3rd Workshop on Training of Teachers of the Visually Impaired in Europe,
Warsaw, Poland, 3 - 6 April 2002
by mrs Teresa Aidukiene, MSc., senior specialist of Special Education Sector of Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania;
mr Vitas Purlys, Head of Computer Centre for the Blind and Partially Sighted, Lithuanian Training and Education Centre for the Blind and Visually Impaired;
mr Egidijus Elijošius, Vice-dean of Faculty of Special Education, Šiauliai university
Lithuania demonstrates a multiplicity of approaches to integration/inclusion therefore it belongs to the European "multi-track" countries.
Lithuania does not offer one single solution (integration or mainstreaming with the support of many different services) or a choice between two options (mainstream or special education), but rather a variety of services between these two systems. Presently, special education in the country is the product of an earlier period, when segregation of "the different" was a state policy and the SEN students were excluded from general school. But there are various approaches to integration/inclusion. These range from full integration at a mainstream school or at special classes at mainstream school settings (partial integration) up to an opportunity to attend special school/special boarding school.
After regaining of independence in 1990, Lithuania attempts to become an equal part of the European community. This implies awareness and respect of international policy documents, as well as creating its own legitimate basis of special education, promoting an inclusive policy approach in education.
Lithuania has already joined the UN and thus adopted the UN Standard Rules. Lithuania has further, signed the Salamanca resolution, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and is currently preparing for the full adoption of Acquis Communitaire of the European Union - including also The European Social Charter and the EU legislation in force on equal rights.
Immediately after Lithuania restored the Independence on March 11, 1990, the State began to implement the educational reform that had already been started in the years of national renaissance or the late 80s. The Education Reform Act of June 25, 1991, consolidated democratic principles of education in the country. This document had a strong impact on the fate of the children with severe and profound disfunctions: they have been allowed to learn in educational institutions. Before that, those children and youngsters have been called "uneducatable" The Law on the Social Integration of the Disabled November 28, 1991 was adopted. The Law emphasises that the disabled can not be discriminated against and that they have the right to work, study and train, that, regardless of the cause, character and degree of their disability shall be entitled to the same rights as other residents of the Republic of Lithuania. Lithuania's first post-communist Constitution (1992) which was approved by a referendum in October 1992, affirms the determination of the Lithuanian nation to strive for open, just and harmonious democratic society. It claims that every child must attend a compulsory education untill 16 years of age. The first legislation basis for integrated education of children with special needs (SEN) is the document entitled The Order of Special Educational Provision for Children with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Educational Institutions, May 27, 1993. This document was compiled in the context of the situation of special education in the country and accumulated experience of other countries in the managing of special education and it states that: SEN pupils in mainstream institutions may be educated:
This document may be considered as the first one that started to legitimate integrated education of SEN children in mainstream institutions. It also exercises the parent's formal right to choose the educational institution. It also recognises the unity of identification of special educational needs and serving these needs through a Special education board of a mainstream school. The Law on Special Education, December 15, 1998 establishes the structure of the system of special education as well as administration and management of early and pre-school, general, supplementary, vocational, college, university and adult education of persons with special needs.
Article 3. Basic definitions of the Law defines that "Persons with Special Educational Needs are children and adults, who because of congenital or acquired impairments have limited opportunities of participating in the educational process and social life"
This document is the most challenging juridical instrument regarding special education in Lithuania. It increases state responsibility for providing a free and appropriate education for all children and youngsters (age range 0 - 21 year) with SEN in the least restrictive environment, providing all needed supplementary aids and services, assuring that rights of children and their parents/guardians are protected, assessing states and localities to provide for education of children and youngsters with SEN and assuring the effectiveness of efforts to educate them. Included were protections of due process procedures for parents and children, Individualised Educational Plans and evaluation and appeal rights.
Article 25 states an order of provision of educational assistive technology and training appliances:
Article 26 defines a responsibility of an Educational Institution: they must be adapted for persons with special needs in accordance with the requirements established by the Government.
