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Report

Workshop
on
Training of Teachers of the Visually Impaired in Europe

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APPENDIX 1 - SUMMARY OF QUESTIONNAIRES

Brief description of the training of special teachers of the visually impaired in the participating countries.

In order to gain some insight into the organisation of the training of special teachers of the visually impaired in the participating countries, all participants were asked to fill in the following questionnaire prior to the workshop.

Brief description of the organisation of the training course for teachers for the visually impaired.
Is it a full-time or a part-time training course

	How many years: ___					
	How many lessons: ___
	How many hours of practical training: ___

How many students take up the specialisation Visual Impairment:

	year 1: ___		year 4: ___
	year 2: ___		year 5: ___
	year 3: ___

How many professors/lecturers/staff member are involved in the specialisation "Visual Impairment"?

	Full-time: ___
	Part-time: ___

Do you have special teachers for practical training?

yes/no

	If yes, how many
	full-time: ___
	part-time: ___

Is there a structured and formalized collaboration with schools for visually impaired, taking students as trainees/ practical experience?

yes/no

Are there lecturers who have been assigned the task to supervise practical experience?

yes/no

With how many schools for visually impaired does your institute have formal arrangements?

How many graduates actually find employment in education for the visually impaired?
Are there any more training courses for teachers for the visually impaired in your country beside your own institute?

yes/no
	
	If yes:
	Name university/college			Town

Would you like to add any topics to the enclosed list of discussion topics?

Below the outcomes of this questionnaire.

1. Brief description per country (on the basis of question 1)

2. Some quantitative details (on the basis of questions 2 to 8)

3. A number of summarising remarks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION PER COUNTRY

1. Austria: The in-service course for teachers of the visually impaired is an additional course following regular teacher training. The course lasts 13 weeks, spread over a period of 3 years and is taught at different locations in Austria.
A committee is currently working on changes in the curriculum, which they expect to finalise in 1998. New topics will include new technology, integration and multi-handicapped children.
2. Belarus: There is a full-time, 5 year training course for special teachers. Specialisation (including visually impaired) takes place from the third year onwards. The specialisation Visually Impaired was introduced quite recently. A curriculum is available
3. Belgium: There is a part-time, 2-year post-graduate course for teachers of specials schools (a sort of in-service training). The first year deals with general topics, the second year with specific ones.
4. Bulgaria: The course for special teachers of the visually impaired was started in 1988. It is a 5-year course with specialisation starting in the third year. Since 1991 it has been possible to start with specialisation in the first year. The students have the opportunity to take an additional specialisation in the field of special education.
5. Croatia: The training of teachers of the visually impaired is a separate, full-time course for special teacher or an additional part-time course for regular teachers. Specialisation starts in the third year. There are also different post-graduate courses. A curriculum is available.
6. Czech Republic: The training is a separate course or an additional one for regular teachers. Specialisation starts in the third year. There are also different post-graduate courses. A curriculum is available.
7. Denmark: The training of special teachers is an addition course for regular teachers working in special education. The training consists of a general part, followed by two specialisations. One of the specialisations focuses on visually impaired; it consists of 12 modules and lasts 6 months. In addition, there is a 7-month course for teachers of mobility and daily living skills; this course is primarily intended for rehabilitation officers.
8. Finland: At present there is no separate training course for teachers of the visually impaired. A degree in remedial teaching is sufficient. There is on the job training in schools for the visually impaired.
9. France: The F�deration Nationale des Instituts de Sourdes et d'Aveugles de France (FISAF) is responsible for the training of special teachers for the visually impaired. They offer a part-time, additional course which lasts 3 years. The theoretical part consists of 16 periods of 5 days each and is concluded by an exam. Students must work in an institute for the blind and/or visually impaired; this institute is responsible for the practical aspect of the training.
10. Germany: The teacher training course for special teachers is full-time. For students who do not have a teaching degree the course takes 4 years, for students who already have a teaching degree it takes 2 years. Students can choose two specialisations (e.g. visually impaired and another area of special education). There are two post-graduate courses, one in early intervention and one in orientation and mobility. The post-graduate courses last 1 year.
11. Hungary: There is a separate full-time training course. Every student takes two specialisations. Specialisation starts in the second year. In addition, there is a part-time course for experienced teachers. A curriculum has been in place since 1992. There are no post-graduate courses.
12. Lithuania: There is a part-time, 5-year distant learning course with a direct link to practice. The aim of this course is to train specialists in visually impairment to work in the field of early intervention, pre-school institutes, special schools and with children in mainstream education. Furthermore, there are in-service courses for teachers already working in special schools.
13. The Netherlands: Training of special teachers is a part-time additional course for teachers working in special schools. There are many specialisations including for visually impaired: integration, inclusion and mainstreaming are important topics. Because of the in-service character of the course, the relation with the teacher's daily practice is of primary importance.
14. Norway: There is a 1-year full-time programme for specialisation in visual impairment. The aim is to train Special Education for the visually impaired and to qualify students to work with all ages, as teachers and/or therapists within the school and the social health care system. There is a theoretical and a practical part, the latter under supervision.
15. Poland: There is a separate, full-time course with specialisation taking place from the second year onwards. There is an opportunity to take two specialisations. There are several post-graduate courses (2 - 3 semesters), e.g. in early intervention, low vision, orientation and mobility, daily living skills.
16. Portugal: There is an 2-year post-graduate course for special teachers, full-time for teachers in primary education and part-time for teachers in secondary education. Conditions for admission: teaching qualification and at least two years experience as a teacher. There are no other post-graduate options.
17. Rumania: The full-time training course for special teachers takes 4 years. Specialisation takes place in the third and fourth year. Most students take two specialisations. A curriculum is available. There is also an MA course in Integrated Education which is taught in collaboration with the School of Education of the University of Birmingham.
18. Scotland: Only fully qualified teachers with two years experience are allowed to take the post-graduate diploma in visual impairment. The course consists of 8 modules, offered in part-time mode only. Additional modules are offered for specific topics such as orientation and mobility.
19. Slovak Republic: The training course for teachers of the visually impaired is a full-time course taught in combination with teaching for regular primary schools. In addition to the approved curriculum, students have to take 1 or 2 elective subjects.
20. Slovenia: The training of special teacher started in 1991. During the full-time course for special education students acquire knowledge about visual impairment by means of special lectures, seminars and practical experience.
21. Spain: No questionnaire received
22. Sweden: There is an additional course for (itinerant) teachers, therapists and nurses (eye hospitals). The part-time/distant learning course takes 3 years (6 semesters). A curriculum is available. There also are a number of post-graduate courses.
23. Turkey: There is a separate, 4-year training course for special teachers of the visually impaired. Specialisation starts in the second year. A curriculum is available.
24. England: There is a 1-year full-time campus-based study programme for qualified teachers. In addition, there is a 2-year part-time Distant Education Programme for fully qualified teachers with at least two years teaching experience. These students must be working with pupils with a visual impairments.
For both programmes students can choose to work at DPhil or Master's level. There is an extended programme and study curriculum.

