, blind,
deaf, etc..
After the 2nd world war : Creation of special
education system, organized in parallel to ordinary
system.
Special Needs Education
The four periods of special needs education:
1. Instruction for pupils with sensory disabilities,
many disabled children were excluded from
school
2. Care for the disabled, medical care and
rehabilitation. Children segregated into
homogenous groups
3. The principle of normalisation and integration
4. Educational equality and equal educational
services (inclusion)
Special education
Specifically designed instruction, at no cost to
the child’s parents, to meet the unique needs
of a student with a disability
“Classic Special Education” characteristics
Special settings (segregation, class, resource room, school, ...)
Special children (types, categorization, …)
Special teachers (trained or not, experienced or not, …)
Specialists (therapists,…)
Special ratio (less student by class, more teachers)
Special methods/tools (Braille, signs language, ...)
Special program and goals integration in social life…
“Special segregated settings” advantages
1. Providing people with disabilities a chance "just"
successful.
2. Promoting cooperation rather than competition
3. Learn physical and social skills in an environment
that understands and accepts them.
4. Trained staff, equipment and specialized services.
5. Improve the skills that increase participation in
more integrative situations
6. Individual attention is easier to obtain.
7. Be able to meet between individuals carrying the
same disability.
“Special segregated settings” disadvantages
1. Learn the skills, values, attitudes and behaviors of “the disabled."
2. Reduced expectations of parents, professionals, children.
3. Opposition to the transfer of skills to specialized normal
settings.
4. Deny the psychological and social benefits resulting from the
meeting with disabled children.
5. Based on “normality” and performance. It takes place outside the
normal and regular performances.
6. Loss of links with the community and poor preparation for future
life.
7. Cost important and life long (parents wanted students retained &
greater demand for admission of new cases)
8. The interactions are mostly with adults and not with other children.
What is disability?
There are a lot of definitions to describe
disability
Most of the definitions making reference that
disability is a pathology (physiological,
biological and intellectual).
These are medical definitions medical
answers
The medical definition of disability:
The medical definition has given rise to the idea that
people are individual objects to be “treated”,
“changed” or “improved” and made more “normal”.
The medical definition views the disabled person as
needing to “fit in” rather than thinking about how
society itself should change
This medical definition does not adequately explain
the interaction between societal conditions or
expectations and unique circumstances of an
individual.
(Rieser and Mason, 1992)
The World Health Organization (WHO) (1996):
International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps
Impairment refers to A physical or mental defect
at the level of a body system or organ.
Disability refers to person-level limitations in
physical and psycho-cognitive activities,
Handicap refers to social abilities or relation
between the individual and the society.’
The social definition of disability:
Disability is a highly varied and complex condition with a range of
implications for social identity and behavior.
Disability largely depends on the context and is a consequence
of discrimination, prejudice and exclusion.
Emphasizes the shortcomings in the environment and in many
organized activities in society, for example on information,
communication and education, which prevent persons with
disabilities from participating on equal terms.
Comparing the medical and social models of
disability in education:
Medical model:
Child is faulty
Diagnosis and labelling
Impairment is focus of
attention
Segregation and
alternative services
Re-entry if normal enough
or permanent exclusion
Society remains
unchanged
Social model:
Child is valued
Strengths and needs
identified
Barriers identified and
solutions developed
Resources made
available
Diversity welcomed; child
is welcomed
Society evolves
Segregation to Inclusion
3 types of pressure :
• Ethic and moral pressure associations, laws,
awareness, …
• Conceptual pressure concepts, practices, ...
• Economic pressure effectiveness, costs,…
Ethic and moral’s pressure
“ Science can not give an absolute answer to the
question of school integration. At the time of the
American Civil War, would Abraham Lincoln
have simply required the scientific evidence of
the benefits of the abolition of slavery? Has he
had to consult experts, for example, a
sociologist, an economist, a political analyst? Of
course not. Slavery was not, and today is not
more a matter to be settled by science. It is a
moral issue “ (Bilken, 1985 in Vienneau, 2004)
The right to a more inclusive education is covered in
several significant international declarations, including:
Universal Declaration of Human Rights – 1948
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
World Declaration for Education for All (1990)
Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disability
(1993)
UNESCO Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action (1994)
Dakar Framework for Action (2000).
