Schooling children and youth with chronic illness in a medical facility —an educational paradigm in the perception of special education teacher candidates

Abstract

ABSTRACT The article presents the findings of a study that examines the perception of the educational paradigm in the context of educating a child with a chronic illness in either a school or medical facility by special education teacher candidates. It was assumed that the beliefs of educators largely reflect the educational paradigm, which reveals the thought process regarding children with chronic illnesses in two cognitive categories: (1) the actions of teachers; and (2) the objectives of educational activities aimed at pupils with chronic illnesses and their circumstances. The undertaken study was qualitative. The research was carried out in Poland on a group of 102 sophomore special education teacher candidates. The results indicated that the approach to educating a child with a chronic illness in a medical institution is predominantly influenced by the humanistic paradigm. In the revealed pattern of thinking about educating a child with a chronic illness in a medical facility, amongst the subjects, the key difference lies in the concept of preparing the child with the illness for life. Special education teacher candidates are primarily exposed to person-centred interventions that aim to facilitate optimal adaptation of children with disabilities to the typical demands of their healthy peers.