REPUBLIKA E KOSOVËS / REPUBLIKA KOSOVA / REPUBLIC OF KOSOVA
QEVERIA E KOSOVËS / VLADA KOSOVA /GOVERNMENT OF KOSOVA
Ministria e Arsimit, Shkencës andTeknologjisë
Ministarstvo Obrazovanja, Nauke i Tehnologije
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
STRATEGIC PLAN FOR ORGANIZATION OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN THE PRE-UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN KOSOVO
2016– 2020
Prishtina, DECEMBER 2015
1
CONTENT
aBBREVIATIONS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
PRESENTATION OF THE CONTEXT AND ANALYSES OF ACHIEVEMENTS OF KESP 2011-2016
ANALYSES OF THE LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT OF OBJECTIVES, AND CHALLENGES
THE VISION OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN
THE GOAL OF THE STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN
OBJECTIVES AND THE FEASIBILITY OF ACHIEVEMENT
GLOSSARY
AKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Working Group is grateful for the contribution provided during the drafting of the strategic plan from all participants in the workshops held for drafting of this document, as well as from the participants in public discussions in seven major regional centres of Kosovo.
aBBREVIATIONS
IEInclusive Education
WBWorld Bank
KCBKosovo Consolidated Budget
MEDMunicipal Education Directorate
MHDMunicipal Health Directorate
DSK Down Syndrome Kosova
EMISStatistical Office in MEST
ASTAssessment and Supporting Teams
ISJUInstitutional Support ofJyväskylä University for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, in Kosovo 2009 - 2010
KPIKosovo Pedagogical Institute
PIPreschool institution
CSENChildren with Special Educational Needs
IEPIndividual Educational Plan
FEFaculty of Education
AACAlternative and Argumentative Communication
KAPIEKosovo Association for Promotion of Inclusive Education
PTCParents-Teachers Council
PCKEParents` Committee of Kosovo Education
IFCInternational Functionality Classification
MESTMinistry of Education, Science and Technology
MoHMinistry of Health
MLSWMinistry of Labour and Social Welfare
SPOECSENStrategic Plan for Organization of Education for Children with Special Educational Needs
NGONon Governmental Organization
VTCVocational Training Centre
CSACentre for Social Affairs
RCResource Centre
TESFATowards an Effective School for All
PTAParents-Teachers Associations
UNICEFUnited Nations International Children’s` Emergency Fund
UPUniversity of Prishtina
KPTAUKosovo Parents-Teachers Associations Union
OGGOffice of Good Governance
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
“We know that the world is an inclusive community. It is very important for children to have the opportunity to learn and grow within communities,
Which represent the world in which they will live after
they complete the secondary school”.
Mara Sapon-Shevin
Inclusion is a way of thinking and acting that allows every individual to feel accepted, valued and safe. An inclusive community consciously evolves to meet the changing needs of its members. Through recognition and support, an inclusive community provides meaningful inclusion and equal access for all citizens, and it is as a tool to enhance the well-being of every member of the community.
Inclusive education is defined as a process to address and respond to the diverse needs of all students through increasing of participation in learning and reducing the exclusion from it and through it.
UNESCO 2003
Inclusion is a term similar to the involvement and seeks that people who once were excluded socially, to be accepted in all environments and participate equally in all activities with the majority. Inclusion is closely related to the concept of citizenship and aims to end the disparities in the access, participation and quality education.
Inclusive education is the learning environment that enables access, accommodation and support for all students. This means that schools should adapt to all children, regardless of their physical conditions, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other conditions.
Inclusive education is a step towards social inclusion and encourages the participation of people with disabilities in the social life.
Students with special educational needs are those students who need special services for access to education and to maximize their learning potential. Therefore, it is the general duty of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, municipalities, educational institutions and all other bodies involved in the provision of pre-university education, as it is regulated by the Law on Pre-university Education in the Republic of Kosovo in 2011 and other laws in force , to plan and provide services efficiently, effectively, flexibly, inclusively and professionally, designed to provide all children with equal rights to education, in accordance with their abilities and specific needs, and to advance their educational and social development[1].
Strategic Plan for the Organization of Education for Children with Special Educational Needs (SPOECSEN) 2016-2020, sets the goals and directions for development of the education of children with special educational needs in this period. This Strategic Plan was developed after a thorough analysis of implementation of the SPOECSEN activities that covered the period 2011-2016, which are done by the members of working groups in several series of one and two day workshops. This analysis is done to determine how much its objectives have been met for all activities, which one are not implemented, what difficulties and shortcomings have followed their implementation etc. Based on the shortcomings and the needs identified, but also on the new priorities identified, the working group has defined the scope and objectives of the Strategic Action Plan for the Organization of Education for Children with Special Educational Needs (SPOECSEN) from 2016 to 2020.