…
Salamanca Statement:
1. Every child has a fundamental right to education
2. Every child has unique characteristics, interests,
abilities and learning needs
3. Education systems should be designed and
educational programmes implemented to meet
these diversities among children
4. Students with special needs must have access
to regular schools with adapted education
5. Regular schools with an inclusive orientation
are the most effective means of combating and
preventing discriminative attitudes and
building up an inclusive society
Also…
Pressure by vote (Switzerland-Valais, etc.)
Pressure by Parents’ association
Pressure by justice (Brown v. Board of Education -
USA, Canada, etc.)
Pressure by national and/or international
organizations (UNESCO, EU, etc.)
Other Pressures…
Conceptual pressure
1. Normalization
2. Least restrictive environment
3. Social validation
4. Chronologically age appropriate skills
5. Principles of adaptation
6. Integration/mainstreaming/inclusion
Normalization
Treating people with disabilities as normally as possible
In a “natural environment”
Both the means and the ends of education for students with
disabilities should be as much like those for non-disabled
students as possible
De-institutionalization a systematic drive to move people out of
institutions and back into closer contact with the community
Least Restrictive Environment
1. To the maximum extent, children with
disabilities are to be educated with
children who are not disabled
2. Removal may only occur when
education in regular classes with the use
of supplementary aids and services
cannot be achieved satisfactorily
Home or hospital placement
Full-time placement in residential facility
Full-day placement in a special school
Full-day placement in a special class
Full-day placement in a special class and social integration with general school population
Part-day regular class placement and part-day special class placement
Part-day regular class placement and part-day resource or itinerant services
Full-day regular class placement with instruction delivered in regular class by specialist
Full-day regular class placement with consultation services for the teacher
Full-day regular class placement
Most Restrictive
Increasing
severity of
needs and
restrictiveness
of environment
Placement in the Least Restrictive
Environment
Regular classroom placement is the first
option the team must consider
Access to the general education curriculum is
as important as placement in a classroom
If it is not possible to educate a child
successfully in a regular education classroom
with the use of supplementary aids and
services, then team must consider more
restrictive alternatives.
Social validation & Chronologically age
appropriate
Subjective evaluation
Social comparison
The children with
special needs must be
with children of the
same age
Ex. : Don’t put 16 with 5
year old !!!
Principles of adaptation
Special Needs require adaptation…
• Adapt only when necessary to increase
a person's participation & success
• Adapt on an individual basis
• View any adaptations as temporary
• Adapt for congruence
• Adapt for availability
Integration
“ Moving them into school/society normally
as much as possible ”
Physical Integration
Social Integration
Pedagogical Integration
a) Mainstreaming
b) Inclusion
Mainstream
Mainstreaming has been used to refer to the
selective placement of special education
students in one or more "regular" education
classes. Proponents of mainstreaming generally
assume that a student must "earn" his or her
opportunity to be placed in regular classes by
demonstrating an ability to "keep up" with the
work assigned by the regular classroom teacher.
This concept is closely linked to traditional forms
of special education service delivery.
Mainstreming
General Education
(Collaborative Consultation
Co-teaching)
Resource Classroom
Hospital or Homebound Instruction
Self-Contained Class
Special Day School
Residential School
PhysicalIntegration
More
Less
Resource Room
A special education placement for less than half
a child's school day.
With special “materials” or “resources”.
Resource Room students receive additional
instruction in language arts, math and/or content areas
Resource room students receive basic skills
instruction in addition to their general education
program.
Mainstreaming Advantages
Promotes diversity and acceptance.
Allows opportunities for all students to advance.
Students with learning disabilities are motivated
through competition to improve
General education students have the ability to
rise up to leadership roles.
Collaboration with separate special service
Disadvantages of Mainstreaming
Acceptation of segregation
Stigmatization
Children stay in the most segregated settings
The general schools didn’t change !!!
Definition of ”inclusion”
”Inclusion” was defined by Stainback &
Stainback (1990) as :
1. Education of all students in in regular classes
2. Appropriate educational programs for every
student
3. Everyone is accepted and supported
What is Integration/inclusion ?
1. Inclusion assume that students with disabilities
attend ordinary schools.
