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The participants have been presented a questionnaire to gain insight into the state of art with respect to the developments in the area of integration/inclusion.
Beneath you will find a general survey of the answers. More detailed information can be found in the Internet version of the report of the workshop: see Country reports
Nearly all countries represented in the workshop face legislation saying that each child has the right to integrated education and giving the parents the possibility to choose between a special school and a mainstream school. An exception to this rule is Sweden where the concept "special school" no longer has a legal basis since the local authorities are responsible for all education of all children.
The eldest legislation in this area was effected in Norway and Sweden in the sixties/seventies of the previous century, in most other countries this legislation dates from the nineties.
However, there are still big differences in the realisation of the current legislation with respect to this area, partly due to traditions and (material) possibilities.
In all countries where visually impaired pupils are mainstreamed there is support in one way or another for these pupils by itinerant teachers. There are, however, big differences as to intensity.
The possibilities in this area are very different: from "all that is necessary is possible " to the most basic things are lacking".
Naturally, this depends on the available financial budget.
In many countries, aids are supplied on the basis of the IEP (Individual Educational Plan). In a number of countries, the central government is responsible for the supply of these aids. In some countries the supply of aids comes under the Ministry of Education, in other countries it comes under the Ministry of Social Affairs. In many countries, the equipment is given on loan.
In many countries this is a big problem, in many cases the books are supplied too late.
There are also big differences with regard to the production/supply of books: by ministries, by schools for the Blind, by Associations of the Blind, by Braille libraries, by special methodological centres.
NB: the report of the 2nd Workshop on Training of teachers of the V.I., Bratislava 1999, contains a detailed report about this subject with the title: "Handbooks for Blind Children, Findings of a survey" by Jadwiga Kuczynska-Kwapisz, page 133-136.
In most countries, this is a task of the itinerant teacher who, in a number of countries, can appeal to experts in a resource centre. A number of times, people indicate that there is a considerable lack of well-trained instructors, especially with regard to O&M.
In a number of countries, departments for itinerant teaching form part of the special school, owing to which there is easy access to available experience and expertise. In a number of countries the special school functions as a course centre for pupils (and often also for their parents) who visit a regular school. In all those cases the special school functions as a resource centre.
In most countries itinerant teachers are trained as special teachers of the visually impaired , sometimes complemented with an in-service-training or with an additional post-graduate course. In some countries the organisation of teachers of the visually impaired play a role in the further education.
In some countries at the Special School for the visually impaired, in other countries in special resource centres for the visually impaired, in again other countries in different places, depending on the local situation.
With respect to this item there are big differences: ranging from 1 teacher per 10 pupils to 1 teacher per 30-120 pupils. It is remarkable that this ratio is the highest in countries where integration has a long tradition: the Scandinavian countries.
In most countries the ratio is different for blind and for partially sighted pupils.
In nearly all countries the job responsibilities of the itinerant teacher include various elements: first of all, tasks with regard to the visually impaired pupils but also with regard to the classroom teachers, the headmasters, and last but not least with regard to the parents.
In more and more training courses for teachers of the visually impaired, attention is paid to the specific aspects of the job responsibilities of itinerant teachers, sometimes in the regular curriculum, sometimes in additional courses.
In this respect, Hungary deserves special mention: At the department of Visual Impairment of the Faculty of Special Education there is a 60 lessons-course in integrational methodology for the Visually Impaired for 4 credits. In addition to the theoretical lessons, each student has to do an educational investigation with one mainstreamed visually impaired pupil and has to write a report on the findings. This course is obligatory for all students of the department.
As mentioned above, more information about the state of art with respect to integration in most of the participating countries in the Internet version of this report: see Country reports
The reason why we publish this information only in our Internet version is that it would have rendered this report too voluminous, and as a result, too expensive to print.