3rd Workshop on Training of Teachers of the Visually Impaired in Europe,
Warsaw, Poland, 3 - 6 April 2002
by mrs Michele Collat and mrs Nathalie Lewi-Dumont
Since 1999, integration of handicapped students is a major preoccupation of the French Government. For that the Government decided a plan, in January 2000 (Handiscol' plan): the number of mainstreamed students should be doubled in 3 years; giving more money for the individual equipment of mainstreamed children (especially v.i. students), for 2001, 2002, 2003.
A cell in each local district should be created to know what are the needs of the children and families for a better schooling. A national phone number is available to answer questions from parents and professionals. New support services should be created.
A particular care should be given to mainstreaming in high schools, which is sometimes very difficult: for that, new devices have been created (pedagogical mainstreaming units) which would allow students who still need a lot of help to attend regular schools instead of going to special schools. Special schools would then have to provide schooling to children with more problems, including multiple handicaps. For MDVI children, there is still a lack of schools.
To help the integration in secondary schools, secondary teacher training should be increased, since in the Public system, only the elementary teachers can get a degree in special education (they can support students in high schools, but their position is sometimes difficult).
Therefore the Ministry created, experimentally, a first training course for resource teachers for the integration in secondary schools. They have been trained in Cnefei. They have one or several v.i students in their class, and, for part of their time they will help their colleagues who discover the handicap. But, for the moment, there is no degree of special education. The Ministry is thinking about it. For the moment, in Cnefei, we increase the number of in service training short sessions, that can be attended by specialised elementary teachers, secondary teachers, specialised teachers from private schools, other professionals, like O&M instructors, Braille translators: for example learning Braille, raised pictures techniques, teaching history and geography to v.i. students, teaching math, to v.i. students, handling mdvi children and deafblind children (an international symposium will take place in Paris on that subject), etc.
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