2. The fundamental principle is that all children are
together as much as possible
3. Inclusive education of high quality should focus on:
Curriculum,
Organizational arrangements,
Teaching strategies
Resource use
Partnership with the communities
Inclusion
Involves bringing the support services to the
child (rather than moving the child to the services)
and requires only that the child will benefit from
being in the class (rather than having to keep up
with the other students).
Inclusion is a process, not
a place, service or setting.
Full inclusion means that all students,
regardless of handicapping condition or
severity, will be in a regular
classroom/program full time. All services
must be taken to the child in that setting.
Inclusion supporters believe that the child
should always begin in the regular
environment and be removed only when
appropriate services cannot be provided in
the regular classroom.
Inclusive education demands a focus on peers.
This implies that special units, special classes
and schools should be used to a limited extent,
and as exception form ordinary education
Inclusive education means all children, also
children experiencing barriers to learning,
development and participation, including
children with disabilities, have the right to
quality education in a school that is close to
their home and in a class that suits their age
Key principles of Inclusive Education
Rights
Participation
Process
Values
Diversity
Equality
Change
The 10 condition of inclusion
1. Values and awareness
2. Attitudes and behaviors
3. Legal and social factors (€)
4. School’s organization
5. The programs and curriculums
6. Teaching methods
7. Support Services/team work
8. The interactions with the environment
9. The supervision and monitoring
10. The team’s preparation/training
Effectiveness of integration
3 Meta-analysis
Social skills
School achievement
Effectiveness
Authors Carlberg
& Kavale
Wang &
Baker
Baker
Year
published
1980 1985-86 1994
Time
period
Pre-1980 1975-84 1983-92
Number
of studies
50 11 13
Academic
effect size
0.15 0.44 0.08
Social
effect size
0.11 0.11 0.28
Effectiveness
Effective for each category ?
Effective at each level ?
Effective everywhere ?
Inclusion changes the conditions:
Effect of Early Intervention
Effect of Values
Effects of Methods
Effects of the peers
…
Belgium
Special Education in Belgium
Special school system since 1970
8 types of “specialized” teaching
Free with bus transport
Special Schools are separated from Ordinary
Schools
Types pre
(2 ½ to 6)
primary
(6 to 13)
Secondary
(13 to 21)
Special class design for students with:
1 X X Mild mental retardation
2 X X X Moderate to severe mental retardation
3 X X X Behavior disorders
4 X X X Physical disabilities
5 X X At hospital or home (sick children)
6 X X X Visual imparments
7 X X X Auditive imparments
8 X Learning disabilities
Primairy (2003-2004) Secondary (2003-2004)
type 1 3831 7452
type 2 2220 2469
type 3 1754 2669
type 4 839 783
type 5 691 178
type 6 110 134
type 7 381 218
type 8 6213
Primary (2003-2004)
24%
14%
11%
5%
4%
1%
2%
39%
type 1
type 2
type 3
type 4
type 5
type 6
type 7
type 8
Secondary (2003-2004)
53%
18%
19%
6%
1%
1%
2%
type 1
type 2
type 3
type 4
type 5
type 6
type 7
Type 8 ???
Children with learning disabilities – “they can
not stay in ordinary primary school”
Only in primary schools (6 to 13)
The goal is the re-integration in general
education
In type 8 schools, children receive one hour
of speech and reading therapy.
The ratio is 1 teacher for 12 students
No compulsory training for teachers
Socioéconomicparents' level
1,68%
10,32%
44,84%
43,16%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
A B C D
Orientation the 1st year
5,14%
47,53%
1,85%
44,44%
0,82%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
1A 1B F2 F3 F4
Orientation the 3rd year
1,44% 2,26%
47,74%
2,26%
44,65%
0,41% 1,23%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
EG ET EP F2 F3 F4 non-scol
Stainback, Stainback, and Bunch (1989)-
“considerable time, money, and effort ... to
determine who is 'regular' and who is 'special'
and into what 'type' or category of exceptionality
each 'special' student fits. This continues to be
done in spite of the fact that a combination of
professional opinion and research indicates that
classification is often done unreliably, that it
stereotypes students, and that it is of little
instructional value.” (p. 18)
Will, 1986- “The separate administrative
arrangements for special programs contribute to
a lack of coordination, raise questions about
leadership, cloud areas of responsibility, and
obscure lines of accountability within schools ...
