VET Teachers for the Future 2016 Course Blog

Less is More Team

Special Needs Education (16th May Visit to Vantaa)

Irmeli’s assignment for 3rd June 2016

PART 1 - Have a discussion with your group about your experiences during our sessions and visits in these past few days (the special needs education course). 

a. What has been most interesting….

In the Accessibility Centre ESKE we had the opportunity to feel the inclusive atmosphere of the place, including the so well trained staff and also the adapted infrastructure in every room or work place. One of the most interesting aspect for us was the possibility of environmental adapting to almost every physical limitation. Obviously, because of its cultural importance, the adapted sauna was a unique demonstration of a constructed world without barriers, but we also got interested in the adapted refectory and furniture inside the offices to promote accessibility to people with special needs.  

b. What was most important…..

The most important issues in this experience was the recognition of the universal need for an environment which is completely adapted to people with special needs, so one cannot distinguish between a so called normal place and a site reserved for people with special needs. This situation can help the society to built a more comprehensive world in terms of special needs adaptation, because people with special needs can move from everywhere to everywhere, without being restricted to the pathways specially design for them. When we visited the Finnish Association of People with Physical Disabilities we also realized that the psicologycal aspect of a person with some kind of disability is as much important as the improving in infrastructure for those people.

In this way, Education has a huge responsibility related to inclusion, because it can integrate the students into the society not only by building reserved places for people with special needs, but also helping to construct a society full of available places to all people. 

c. What did I learn….. 
In the Finnish education the first alternative for providing special needs support is to include pupils with special educational needs in mainstream classes and, when necessary, to provide special needs education in small teaching groups. Only when this is not feasible the second alternative is considered: the provision of special needs education in a special group, class or school.Separate curricula of special education have been abolished and all pupils use the same curriculum personalized by individual education plans.

d. Is there something I want to take back with me to Brazil…. 
We could see that it is possible to include people with special needs in the society through education. Accessibility is a quality that must belong to everyone, taking part of one’s lives to let people to be able to do their day by day activities in a free way. This concept is important when we come back to Brazil: “Accessibility is Equality; it’s part of the Sustainable Development”. We also remembered the valuable experience we had in Kiipula Vocational College, in which the students with special needs learn professional skills to help them in the working life or to better understand the real world.

e. What the Finns do well in field of special education, what should they pay more attention to…

We had been seeing that the Finnish education is concerned to include students with special needs in the society and makes them productive and happy citizens. As there are so remarkable differences between Brazilian and Finnish efforts to promote equality related to accessibility because of the scale of the problem (200 million inhabitants in Brazil x 5,5 million inhabitants in Finland), we feel that Finnish society is doing very well to their citizens with special needs.

PART 2 - Brazil in 2025

"Your mission is to plan the development of special needs education in your home region"

Our plan for special needs educations has considered the following aspects:

1. Infrastructure for accessibility
2. Training programs for the school staff
3. Budget allocation to promote equality and accessibility
4. Plan for disclosure of results
5. Produce and buy adapted didactic materials for people with special needs

The following outcomes were achieved during the implementation of the work plan, considering the concept of Easy Access (Helppo liikkua):

1. Adapted sidewalks in the sorroundings of the school after meetings and collaborative work with the municipality public sector
2. Adapted refeitory and all the restrooms inside the Federal Institute considering people with special needs
3. Improved the physical environment of schools to enable disabled students to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities and services provided
4. Hire specialized professionals to help teachers
5. Buy Software that is Accessible to Individuals with Disabilities

1. What helped you in your work in developing special needs education?

First of all we believe that all students have the right to be healthy, happy and safe; to be loved, valued and respected; and to have high aspirations for their future. So it was necessary recognized that the disabled students (including students with a Hearing or Visual Impairment, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, mental health issues and incontinence. People with ADHD, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Downs Syndrome and Hydrocephalus are included. Medical conditions such as Cystic Fibrosis, severe Asthma, Diabetes, Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, Sickle Cell Anaemia and HIV are deemed disabilities. Facial disfigurement, severe Dyslexia, gross obesity and diagnosed eating disorders) needed to be supported by competent professionals. After that we got to involve teachers helping them to understand the each special needs students to plan how to support those students to get better results from their own learning.

2. What kind of setbacks did you experience during your work?

We observed that one of the most difficult issues to deal with is the mindset of the people. The questions related to accessibility and people with special needs must be integrated to the day by day activities inside the school community and not only considering meetings and lectures.

3. What did we already have (skills, knowledge, support) when we started?

In Brazil there is a legal framework that supports students with special needs and, in particular in Federal Institutes, there are available the “Centers for Assistance to People with Special Needs”, which aims to promote accessibility and contribute to the spread of the idea that accessibility is a right, and not a privilege.

Data of Lemann Foundation indicate that only 23 municipalities in Brazil have all its schools accessible - including fully suitable for the handicapped bathrooms.

References:

1. European Agency. Finland - Special needs education within the education system. In: <https://www.european-agency.org/country-information/finland/national-overview/special-needs-education-within-the-education-system>. Access: 1st Jun 2016.
2. School Improviment Liverpool. School guidance and support - Accessibility Plans and Equality objectives 2015. In: <https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:yo4i85_GP44J:https://www.ednet.co/fileserver.php%3Ffile%3DQWNjZXNzaWJpbGl0eSBwbGFuIGFuZCBFcXVhbGl0eSBPYmplY3RpdmUgZ3VpZGFuY2UgMjAxNS5kb2M%3D+&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us>. Accessed 1st Jun, 2016
3. Finnish Association of People with Physical Disabilities. The Finnish Association of People with Physical Disabilities. In:< www.invalidiliitto.fi/portal/en> Accessed 1st Jun, 2016.
4. Ministério da Educação. Pessoas com Deficiência. In: <http://portal.mec.gov.br/escola-de-gestores-da-educacao-basica/323-secretarias-112877938/orgaos-vinculados-82187207/12892-pessoas-com-deficiencia>. Accessed 1st Jun, 2016.