SOME QUANTITATIVE DETAILS

Questions	Austria Vienna	Belarus Minsk	Belgium Huldenberg	Bulgaria Sofia	Croatia Zagreb	Czech Rep. Prague	Denmark Copenhagen
2. Full-time training course a. years b. lessons c. hours practical training	no	yes 5 40 27 weeks	no	yes 5 4000 360	yes 4	yes	no detailed information
2. Part-time training course a. years b. lessons c. hours practical training	yes 3 720 80		yes 2 240 420	yes 1 210 30	yes 2	yes	no detailed information
3. number of students specialisation V.I. a. year 1 b. year 2 c. year 3 d. year 4 e. year 5	last 3-year course had 36 students	- - 20 23 20	6	12		about 15 per year	no detailed information
4. number involved professors/lecturers/ staff V.I. a. full-time b. part-time	-- 40	9 3		2 5	2 1	1 2	no detailed information
5. special teachers for practical training a. full-time b. part-time	yes -- 10	no -- --	each student has a mentor	yes -- 6-10	yes -- 5	yes -- 2	no detailed information
6a formalized collaboration with schools for training 6b lecturers who supervise practical experience 6c number of schools with formal arrangements	no no 4 informal	yes yes 4	yes yes 2	yes yes 2	yes yes 1	yes yes 8	no detailed information
7. % graduates with employment in V.I.	90%	90%		30%	30%	80%	no detailed information
8. other places of teacher training courses V.I. in the country	no	no	no	no	no	Brno and Olomovc	no detailed information