The secondary legislation acts, that follow the implementation of this Law on Special Education are under preparation now, many of them are already aproved but those requiring allocation of aditional financing there are still on their way because of rather hard financial situation of the country. Anyway, there is in the plans of the ministry to prepaire (till a year 2002) and to allocate funds for the Programme for provision on Special educational needs.
Republic of Lithuania Law on Education that was adopted by Seimas (Parlament) in June 25, 1991 has already been revised. Republic of Lithuania Law on the Amendment of the Law on Education was adopted by Seimas in July 2, 1998.
It is necessary to note - article 14 instead of article 12 as it was in the previous version, lays out the legal provisions for "Development of Mentally or Physically Disabled Children and School children".
Especially important it is to stress, that second paragraph of the article 14, was changed and now it reads:
"Upon the consent of parents (or guardians of the child), and taking into consideration requests of a child or pupil, the latter shall be referred for special education by the special education commission of an educational institution or (and) a pedagogical psychological agency in accordance with the procedure established by the Ministry of Education and Science".
Therefore, as we can obviously see, parents together with a child can make their own choice regarding the educational setting or accepting or not-accepting an offer made by professionals. Such medical expressions as "diagnostic specialists" or "corrective education" are not used any more in the revised version of the Law.
According to the data available the total number of pupils' population in Lithuania in a school year 2000/2001 was as many as 594 063.
SEN pupils consisted 9% (53 308) of this 0-12 grades students population
In a year 1999 SEN pupils consisted 8,5% (43 000) out of all school population. As we can see a number of SEN students is increasing. We assume that this happens due to a better assessment and evaluation of difficulties a certain child meets that is done by growing number of psychological pedagogical services, more effective work of schools' Special education commissions.
The integration of SEN pupils can take different forms: full or partial integration.
According to the The Law on the Amandment of the Law on Education (1998) and The Law on Special Education (1998) - the latter one came into force inSeptember 1999, SEN child or youngster has a right to be educated:
Children with SEN who are inrolled into mainstream schools are learning according to various individualised programmes: modified educational programme, Adapted Educational programme, Special Education programme, Individual Education Programme
According to statistical data obtained by Ministry of Education and Science in the beginning of a school year 2000/2001 as many as 85% of SEN pupils were taught at mainstream schools (as many as 82% in 1999)(full integration); 2% (4% in 1999) at special classes at mainstream schools and 12% (14% in 1999) at special schools or special boarding schools that are of various types.
But the movement towards integration can obviesly be seen: every year more and more of SEN pupils with mild developmental disfunctions are mainstreamed and those having severe and profound disabilities overtake their place in special educational institutions. The dinamic we can obviesly be seen. Since 1990s the number of such pupils in special boarding schools for the mentally retarded children has decreased about 50%
1990 - 8,933
1993 - 5,837
1994 - 4,845
1999 - 4,677
2000 - 4,649
From a birth to three years of age blind and low vision children are usually raised in families with support of a visiting teacher for the blind and visually impaired. A number of visiting hours is decided by regulations agreed on by three ministries: Health Care, Education and Science and Social Care and Labour. A support might be given also by Early Rehabilitation Services that belongs to the healt care system.
Children from three to six-seven years are educated in pre-school mainstream kindergartens or in the special kindergartens for the visually impaired, or special groups for visually impaired in mainstream kindergartens.
Children from six-seven to eighteen-twenty one year of age can be educated in mainstream schools' ordinary classes with support of special teacher or at Kaunas special school for visually impaired. There is a special school for the blind and low vision children in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania as well. The latter is a part of the Lithuanian Training Centre for the Blind and Visually Impaired. These institutions that were mentioned above are run by the State.
The secondary education in special school longs for 13 years: 5 years of primary school, 6 years of basic education and 2 years of secondary education. Education is based on mainstream programmes, with special lessons: orientation and mobility, training of functional vision, daily living skills. Those students who have a multiple disability and are visually impaired are trained according to individualised educational programmes.