The problem at the building level is further
compounded by special program teachers
working ... in resource rooms. This isolation
minimizes communication between special
teachers and regular classroom teachers,
resulting in a lack of coordination between
ongoing classroom instruction and the specially
designed remedial instruction.”

History inclusive education

  • 1.
    Special Needs EducationBasis: Historical and Conceptual Approach Philippe Tremblay Université Libre de Bruxelles Tivat, Montenegro November 2007
  • 2.
    Special Education is“specially” designed instruction to meet the unique needs and abilities of exceptional students. Special Education is relatively new. Historically, people with disabilities were often placed in hospitals, asylums, or other institutions that provided little, if any, education. What is Special Needs Education?
  • 3.
    Greek et Roman Eraof Extermination Disability is a “punishment of the gods” – A bad or evil sign “Individual is what he is, now and forever” Plato & Aristotle call for infanticide Ciceron calls for the purity of the race, a society free of “defectives” Need for military superiority Therefore, someone with a disability resulting from war (soldiers) is taken in charge by the City.
  • 4.
    Greek & Roman Consequencesof Philosophy: Chaining - Left on hills to die - Thrown off cliffs - Locked away – Drown Father had right to terminate child’s life Deaf, blind & Ill children had little more chance.
  • 5.
    Old Testament « Godcreated man in his own image » !!! Disability is an impurity. A disabled person cannot approach sacred places
  • 6.
    New Testament Jesus helpsdisabled persons (ex: blind miracle) Disability is less a fault or an evil sign Need of assistance, help Help them is an occasion for “winning ones salvation”
  • 7.
    Example : Down’sSyndrome Angels . . . Mutterings revelations Benefit through alms “Children of Great Spirit” Angels from heaven Devils Changelings Martin Luther (demons, Punishment for sins) Intercourse with devil
  • 8.
    Middle Ages Era ofRidicule Rigid caste system Those with disabilities were: a) Used as servants or fools b) Some were still put to death c) Dwarfs were used as clowns d) Overall, ridiculed for deformities and behavior
  • 9.
    Renaissance Era of Asylum CatholicChurch accepts those with disabilities as wards of state Cared in isolation No education at first, but humane treatment Belief: Once disabled, always disabled
  • 10.
    EducabilityEducability Without education, nohumanity. There’s no Human and half-Human equality between man. All knowledge comes through the senses (John Locke and Etienne Condillac)
  • 11.
    First experiences Pedro Poncede Léon (1578) in Spain created the first documented experience about education of deaf children (from nobility) Abbé Charles Michel de l’Epée (1760) in Paris created the “Institut pour sourds” (Institute for deaf) Louis Braille invented “Braille script” (1829).
  • 12.
    Pioneers in SpecialEducation 1. Itard (wild boy) 2. Seguin 3. Montessori 4. Decroly 5. …
  • 13.
    Maria Montessori EduardSeguin Jean-Marc Itard Ovide Decroly
  • 14.
    Jean Marc GaspardItard (1774-1838) French physician and educator Jean Marc Gaspard Itard was one of the earliest teachers to argue that special teaching methods could be effective in educating disabled children. Between 1801 and 1805, Itard used systematic techniques to teach a boy, named Victor, how to communicate with others and how to perform daily living skills, such as dressing himself.
  • 15.
    Description of WildBoy “. . . He is unusual to our food, selecting his nourishment by smell but at the same time indifferent to fragrant or foul odors; lying flat on the ground to drink; tearing garments placed upon him and trying constantly to escape; walking often on all fours; fighting with his teeth; giving few marks of intelligence; having no articulate language even devoid of the faculty of speech. It was later discovered that the boy’s hearing was insensitive to loud noises and to music; yet he readily heard the fall of a nut. His sense of touch was likewise deficient. As to sight, his eyes constantly wandered and could not be fixed on objects” Bonaterre (1798)
  • 16.
    Five primary goals 1.To interest him in social life – try to make his life better than before 2. To improve his awareness of environmental stimuli – but the context was controlled 3. To extend the range of his ideas (e.g. introduce him to games, culture, etc.) 4. To teach him to speak & teach him to communicate by using symbol systems, such as pictures and written words 5. To exercise the operations of his mind upon his physical wants, from simple and proximal to complex and far
  • 17.
