Inclusive education - a powerful tool of social change
“Thanks to World Vision my son’s educational right was protected and Karen started attending school at the age of nine; before that my son was just spending time on his own at home”, says the mother of Karen Khachatrian, 12. Education is one of the main focuses of the 3-tier child protection system in Armenia, yet for years, low expectations and the challenges of finding capable assistance have created barriers for children with special needs enrolled in the school system in the country. Children with disabilities were the last to receive attention, while allowing them to attend schools and be present at lessons was perceived as ’good will’ on behalf of school staff.Karen Khachatrian, 12, was born with spastic cerebral palsy, a congenital disorder that affects his motor skills. Some of the muscles in Karen’s body are tight, stiff and weak, making control of movement difficult. Karen cannot walk and uses a wheelchair and he needs help to do tasks like dressing but he can use his hands. He has an abundance of enthusiasm for learning and has an artistic nature.
The state should ensure inclusive education for every child with special needs and this supposes full participation of a child in the education and not just his/her physical presence in a classroomThe Khachatryan family earns less than US$5 per day and like many other households in Gyumri faces the daily struggle of meeting their basic needs. Some 3,000 families in Armenia’s second largest city continue to experience the effects of the 1988 quake, huddling in drab, decaying shacks made of metal and wood.
The increasingly rotting walls and roof of the 12sqm shack no longer protect Karen’s family from raindrops that leak into the shelter. On top of that, the lack of basic amenities in their cargo container home makes daily living very uncomfortable for the family of four.
Karen did not attend school until age nine due to his physical challenges. Now, at the age of twelve, he is studying with eight-year-old children. He does well at school although he is slow in writing and oral speech.
In 1998, a law on integrating disabled children into mainstream schools was passed in Armenia, however years on children with special needs are still being hidden away at home, without the chance of growing up with aspirations and opportunities like every other child, to make mistakes or succeed just like their able-bodied peers.
...the physical condition and accessibility of the educational institutions is one of underlying causes that prevent parents from taking their disabled children to school Recognising that the 3-tier child protection system in Armenia is still failing children like Karen, World Vision is striving to work with authorities on child protection matters to share expertise, build capacity through training and establish effective interaction.
Although during recent years the system has seen ongoing improvements, children with special needs in the country are still left out of mainstream education. According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Issues of Armenia, 6,800 school age children with special needs were registered in the country in 2010; and only 1,500 of them were enrolled in 63 inclusive schools and receive mainstream education.
“The state should ensure inclusive education for every child with special needs and this supposes full participation of a child in the education and not just his/her physical presence in a classroom. Besides, society has to realise that education is one of the inalienable human rights”, says Karine Kurghinyan from World Vision Gyumri Area Development Programme.
“There are two underlying causes that prevent parents from taking their disabled children to school –first, parents are not ready to integrate their children into society and secondly, the physical condition and accessibility of the educational institutions, which are far below par, cannot accommodate these children. However, I believe, that any good practice of a child with special needs at school can encourage parents to not let their children miss years of schooling”, says Arsen Alexanian, the headmaster at Gyumri’s school number 27.
World Vision helped us solve some of the accessibility problems in our school“World Vision helped us solve some of the accessibility problems in our school, besides the organisation carried out a lot of awareness-raising activities with the parents, teachers and the student council to break down stereotypes. Now they all assist Karen around the school and act in his best interest”, he adds.
Karen grew up in isolation and was deprived of the opportunity to interact with other children until he was enrolled in the Pyunik Disabled People Organisation (DPO) which is supported by World Vision’s ‘Building DPO Outreach for Greater Inclusiveness’ project. World Vision partners with six DPOs in Armenia’s four regions to promote the inclusion of children with special needs into mainstream education. This creates vast opportunities for children with disabilities who might otherwise never be able to go to school. World Vision also examines the accessibility of schools and the academic methods applied.
“At the age of eight Karen was assessed by our specialists and the results revealed that he was capable to learn- he was witty and keen, his hands were working and his speech was clear. Karen underwent some physical and speech therapy and afterwards we contacted his local school to enrol Karen in the educational process. Back then, the school building was not accessible and World Vision stepped in once again and built a ramp to create access to the school”, explains Armine Nikoghosyan, head of Pyunik DPO in Gyumri.
Awareness-raising training is conducted in schools and kindergartens by World Vision to trigger change in the attitude of teachers, students and parents towards the rights of children with special needs and their access to education. Publications that focus on issues confronted by children have been designed and produced. Moreover, given that the mechanism of identifying children with special needs in light of including them in education is not widely applied in the country, World Vision initiated home visits and collected information from medical facilities to record children with special needs who do not attend schools and kindergartens.
Currently there is no inclusive education state programme in Gyumri that would allow children with motor functioning problems to attend mainstream school. Among some 420 children attending the school, Karen is the only student with special needs. However, he is one of many children identified by World Vision who has since been enrolled in mainstream education.
