| Abstract [eng] |
International policy, intensively developing the ideas of inclusive education for people with disabilities, poses many questions about the survival of schools intended solely for pupils who have special educational needs and their role in the modern education system. By becoming a full member of the European Union and other international organizations, Lithuania has committed to adhere to the principles of ensuring equal rights and opportunities in education and to make every effort to develop inclusive education. The development in this direction is slow but consistent, ranging from the first steps in 1991, opening up the doors of mainstream schools to pupils with disabilities or disorders (Law on Education of the Republic of Lithuania, 1991), to the vision of today’s school that is open and friendly to every child (The Good School Concept, 2015). The monograph presents research, the object of which is special education and its transformations. The research aim is to analyse the peculiarities of special education in the school intended for pupils who have special educational needs and transformations of special education. Stages of the research. The analysis of the research object consisted of five stages. The first stage included the theoretical analysis of the conception of the disability, theoretical models of special education, and the international context of meeting special educational needs. The issues of special and inclusive education and of meeting special educational needs in the theoretical aspect are analysed. The analysis is followed by a retrospective assessment of the Lithuanian special education system, the empirical study in special schools, which enabled to reveal the opinions of special school communities about education, pupils’ achievements and their assessment, experiences, and opportunities for improvement of school activities. In order to investigate the object from various perspectives, the analysis of experiences of students-future special educators during their pedagogical practice in the special school was performed. Research methodology and methods. The research employs a mixed research methodology enabling to ensure that the intended research objectives are optimally sought at all stages of the empirical study, applying various research methods, and collecting data from different groups of research participants. Combining the methodology of the quantitative and qualitative research, quantitative and qualitative research methods, it was aimed to reveal the opinions and experiences of the members of the community in the country’s special schools and preconditions of quality education. Data on the same object, collected using different methods from various sources and informants (triangulation of research methods, samples, researchers, and research participants) allowed to analyse research data from different perspectives of the investigated object and helped to achieve the validity and objectivity of the research. |