    Itard’s results Sleeping andeating habits and personal hygiene got more regular and controlled Senses of touch and taste became more acute Circle of wants increased Learned some monosyllabic words Learned to sequence objects
  • 18.
    Itard’s failure Victor nevertalked He wanted to return to his old life Too much exigencies ; lack of emotional attachment Maybe Victor maybe had an autistic syndrome or a mental retardation can also explain the abandonment
  • 19.
    First basis ofSpecial Education needs Individualization Emotional attachment Specific materials Structure of contents Segregation
  • 20.
    Eduard Seguin (1812-1880) In1848 French psychologist Edouard Séguin, who had studied with Itard, immigrated to the United States and developed several influential guidelines for educating children with special needs (ex. Mental retardation). Seguin’s education programs stressed the importance of developing independence and self-reliance in disabled students by presenting them with a combination of physical and intellectual tasks.
  • 21.
    Edouard Seguin Developed thephysiological method Sensory training Focused on touch Utilization of material Motor training Age appropriate activities Simple to complex Functional activities Work and play
  • 22.
    Seguin’s Basis 1. Frequentchanges in activities 2. Analysis of tasks into their components 3. Differentiation of senses from intellect 4. Physical education 5. Sensory stimulation 6. Employment as an outcome of education
  • 23.
    Maria Montessori (1870-1952) Montessorieducation is a flow experience; it builds on the continuing self-construction of the child—daily, weekly, yearly— for the duration of the program. Although Montessori schools are divided into multi-age classrooms: parent infant (ages 0 to 3) preschool (ages 3 to 6) lower and upper elementary (ages 6 to 9 and 9 to 12) middle school (ages 12 to 14) The prepared environments introduce an uninterrupted series of learning passages, a continuum. The "prepared environment" is Maria Montessori's concept that the environment can be designed to facilitate maximum independent learning and exploration by the child.
  • 24.
    Materials Each material ina Montessori classroom isolates one quality. In this way, the concept that the child is to discover is isolated. For example, the material known as the pink tower is made up of ten pink cubes of varying sizes. The preschool-aged child constructs a tower with the largest cube on the bottom and the smallest on top. This material isolates the concept of size. The cubes are all the same color and texture; the only difference is their size. Other materials isolate different concepts: color tablets for color, geometry materials for form, …
  • 26.
    Ovide Decroly (1871-1932) “Theschool will be located wherever is the nature, wherever life is, wherever the work is" In 1901, Decroly founded a school for children with mild disabilities (behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, light mental retardation). He gradually invented his pedagogy. In 1907, he founded a school for “ordinary” children with the same pedagogy.
  • 27.
    Decroly’s basis His pedagogyhad 4 basis: The hobbies and interests of the child as a guide to education. 4 Centers of needs Globalization means that the child learns globally, without order. It's a complete picture that we must give the child, then he passes to particularity and analysis. The class workshop or class laboratory in which the child lives and works. The "class" strictly speaking is everywhere; he advocated the breakup of places of learning: the kitchen, shops, the street ... The importance of the natural environment that puts the child in a situation of discovery.
  • 28.
    Dr. Anne Moore(1910) “My study of the situation in New York convinces me (1) that the horrors attendant upon feeblemindedness have in no way been exaggerated; (2) that the condition is neither circumscribed or local: . . . (3) that there is a crying need for concerted action toward control of the situation. “ Realize that the feebleminded are a menace to our present day civilization and that the problem of caring for them can no longer be safely ignored. They agree that the defect is often hereditary and incurable, that it leads to poverty, degeneracy, crime and disease.”
  • 29.
    “Solutions” ? Lifelong segregationduring the reproductive period Sterilization “This remedy must in the opinion of this committee be the principal agent used by society in cutting off the supply of defectives” (Eugenics section of the American Breeders Association, 1911)
  • 30.
    Last Century (1900’s) Biologicalemphasis Medical model Institutional Care 1900-1950’s Compulsory education. Creation of classes or schools for the mentally retarded, blind, deaf, etc.. After the 2nd world war : Creation of special education system, organized in parallel to ordinary system.
  • 31.