“We had made a lot of effort to be proactive and prevent difficulties related to Karen’s studying process and we initiated constant monitoring so as to have our finger on the pulse and make sure that Karen continues his education at school”, shares Karine Kurghinyan.
In Shirak region, World Vision has been actively advocating for the introduction of inclusive education. As a result, four schools are set to acquire the status of inclusive education from September and should receive additional state funding so that the schools can make the necessary modifications to meet the needs of children with disabilities.
“Initially I had some fears that students would be alienated from Karen, however very soon I was proved wrong as Karen faced no issues while interacting with his peers”, says Karen’s teacher, Alla Chakhvalakian.
Karen makes it clear that the barriers children with special needs confront are imposed by grown-ups and the society around them and that these barriers are not of their making. He has fit in like everybody else at school; his yearning to participate surprised the teachers, who, perhaps, would expect a helpless, sick and shy boy. His willingness to receive a decent education denied any of the watered-down curriculum for children with learning disabilities. Since stepping onto the threshold of school at the age of nine, Karen, along with his other 21 newly-acquired classmates, has been making ample progress in education each and every day.
“Karen is capable of doing the same tasks as his classmates; hence he is not studying according to a personal plan but follows the class curriculum. He is good at Maths, quantitative analysis and at languages”, says Alla Chakhvalakian.
The school arranged for piano classes to be held on the premises for Karen who has piano lessons four times a week. Piano helps him develop his hand motor skills and solfeggio (singing) classes also helps his speech and rhythm.
Thanks to World Vision my son’s educational right was protected and Karen started attending school at the age of nine“I love languages because we learn poems and I like citing them. But above all, I like playing the piano and want to be a pianist and teach my own children to play the piano”, shares Karen.
“Thanks to World Vision my son’s educational right was protected and Karen started attending school at the age of nine; before that my son was just spending time on his own at home. He liked watching TV and that was the only source of his learning and information. I could see how eager Karen was to learn and I am grateful to the organisation for laying a foundation for my son’s education first at Pyunik DPO and later by helping him enrol into a mainstream school”, says Karen’s mother Lili Khachatryan, 45.
Karen requires ongoing medical and physical care and Lili used to take him to a rehabilitation centre three years ago, where Karen had physical therapy to improve his flexibility, strength and mobility.
Today Karen is older and heavier and still needs to be lifted from one place to another so for now the family relies on a home exercise programme. Taking Karen to a centre for therapy isn’t currently feasible parents because public transportation is not accessible for people who use wheelchairs and without elevators and sliding ramps public places do not accommodate people with physical disabilities.
“I hope that upon receiving the status of an ‘inclusive school’ the school will offer even more opportunities to my son to develop. Also, it would be ‘a dream come true’ if Karen could receive regular rehabilitation treatment. He is a kind-hearted person and I pray for him every single day. I am encouraged to see that there are other people who do everything possible to protect Karen and give him every chance for life. May they never have hard times in their life”, says Lili.
The state should ensure inclusive education for every child with special needs and this supposes full participation of a child in the education and not just his/her physical presence in a classroomThe Khachatryan family earns less than US$5 per day and like many other households in Gyumri faces the daily struggle of meeting their basic needs. Some 3,000 families in Armenia’s second largest city continue to experience the effects of the 1988 quake, huddling in drab, decaying shacks made of metal and wood.
The increasingly rotting walls and roof of the 12sqm shack no longer protect Karen’s family from raindrops that leak into the shelter. On top of that, the lack of basic amenities in their cargo container home makes daily living very uncomfortable for the family of four.
Karen did not attend school until age nine due to his physical challenges. Now, at the age of twelve, he is studying with eight-year-old children. He does well at school although he is slow in writing and oral speech.
In 1998, a law on integrating disabled children into mainstream schools was passed in Armenia, however years on children with special needs are still being hidden away at home, without the chance of growing up with aspirations and opportunities like every other child, to make mistakes or succeed just like their able-bodied peers.
...the physical condition and accessibility of the educational institutions is one of underlying causes that prevent parents from taking their disabled children to school Recognising that the 3-tier child protection system in Armenia is still failing children like Karen, World Vision is striving to work with authorities on child protection matters to share expertise, build capacity through training and establish effective interaction.
Although during recent years the system has seen ongoing improvements, children with special needs in the country are still left out of mainstream education. According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Issues of Armenia, 6,800 school age children with special needs were registered in the country in 2010; and only 1,500 of them were enrolled in 63 inclusive schools and receive mainstream education.
“The state should ensure inclusive education for every child with special needs and this supposes full participation of a child in the education and not just his/her physical presence in a classroom. Besides, society has to realise that education is one of the inalienable human rights”, says Karine Kurghinyan from World Vision Gyumri Area Development Programme.
“There are two underlying causes that prevent parents from taking their disabled children to school –first, parents are not ready to integrate their children into society and secondly, the physical condition and accessibility of the educational institutions, which are far below par, cannot accommodate these children. However, I believe, that any good practice of a child with special needs at school can encourage parents to not let their children miss years of schooling”, says Arsen Alexanian, the headmaster at Gyumri’s school number 27.