This Strategic Plan is the result of a close collaboration and consensus of many partners who contribute to the development of this process in the central and local level, civil society, professional organizations and professionals dealing with CSEN. This plan is a synthesis of all the concerns that have been summarized in a number of challenges, defining its scope and strategic objectives: the creation of mechanisms for identification and early education of CSEN, with special emphasis on ages 0-6 years, establishment, strengthening and improving services of cross-sectorial mechanisms and other support mechanisms for the inclusive school, establishment of the system of monitoring and evaluation for inclusion of CSEN in education, creation of an enabling environment for inclusion in the school and community, raising the quality of teaching and learning in the inclusive education at all levels of pre-university education and the inclusion of students with SEN in upper secondary education with a focus on VET and non-formal education.
In this Strategic Action Plan for each objective and activities there are defined the following sub-activities, general indicators and indicators divided by years, and there are also identified the institutions responsibleor potential to achieve each of the respective objectives .
INTRODUCTION
Education of children with special educational needs is a challenge for all countries aiming to implement the principle of creating equal opportunities for all children regardless of the religion, culture, race, gender and diversity that is a fundamental right of every human being.
In many educational systems of different countries, inclusion has now become a reality, but followed with difficulties. The issue is also faced by Kosovo, which is striving towards the realization of the concept of inclusive education.
Numerous reforms that took place in our country in recent years, have had strong effects in the field of education with the implementation of reforms at all levels of education, and this has led to the new notions and concepts in the treatment and the place that the inclusive education should have. In this period a valuable contribution is given by Finnish Support for the Development of Education in Kosovo (FSDEK), especially in developing of policies for the education of children with special educational needs etc. Despite the progress in some areas there are still many aspects in which is required to work in order to ensure the inclusion of children with special educational needs.
Such requirements imply the necessity for a hard work to be done from the decision-making institutions to the schools in order for them to be able to take such a role, which is very challenging. To fulfil such a mission, MEST has been working towards the establishment of thelegal infrastructure, which will enable education of all children and provide an environment opened towards the changes. Despite the efforts, still much remains to be done in order to achieve the improvement of the educational situation of children with special educational needs, which should be the concern of the whole society.
Therefore, in order for the inclusive process to be effective and to have visible results, we must work to change the schools, in order to create a school with a new concept that is opened and that promotes equality and access for all children.
PRESENTATION OF THE CONTEXT AND ANALYSES OF ACHIEVEMENTS OF KESP 2011-2016
The current system of education for children with special educational needs is heading towards the inclusion, the opening towards the regular education, so that children with special educational needs as much as possible be part of mainstream schools and classes. In recent years the work is done in the capacity building of all stakeholders in education in order that this new philosophy of education is practically feasible. This process is a long one and requires the adaptation of the whole system in order to be accepted by all. Within this, the first and crucial step was the change and completion of legal infrastructure such as the Law on Pre-University Education in Kosovo 2011- Inclusion as a concept permeates the entire law, which is based on the Salamanca statement on inclusion and the Convention on Human rights. The law has the Articles 40,41,43 and 44 which regulate the education of children with special needs. In the framework of it there are drafted 7 administrative instructions for special needs education. Work has continued with the documents drafted, in meantimethey have the principle of inclusion as one of the basic principles in Kosovo Curriculum Framework (KCF) 2010.
Standards of development and learning in early childhood 0-6 years (2011), is another important document which provides a comprehensive approach to early child - canterededucation and their achievements in certain periods of age in different fields of development.
Standards for child-friendly schools, 2012, which is based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and represents a comprehensive approach that links the aspects of education reform and which places children at the centre of attention in all activities organized and implemented in the school.
Kosovo Education Strategic Plan 2011-2016 (KESP)- is a five-year plan that links the lifelong education with the inclusion in education and a model to reach all students and which provides equal opportunities to quality education for all. In this strategic plan, the education of children with special educational needs refers to the Strategic plan for the inclusion of children with special needs in pre-university education 2010-2015, a document which is drafted in 2010. Within the capacity building in the field of inclusive education 9 supportingeducators are employed for the preschool leveland 28 supporting teachers for themainstream schools.
In this regard,Save the Children has helped in recruitment 14 educators and teachers and in increasing of their capacity through the training program which has included 14 modules for a certain period of time, that have later gone under the competences of the municipalities. A 3 year program from 2013 to 2015 for the training of 17 assistants and sign language inspectors is another program which has trained the first persons in Kosovo to use the standard sign language. Alwayswithin the capacity building a major focus was given to the training by various programs where were included 5400 participants including education officials in the municipal level, school directors, teachers, parents, etc.