Questions	Finland Helsingfors	France Paris	Germany Heidelberg	Hungary Budapest	Lituania Siauliai	Netherlands Utrecht
2. Full-time training course a. years b. lessons c. hours practical training	no	no	yes 4 / 2	yes 4 2030	no	no
2. Part-time training course a. years b. lessons c. hours practical training	yes	yes 3 500	no	yes 2,5 1050	yes 5 1160 180	yes 2 12x24h 12x24h
3. number of students specialisation V.I. a. year 1 b. year 2 c. year 3 d. year 4 e. year 5 f. part-time	3	no further information		-- 19 11 23 -- 44	30	30 30
4. number involved professors/lecturers/staff V.I. a. full-time b. part-time	-- 2	no further information	4 --	3 --	-- 31	total of 6 p/t & f/t
5. special teachers for practical training a. full-time b. part-time	yes -- 6	no further information	practical training at the special school	yes -- 6	yes -- 10	yes total of 6 p/t & f/t
6a formalized collaboration with schools for training 6b lecturers who supervise practical experience 6c number of schools with formal arrangements	yes yes 1	no further information	yes yes 4	yes yes 2	yes yes 2	yes yes 4
7. % graduates with employment in V.I.	100%	100%	90%	60%	85%	100%
8. other places of teacher training courses V.I. in the country	Jyv�kyl�	no	Berlin Dortmund Hamburg	no	no	Tilburg

Questions	Norway Oslo	Poland Warsaw	Portugal Porto	Rumania Cluj	Scotland Edinburgh	Slov. Rep. Bratislava
2. Full-time training course a. years b. lessons c hours practical training	yes 1	yes 5	yes 2 1215 180	yes 4	no	yes 5 26 / 60h
2. Part-time training course a. years b. lessons c. hours practical training	no		yes 2 735 in-service	no	yes 2-5 8 modules of 150 hours at schools	no
3. number of students specialisation V.I. a. year 1 b. year 2 c. year 3 d. year 4 e. year 5	20	no information	7 full-time 7 full-time -- -- --	-- -- 10 10 --		10 7 13 10 9
4. number involved professors/lecturers/staff V.I. a. full-time b. part-time	1 15-20	4 10	1 1	2 2	1 some	4 1
5. special teachers for practical training a. full-time b. part-time	yes -- 6	yes -- 10-15	no	yes -- 4	no	yes -- 6
6a formalized collaboration with schools for training 6b lecturers who supervise practical experience 6c number of schools with formal arrangements	yes yes 1	yes yes 9	no no none, all integrated	yes yes 3	no yes some informal	yes yes 1
7. % graduates with employment in V.I.	80-100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	30%
8. other places of teacher training courses V.I. in the country	no	Lublin	Lisbon	Bucharest Iasi	no	no

Questions	Slovenia Ljubljana	Spain	Sweden Stockholm	Turkey Ankara	England Birmingham
2. Full-time training course a: years b: lessons c: hours practical training	no detailed information	questionnaire not returned	no	yes 4 24 1 acad. year	yes 1
2. Part-time training course a. years b. lessons c. hours practical training	no detailed information		yes 3 500 400	no	yes 2
3. number of students specialisation V.I. a. year 1 b. year 2 c. year 3 d. year 4 e. year 5	no detailed information		25	-- 20 20 20	47 53
4. number involved professors/lecturers/staff V.I. a. full-time b. part-time	no detailed information		1 10	7 1	4 2
5. special teachers for practical training a. full-time b. part-time	no detailed information		1 1	no	yes -- 26
6a formalized collaboration with schools for training 6b lecturers who supervise practical experience 6c number of schools with formal arrangements	yes yes 2		no yes --	yes yes 1	yes yes 14 approx.
7. % graduates with employment in V.I.	--		97%	100%	100%
8. other places of teacher training courses V.I. in the country	no		no	no	Swansea London

SUMMARISING REMARKS

The most striking difference is that a number of countries, mainly Central and Eastern European, offer separate training courses for special teacher of the visually impaired whereas a number of other countries offer this type of training as additional courses for qualified teachers. This implies clear differences in the starting level of the students and thus has clear consequences for the curriculum.

This also has consequences for the duration of the training; in the first case we see full-time programmes taking 4 to 5 years, in the latter usually 1 to 3-year part-time programmes.

Virtually all countries greatly emphasize practical training and have a formalised cooperation with special schools for the visually impaired.

Most countries have a curriculum. The most important subjects are pedagogy, psychology, didactics, ophthalmology, information on visual impairments, braille, low vision training, daily living skills, orientation & mobility, multi-handicapped. Technology is a recent addition.