    Special Needs Education Thefour periods of special needs education: 1. Instruction for pupils with sensory disabilities, many disabled children were excluded from school 2. Care for the disabled, medical care and rehabilitation. Children segregated into homogenous groups 3. The principle of normalisation and integration 4. Educational equality and equal educational services (inclusion)
  • 32.
    Special education Specifically designedinstruction, at no cost to the child’s parents, to meet the unique needs of a student with a disability
  • 33.
    “Classic Special Education”characteristics Special settings (segregation, class, resource room, school, ...) Special children (types, categorization, …) Special teachers (trained or not, experienced or not, …) Specialists (therapists,…) Special ratio (less student by class, more teachers) Special methods/tools (Braille, signs language, ...) Special program and goals integration in social life…
  • 34.
    “Special segregated settings”advantages 1. Providing people with disabilities a chance "just" successful. 2. Promoting cooperation rather than competition 3. Learn physical and social skills in an environment that understands and accepts them. 4. Trained staff, equipment and specialized services. 5. Improve the skills that increase participation in more integrative situations 6. Individual attention is easier to obtain. 7. Be able to meet between individuals carrying the same disability.
  • 35.
    “Special segregated settings”disadvantages 1. Learn the skills, values, attitudes and behaviors of “the disabled." 2. Reduced expectations of parents, professionals, children. 3. Opposition to the transfer of skills to specialized normal settings. 4. Deny the psychological and social benefits resulting from the meeting with disabled children. 5. Based on “normality” and performance. It takes place outside the normal and regular performances. 6. Loss of links with the community and poor preparation for future life. 7. Cost important and life long (parents wanted students retained & greater demand for admission of new cases) 8. The interactions are mostly with adults and not with other children.
  • 36.
    What is disability? Thereare a lot of definitions to describe disability Most of the definitions making reference that disability is a pathology (physiological, biological and intellectual). These are medical definitions medical answers
  • 37.
    The medical definitionof disability: The medical definition has given rise to the idea that people are individual objects to be “treated”, “changed” or “improved” and made more “normal”. The medical definition views the disabled person as needing to “fit in” rather than thinking about how society itself should change This medical definition does not adequately explain the interaction between societal conditions or expectations and unique circumstances of an individual. (Rieser and Mason, 1992)
  • 38.
    The World HealthOrganization (WHO) (1996): International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps Impairment refers to A physical or mental defect at the level of a body system or organ. Disability refers to person-level limitations in physical and psycho-cognitive activities, Handicap refers to social abilities or relation between the individual and the society.’
  • 39.
    The social definitionof disability: Disability is a highly varied and complex condition with a range of implications for social identity and behavior. Disability largely depends on the context and is a consequence of discrimination, prejudice and exclusion. Emphasizes the shortcomings in the environment and in many organized activities in society, for example on information, communication and education, which prevent persons with disabilities from participating on equal terms.
  • 40.
    Comparing the medicaland social models of disability in education: Medical model: Child is faulty Diagnosis and labelling Impairment is focus of attention Segregation and alternative services Re-entry if normal enough or permanent exclusion Society remains unchanged Social model: Child is valued Strengths and needs identified Barriers identified and solutions developed Resources made available Diversity welcomed; child is welcomed Society evolves
  • 41.
    Segregation to Inclusion 3types of pressure : • Ethic and moral pressure associations, laws, awareness, … • Conceptual pressure concepts, practices, ... • Economic pressure effectiveness, costs,…
  • 42.
    Ethic and moral’spressure “ Science can not give an absolute answer to the question of school integration. At the time of the American Civil War, would Abraham Lincoln have simply required the scientific evidence of the benefits of the abolition of slavery? Has he had to consult experts, for example, a sociologist, an economist, a political analyst? Of course not. Slavery was not, and today is not more a matter to be settled by science. It is a moral issue “ (Bilken, 1985 in Vienneau, 2004)
  • 43.
    The right toa more inclusive education is covered in several significant international declarations, including: Universal Declaration of Human Rights – 1948 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) World Declaration for Education for All (1990) Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disability (1993) UNESCO Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action (1994) Dakar Framework for Action (2000). …
  • 44.