Development of Pedagogical Documentation has been one of the issues to which the attention was paid during this period, since there was a huge shortage of it, and what is worth mentioning is the Individual Educational Plan (IEP), including Guidelines and the form which can be used by teachers for children with special educational needs. Within this, many trainings were held, but it still remains as a challenge for teachers how to implement it in practice. Adoption of the Guidelines “Index for Inclusion” and piloting in 8 primary and lower secondary schools and in 8 preschool institutions in 8 municipalities was also another action, which has helped the preschool institutions and schools in creating of a more inclusive environment. These are the first model schools and preschool institutions in Kosovo. About 500 teachers and school directors are trained on the implementation of the index. The implementation of this program in Kosovo is done in cooperation and with the support of Save the Children.
Awareness of the community has been another aspect in which it is has been invested in recent years and which has mainly had in focus the municipalities, schools and parents, and for what there were prepared and distributed brochuresand leaflets, anddifferent media campaigns are organized which have been aimed in increasing of awareness of society about the importance of the education for persons with special needs.
One of the challenges identified in the strategic plan last year was functionalizing of 5 centres from Special schools into Resource centres that provide teaching and professional services for students within the school and professional support services for students with special educational needs in mainstream schools. This process is a long one and takes time, but however year after year these centres are being profiled and are improving the services offered. Given the complexity of the work that the Resource centres have to do, especially the new role that the resource centreshave according to the Law in force, where they accommodate only students with severe and multiple disabilities. MEST has developed the Program “Teaching based on the activity areas”, which program is dedicated to children / students with severe degree of disability that cannot attend the regular curriculum.
The program is expected to be piloted from September this year in 5 Resource centres. During this period the Resource centres have played an important role in building the capacity of mainstream schools for inclusive education through the services offered by Itinerantteachers and through the training programs where in 2014 MEST has licensed 16 training programs.
A very important achievement is the establishment of pedagogical assessment teams which was one of many longstanding initiatives of MEST, but which for various reasons were not able to be established up to this period. Currently, the teams are established in 28 municipalities and most of them have started with evaluating students who are in school and those who are not involved in schools. The guidelines and an instrument are designed for professional assessment teams in municipalities with which instrument they assess children/students. In this context, during April-May months the assessment teams were trained to 28 municipalities for the use of this instrument.
There were also collaborations with various associations of persons with disabilities who are important partners in this process, but collaborations have taken place also across borders such as those with various partners and international organizations where we will mention few of them: collaboration with Save the Children, University of Bologna and the Faculty of Education in including of the inclusive approach in all programs. Work is also done on drafting of the Master program for inclusive education, the program that will begin through the TEMPUS project in 2015.
Finnish Project 2011-2013, for students who have difficulty in reading and writing has been implemented in 8 regular primary schools. In these schools, staff has been trained to identify, produce alternative learning materials to support students with difficulties in reading and writing. The project “Support to the Inclusive Education Reform” has continued with another organization. This project is funded by the Finnish Embassy and implemented by KAPIEorganizations. The project is supporting 34 regular primary schools in the field of inclusive education. These 34 schools are being supported with training and teaching materials to support students with difficulties in reading and writing.
The regional project -2013-2015 “Regional support for inclusive education”, that includes Kosovo, Croatia, Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this project are included 8 schools, 4 primary and lower secondary schools, 2 two Gymnasiums and 2 vocational schools, the project aims to increase capacity of schools for inclusion, and schools havealso received grants in the amount of 9 thousand Euros. The project is funded by the European Council and European Commission.
ANALYSES OF THE LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT OF OBJECTIVES, AND CHALLENGES
Objective I: Identification and early intervention and enhancing the inclusion of children with special educational needs
During the period 2011-2015 there has been progress in establishing of cross-sectorial mechanisms for identifying of children with special educational needs, there are 3 main data-bases for CSEN generated by MLSW, MEST, MoH and NGOs data bases. But, there is a lack of an integrated system for data collection, it could generate more accurate data on the number of CSEN, which relate not only to identification, but also to the early intervention and their progress through the levels of education and their involvement on thelabour market from the regular education and Resource Centres for Education and Counselling.
Objective II: Providing and strengthening of supporting mechanisms for inclusive schools
Functionalizing of RCs was accompanied by difficulties due to the small number of Itinerant teachers, although during the period 2011-2016 covered by KESP the number of these teachers is increased for 8, as well as the number of students that have been provided the support.
During this period it is achieved todo the assessment of the CSEN, the establishment of core teams, accreditation of training programs and to establish units for the production of materials. But the difficulties that have accompanied this process have been identified as increasing the number of students with special needs enrolled in RCs, poor coordination with mainstream schools and vocational schools, limited number of experts to assess the CSEN.