Bosnia and Herzegovina
One model of working with Children
with Special Educational Needs
(School support teams)
Presenters:
Sanja Kabil, UNICEF Education Officer;
Anka Izetbegovic, Executive Director, Association “Duga”;
Sevdija Kujovic, Director, Association “Life With Down Syndrome”
Background
Following the steps toward European Integration, Bosnia
and Herzegovina (BiH) has adopted a number of laws
and policies entitling all children to quality education and
equal opportunities, with “all,” referring not only to
children with special needs but to other marginalized
groups such as Roma children, returnees, children
without parental care etc.
Background
•The Framework Law on Primary and Secondary
Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2003);
•Entity/Cantonal/Brčko Districts Laws on Primary
Education;
•Books of Rules on the Education of Children with
Special Needs;
•Pedagogical Standards and Norms for Primary
Education;
•Action Plan on Children with Special Needs.
Problem statement
•Implementation of laws and policies is slow.
•Lack of common standards and by-laws (leading to
different inclusive education practices)
•Available resources have been insufficient or
inadequate with regard to the needs of many children.
•The system is not fully able to effectively respond to the
specific educational needs of marginalized children.
Situation analysis
•In 2008, Mapping of Inclusive Education Practices
Report
• To explore gaps between education policies that
promote inclusive education and current practices.
Situation analysis
The Report identified four areas of good inclusive practices in BiH:
1. Formation of mobile teams consisting of special experts such as
special educators (defectologist), psychologists, social workers etc.,
(formed by MoE);
2. Employment of experts (such as speech therapist and special
educator (defectologists) and teaching assistants within schools;
3. Ongoing professional development of teachers (MoE/Pedagogical
Institutes, NGOs);
4. Provision of books, transport and other material support to
schools.
Situation analysis
•These inclusive practices are not being implemented by
all Ministries of Education (14 MoE for 3.7 million
population) but present a summarized picture throughout
the country.
• Example of good inclusive education practice to be
presented in detail – Employment of experts (speech
therapist and special educator (defectologists) and
teaching assistants within schools
Good practice model
School expert team
First school expert teams were formed in 2001/2002
Usual structure of school expert team consists of a
teacher, school pedagogue, psychologist, special
educator (defectologist), speech therapist, teaching
assistant, parent(s);
•Not all schools in the country have school expert teams;
Good practice model
School expert teams
•School Expert Team provides support to children,
parents and teachers in one or several schools in one
community
•Key Tasks: identification of children with special needs
within the school, observation/analysis of the child’s
condition (continuous), development of individualized
teaching and learning strategies.
Good practice model
School expert teams
•Support to Children includes:
• Education and rehabilitation (speech therapy, motor
skills development etc.)
• Peer support
Good practice model
School expert teams
•Support to Parents include:
•Introduce parent to a child’s specific needs and status,
•Provide guidelines and advice on how to work with the
child at home,
•Offer advice and information on how to link with other
parents or parents’ associations,...
Good practice model
School expert teams
•Support to Teachers include:
•Introduce teacher to a child’s specific characteristics and
needs,
•Recommend teaching methodologies and literature,
•Support in the development of individual educational
plan,
•Offer advice and support on how to adapt the programs
Good practice model
School expert teams
As of 2010 in Sarajevo Canton, teaching assistants as
part of school expert team
Role of assistant:
Direct work in the classroom with children or work with
the group of children from different classrooms
Good practice model
School expert teams
•Preparation of materials
•Regular meetings with parents
•Support in teaching process
•Support to other members of school expert team
Benefits of school expert teams
•School expert teams work in child’s environment
•Team comes to children and not vice versa.
•Quality of teaching process improved
•Social interaction among peers improved
•Cooperation among key actors in the community
(parents, teachers, children, civil society and local
authorities) improved
Benefits of school expert teams
•Cooperation with social and health sector improved
•Expert team members become leaders in creation of
inclusive culture in school and community
•Expert team members in some cases are becoming
innovators and creators of new inclusive strategies for
teaching and learning
•Social cohesion improved
Benefits of school expert teams
• Motivation of children to learn and achieve increased
• Self-esteem and independence of children improved
• Social and communication skills of children improved
• Better academic achievements
• Teaching process has become more efficient and
time is spent effectively
• Quality of school services improved
Key Challenges
• Lack of consensus on inclusive education
• Different interpretations of the Law
• Different policies on inclusive education (affects also
civil society actions)
• Lack of common standards
Conclusion
•The advancement of inclusion in schools across BiH,
contributes to the overall social inclusion of marginalized
groups. It seeks actions at the community level as well
as at the level of its respective government.
•The skills and attitudes of school staff towards the
education of children with special needs, are crucial
strengths for the promotion of inclusive schools.
Conclusion
•The Participation of children, parents and the community
in the school development is recognized within the
children’s and parent’s associations, however, their
decision making power is marginal and needs to be
strengthened.
Conclusion
“We need to realize that we are all part of the inclusion
process. Even, the bus that drives a child to school and
back is part of the inclusion process. We all are. Not only
the school pedagogue and the teacher.” (Coordinator
from MoE)
Thank you !