    Salamanca Statement: 1. Everychild has a fundamental right to education 2. Every child has unique characteristics, interests, abilities and learning needs 3. Education systems should be designed and educational programmes implemented to meet these diversities among children 4. Students with special needs must have access to regular schools with adapted education 5. Regular schools with an inclusive orientation are the most effective means of combating and preventing discriminative attitudes and building up an inclusive society
  • 45.
    Also… Pressure by vote(Switzerland-Valais, etc.) Pressure by Parents’ association Pressure by justice (Brown v. Board of Education - USA, Canada, etc.) Pressure by national and/or international organizations (UNESCO, EU, etc.) Other Pressures…
  • 46.
    Conceptual pressure 1. Normalization 2.Least restrictive environment 3. Social validation 4. Chronologically age appropriate skills 5. Principles of adaptation 6. Integration/mainstreaming/inclusion
  • 47.
    Normalization Treating people withdisabilities as normally as possible In a “natural environment” Both the means and the ends of education for students with disabilities should be as much like those for non-disabled students as possible De-institutionalization a systematic drive to move people out of institutions and back into closer contact with the community
  • 48.
    Least Restrictive Environment 1.To the maximum extent, children with disabilities are to be educated with children who are not disabled 2. Removal may only occur when education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily
  • 49.
    Home or hospitalplacement Full-time placement in residential facility Full-day placement in a special school Full-day placement in a special class Full-day placement in a special class and social integration with general school population Part-day regular class placement and part-day special class placement Part-day regular class placement and part-day resource or itinerant services Full-day regular class placement with instruction delivered in regular class by specialist Full-day regular class placement with consultation services for the teacher Full-day regular class placement Most Restrictive Increasing severity of needs and restrictiveness of environment
  • 50.
    Placement in theLeast Restrictive Environment Regular classroom placement is the first option the team must consider Access to the general education curriculum is as important as placement in a classroom If it is not possible to educate a child successfully in a regular education classroom with the use of supplementary aids and services, then team must consider more restrictive alternatives.
  • 51.
    Social validation &Chronologically age appropriate Subjective evaluation Social comparison The children with special needs must be with children of the same age Ex. : Don’t put 16 with 5 year old !!!
  • 52.
    Principles of adaptation SpecialNeeds require adaptation… • Adapt only when necessary to increase a person's participation & success • Adapt on an individual basis • View any adaptations as temporary • Adapt for congruence • Adapt for availability
  • 53.
    Integration “ Moving theminto school/society normally as much as possible ” Physical Integration Social Integration Pedagogical Integration a) Mainstreaming b) Inclusion
  • 54.
    Mainstream Mainstreaming has beenused to refer to the selective placement of special education students in one or more "regular" education classes. Proponents of mainstreaming generally assume that a student must "earn" his or her opportunity to be placed in regular classes by demonstrating an ability to "keep up" with the work assigned by the regular classroom teacher. This concept is closely linked to traditional forms of special education service delivery.
  • 55.
    Mainstreming General Education (Collaborative Consultation Co-teaching) ResourceClassroom Hospital or Homebound Instruction Self-Contained Class Special Day School Residential School PhysicalIntegration More Less
  • 56.
    Resource Room A specialeducation placement for less than half a child's school day. With special “materials” or “resources”. Resource Room students receive additional instruction in language arts, math and/or content areas Resource room students receive basic skills instruction in addition to their general education program.
  • 57.
    Mainstreaming Advantages Promotes diversityand acceptance. Allows opportunities for all students to advance. Students with learning disabilities are motivated through competition to improve General education students have the ability to rise up to leadership roles. Collaboration with separate special service
  • 58.
    Disadvantages of Mainstreaming Acceptationof segregation Stigmatization Children stay in the most segregated settings The general schools didn’t change !!!
  • 59.
    Definition of ”inclusion” ”Inclusion”was defined by Stainback & Stainback (1990) as : 1. Education of all students in in regular classes 2. Appropriate educational programs for every student 3. Everyone is accepted and supported
  • 60.
    What is Integration/inclusion? 1. Inclusion assume that students with disabilities attend ordinary schools. 2. The fundamental principle is that all children are together as much as possible 3. Inclusive education of high quality should focus on: Curriculum, Organizational arrangements, Teaching strategies Resource use Partnership with the communities
  • 61.
