Functional Diagnosis as a Strategy for Implementing Inclusive Education in Poland1

Ewa DOMAGALA-ZYSK,Tomasz KNOPIK

doi:10.1590/s1413-65382620000100010

Ewa DOMAGALA-ZYSK, Tomasz KNOPIK

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s1413-65382620000100010

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Abstract

ABSTRACT: The 25th anniversary of the Salamanca Statement is a good opportunity to summarize to what extent the challenges described in it have been implemented by the signatory countries, all of which are members of UNESCO. This article presents a balance of achievements in implementing inclusive education in Poland, as well as a catalog of challenges for the future. Although the commitments to provide inclusive education for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) arise from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), which have both been ratified by Poland, systematic work on the implementation began only in 2010. The key measure was the Regulation of the Ministry of National Education on the principles of planning and organization of psychological and pedagogical support for pupils with SEN. Currently, in cooperation with the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education intensive work is underway to create a coherent system for recognizing the needs and possibilities of children and adolescents based on the functional diagnosis model. Therefore, this article presents the assumptions of this model with reference to the implemented or planned changes to the educational law.

Highlights

The Salamanca Statement, signed a quarter of a century ago, contains many revolutionary provisions that have not yet been implemented in social practice
The formal basis for the framework of functional diagnosis is the Regulation of the Ministry of Education (MEN) of 9 August 2017 on the principles of psychological and pedagogical support, which defines the tasks of this intervention: recognizing and satisfying the individual developmental and educational needs of a student and recognizing individual psycho-physical abilities and environmental factors influencing his functioning in kindergarten or school in order to support his development potential and create conditions for his active and full participation in the life of the kindergarten or school as well as in the social environment (MEN, 2017)
There were several challenges discussed in detail, the most important of which being the lack of a clear definition of the concept of inclusion in Polish legislation; insufficient cross-sectoral and cross-ministerial cooperation; uneven access to quality education for students with disabilities from rural and disadvantaged areas, especially for young children (Educational Research Institute [ERI], 2015); resistance to inclusive education expressed by some teachers and the necessity of including universal design for learning (Domagała-Zyśk, 2018a, 2018b)

Summary

Introduction

The Salamanca Statement, signed a quarter of a century ago, contains many revolutionary provisions that have not yet been implemented in social practice. Inclusive education in Poland, based on a continuous process of functional diagnosis, in which the potential of each student is recognized and conditions for their optimal development are created - may be an example of an effective strategy for changing social mentality and educational practices.

Results

Conclusion