Disabled children in school, too many difficulties. Why? - West

Why is integration of disabled people at school still an objective to be achieved in Italy, where there is one of the most advanced laws in Europe on disabilities?

This flop is even more surprising if you think that the number of pupils with disabilities in Italian schools has increased by 56 percent over the last 10 years. In the school year 2011/2012, they were about 200 thousand, mainly ? about 75 thousand ? in primary schools and the others divided between nursery, middle and high schools.

Yet, in practice, something seems to have gone wrong. After that special institutes closed down a few decades ago, no complete alternative has been provided and attempts to integrate handicapped people into schools, especially in the most serious cases, has often failed.

For three reasons, at least:

Firstly, shortage and poor specialization of the so-called special education teachers. Often, this particular category of students is followed by teachers who lack specific education.

Secondly, it is important not to underestimate the fact that most schools in Italy are not equipped with technological services and devices for this category of students. Not to mention that today, architectural barriers are still the grim reality in 1 out of 10 schools.

Thirdly, and finally, as the OECD recently reported, in Italy, the amount of total investments in education is the lowest across Europe: 4.7 percent of the GDP against a EU average of 5.8. These figures, however, must be read cum grano salis since the feeling on this front is that the real problem does not reside in the quantity of resources particularly destined to young disabled people, as in their quality: that is, how they are used.

The truth is that handicapped students integration requires individual educational programs and a connection between disabled pupils, classmates and teachers, as well as between school and family that only a special education teacher and the support given by classmates can guarantee. These latter, among other things, will be able to take advantage from the relationship with disabled mates, starting from a higher awareness of diversity.

Source: http://www.west-info.eu/disabled-children-in-school-too-many-difficulties-why/

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