    Inclusion Involves bringing thesupport services to the child (rather than moving the child to the services) and requires only that the child will benefit from being in the class (rather than having to keep up with the other students).
  • 62.
    Inclusion is aprocess, not a place, service or setting.
  • 63.
    Full inclusion meansthat all students, regardless of handicapping condition or severity, will be in a regular classroom/program full time. All services must be taken to the child in that setting. Inclusion supporters believe that the child should always begin in the regular environment and be removed only when appropriate services cannot be provided in the regular classroom.
  • 64.
    Inclusive education demandsa focus on peers. This implies that special units, special classes and schools should be used to a limited extent, and as exception form ordinary education Inclusive education means all children, also children experiencing barriers to learning, development and participation, including children with disabilities, have the right to quality education in a school that is close to their home and in a class that suits their age
  • 65.
    Key principles ofInclusive Education Rights Participation Process Values Diversity Equality Change
  • 66.
    The 10 conditionof inclusion 1. Values and awareness 2. Attitudes and behaviors 3. Legal and social factors (€) 4. School’s organization 5. The programs and curriculums 6. Teaching methods 7. Support Services/team work 8. The interactions with the environment 9. The supervision and monitoring 10. The team’s preparation/training
  • 67.
    Effectiveness of integration 3Meta-analysis Social skills School achievement
  • 68.
    Effectiveness Authors Carlberg & Kavale Wang& Baker Baker Year published 1980 1985-86 1994 Time period Pre-1980 1975-84 1983-92 Number of studies 50 11 13 Academic effect size 0.15 0.44 0.08 Social effect size 0.11 0.11 0.28
  • 69.
    Effectiveness Effective for eachcategory ? Effective at each level ? Effective everywhere ? Inclusion changes the conditions: Effect of Early Intervention Effect of Values Effects of Methods Effects of the peers …
  • 70.
  • 73.
    Special Education inBelgium Special school system since 1970 8 types of “specialized” teaching Free with bus transport Special Schools are separated from Ordinary Schools
  • 74.
    Types pre (2 ½to 6) primary (6 to 13) Secondary (13 to 21) Special class design for students with: 1 X X Mild mental retardation 2 X X X Moderate to severe mental retardation 3 X X X Behavior disorders 4 X X X Physical disabilities 5 X X At hospital or home (sick children) 6 X X X Visual imparments 7 X X X Auditive imparments 8 X Learning disabilities
  • 75.
    Primairy (2003-2004) Secondary(2003-2004) type 1 3831 7452 type 2 2220 2469 type 3 1754 2669 type 4 839 783 type 5 691 178 type 6 110 134 type 7 381 218 type 8 6213
  • 76.
    Primary (2003-2004) 24% 14% 11% 5% 4% 1% 2% 39% type 1 type2 type 3 type 4 type 5 type 6 type 7 type 8
  • 77.
  • 78.
    Type 8 ??? Childrenwith learning disabilities – “they can not stay in ordinary primary school” Only in primary schools (6 to 13) The goal is the re-integration in general education In type 8 schools, children receive one hour of speech and reading therapy. The ratio is 1 teacher for 12 students No compulsory training for teachers
  • 79.
  • 80.
    Orientation the 1styear 5,14% 47,53% 1,85% 44,44% 0,82% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 1A 1B F2 F3 F4
  • 81.
    Orientation the 3rdyear 1,44% 2,26% 47,74% 2,26% 44,65% 0,41% 1,23% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% EG ET EP F2 F3 F4 non-scol
  • 82.
    Stainback, Stainback, andBunch (1989)- “considerable time, money, and effort ... to determine who is 'regular' and who is 'special' and into what 'type' or category of exceptionality each 'special' student fits. This continues to be done in spite of the fact that a combination of professional opinion and research indicates that classification is often done unreliably, that it stereotypes students, and that it is of little instructional value.” (p. 18)
  • 83.
    Will, 1986- “Theseparate administrative arrangements for special programs contribute to a lack of coordination, raise questions about leadership, cloud areas of responsibility, and obscure lines of accountability within schools ... The problem at the building level is further compounded by special program teachers working ... in resource rooms. This isolation minimizes communication between special teachers and regular classroom teachers, resulting in a lack of coordination between ongoing classroom instruction and the specially designed remedial instruction.”