There is also a number of blind and low vision students who are educated at their homes according the special rules of two ministries: Health Care and Education and Science.
The Computer Centre for the Blind and Partially Sighted was founded in 1992. The centre is located in the same premises as the boarding school for the blind and visually impaired. These two divisions as well as the Social Training Division are the parts of the Lithuanian Training Centre for the blind and visually impaired which is situated in Vilnius, the bigest city of Lithuania. The Centre plays a significant role in daily life of many blind and low vision individuals of various age in Lithuania.
The first mobility instructors came from Poland in 1991. They introduced white canes and began teaching Lithuanian rehabilitators from the Social Training School and teachers from the boarding school for the blind and visually impaired.
Since 1994 the Nordic Baltic co-operation between specialists dealing with deaf-blindness has started. Namely, between Skadalen Centre in Norway and the Lithuanian Training Centre for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Thus, due to the project since 1998 in the Lithuanian Training Centre for the Blind and Visually Impaired a status of teacher of the deafblind was established.
During the 90-s after changes in legislation a number of special classes for the children having profound dysfunction and visual impairment have been established.
According to the data available in a year 2001-2002 there are 238 visually impaired mainstreamed:
(V- up to 0,04%): 14 pupils; 1-4 grades - 10 pupils and 5 out of them at home; 5-10 grades - 3 pupils, 11-12 grades- 1 pupil (at home)
(V- 0,05-0,1): 29 pupils; 1-4 grades - 9, 5-10 grades - 18 (at home), 11-12 grades - 2 (at home)
(V- 0,1-0,3): 162 pupils; 1-4 grades - 85 pupils, 5-10 grades- 65 pupils, 11-12 grades: 12 pupils
As many as 250 low vision pupils are attending two special residential schools for the visually impaired.
There are Educational institution's Commissions on Special Education at each of educational institution. They are responsible for an initial assessment and evaluation of a pupil's special educational needs. These commissions must cooperate with families, PPS/PPC staff.
In 1996 Pedagogical-Psychological Centre was established. It is subordinated under The Ministry of Education and Science. There are 8 branches of this institution around the country. The branches have to deal with SEN children and youngsters at county level and to cooperate with municipal PPS. They are supposed to cover areas where PPS are have not yet been estableshed. PPC provides methodical support and it also is running various preventional, research programmes. The services (1 county level and 8 branches of PPC) are more specialised and provide assessment and evaluation of SEN children having severe and profound disfunctions, for children after abuse of various kinds, having severe social and emotional problems, severe behavioural disorders.
Within four last years 26 pedagogical-psychological services (PPS) were set up in Lithuania with Danish support. They covers about 50% out of all municipalities. Their responsibility is to serve schools and pre-school educational institutions at municipal level. PPS as well as PPC branches staff use a multidisciplinary approach in order to assess and evaluate child's special needs including low vision pupils as well.
Lithuania is the only Baltic country that has this system of PPS has started to introduce.
There are also Early rehabilitation services that are under the Ministry of Health. They are dealing with early intervention matters. There are as many as 35 at the moment.
Although since 1995 according to requirements set out by Ministry of Education and Science each college or a higher institution dealing with teacher training must offer 2 - 4 credits of the special needs cources, this is definitely not enough for the teachers. Having in mind that Lithuanian school attempts to be open for inclusion much more attention has to be payed towards training of all teachers in order they could really meet various special educational needs of their pupils at mainstream settings. The Ministry of Education and Science is working on this issue: the new National Teacher Training Concept has been recently developed and is under discussions of all educational society. Special education sector suggested that it should be clearly stated that every teacher after graduation must be able (having enough of theorethical background on special pedagogy and related subjects) to practically deal with a variety of special needs students at a mainstream classroom setting.
There is a possibility for in-service teachers to acquire a specialisation of special teacher of the blind and visually impaired - two years (80 credits) cource is available at the Teacher Qualification Institute attached to Siauliai university and dealing with up-grading teachers qualification.
Ministry of Education and Science, Special Education Sector lists the following problems:
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