World Vision helped us solve some of the accessibility problems in our school“World Vision helped us solve some of the accessibility problems in our school, besides the organisation carried out a lot of awareness-raising activities with the parents, teachers and the student council to break down stereotypes. Now they all assist Karen around the school and act in his best interest”, he adds.
Karen grew up in isolation and was deprived of the opportunity to interact with other children until he was enrolled in the Pyunik Disabled People Organisation (DPO) which is supported by World Vision’s ‘Building DPO Outreach for Greater Inclusiveness’ project. World Vision partners with six DPOs in Armenia’s four regions to promote the inclusion of children with special needs into mainstream education. This creates vast opportunities for children with disabilities who might otherwise never be able to go to school. World Vision also examines the accessibility of schools and the academic methods applied.
“At the age of eight Karen was assessed by our specialists and the results revealed that he was capable to learn- he was witty and keen, his hands were working and his speech was clear. Karen underwent some physical and speech therapy and afterwards we contacted his local school to enrol Karen in the educational process. Back then, the school building was not accessible and World Vision stepped in once again and built a ramp to create access to the school”, explains Armine Nikoghosyan, head of Pyunik DPO in Gyumri.
Awareness-raising training is conducted in schools and kindergartens by World Vision to trigger change in the attitude of teachers, students and parents towards the rights of children with special needs and their access to education. Publications that focus on issues confronted by children have been designed and produced. Moreover, given that the mechanism of identifying children with special needs in light of including them in education is not widely applied in the country, World Vision initiated home visits and collected information from medical facilities to record children with special needs who do not attend schools and kindergartens.
Currently there is no inclusive education state programme in Gyumri that would allow children with motor functioning problems to attend mainstream school. Among some 420 children attending the school, Karen is the only student with special needs. However, he is one of many children identified by World Vision who has since been enrolled in mainstream education.
“We had made a lot of effort to be proactive and prevent difficulties related to Karen’s studying process and we initiated constant monitoring so as to have our finger on the pulse and make sure that Karen continues his education at school”, shares Karine Kurghinyan.
In Shirak region, World Vision has been actively advocating for the introduction of inclusive education. As a result, four schools are set to acquire the status of inclusive education from September and should receive additional state funding so that the schools can make the necessary modifications to meet the needs of children with disabilities.
“Initially I had some fears that students would be alienated from Karen, however very soon I was proved wrong as Karen faced no issues while interacting with his peers”, says Karen’s teacher, Alla Chakhvalakian.
Karen makes it clear that the barriers children with special needs confront are imposed by grown-ups and the society around them and that these barriers are not of their making. He has fit in like everybody else at school; his yearning to participate surprised the teachers, who, perhaps, would expect a helpless, sick and shy boy. His willingness to receive a decent education denied any of the watered-down curriculum for children with learning disabilities. Since stepping onto the threshold of school at the age of nine, Karen, along with his other 21 newly-acquired classmates, has been making ample progress in education each and every day.
“Karen is capable of doing the same tasks as his classmates; hence he is not studying according to a personal plan but follows the class curriculum. He is good at Maths, quantitative analysis and at languages”, says Alla Chakhvalakian.
The school arranged for piano classes to be held on the premises for Karen who has piano lessons four times a week. Piano helps him develop his hand motor skills and solfeggio (singing) classes also helps his speech and rhythm.
Thanks to World Vision my son’s educational right was protected and Karen started attending school at the age of nine“I love languages because we learn poems and I like citing them. But above all, I like playing the piano and want to be a pianist and teach my own children to play the piano”, shares Karen.
“Thanks to World Vision my son’s educational right was protected and Karen started attending school at the age of nine; before that my son was just spending time on his own at home. He liked watching TV and that was the only source of his learning and information. I could see how eager Karen was to learn and I am grateful to the organisation for laying a foundation for my son’s education first at Pyunik DPO and later by helping him enrol into a mainstream school”, says Karen’s mother Lili Khachatryan, 45.
Karen requires ongoing medical and physical care and Lili used to take him to a rehabilitation centre three years ago, where Karen had physical therapy to improve his flexibility, strength and mobility.
Today Karen is older and heavier and still needs to be lifted from one place to another so for now the family relies on a home exercise programme. Taking Karen to a centre for therapy isn’t currently feasible parents because public transportation is not accessible for people who use wheelchairs and without elevators and sliding ramps public places do not accommodate people with physical disabilities.
“I hope that upon receiving the status of an ‘inclusive school’ the school will offer even more opportunities to my son to develop. Also, it would be ‘a dream come true’ if Karen could receive regular rehabilitation treatment. He is a kind-hearted person and I pray for him every single day. I am encouraged to see that there are other people who do everything possible to protect Karen and give him every chance for life. May they never have hard times in their life”, says Lili.
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