The educational policy in solving the issue of education of pupils with disabilities (1989-2016)

The educational reform in Poland after the political change in 1989, in addition to the changes in the structure of the education system with the introduction of a new school system, included the reform of the program, a change in the organization of education, the creation of an independent system of assessment and examination, a change in the methods of administration and supervision, the identification of new rules for funding schools, remuneration, and the promotional paths of the teaching staff. The general facts, forming a kind of order for reform problems, have been treated by the Author as a background for a discussion on resolving the issues of the education of students with disabilities. The overview is aimed at recognizing the principles of the educational policy in regards to the field of special education. The statements, decisions, and action facts of the set of people involved in the implementation of changes, expose not only the public, but also the hidden ways of thinking of the central reformers, underlying in the contents’ foundations and targeted forms of educational change. The derivative of the applied mechanisms of shaping the educational system in the whole period of the reforms is a clear discrepancy between the assessments formulated by the officials and the assessments expressed by other interested persons in the school. The nature of the implemented changes in the field of special education has led to superficial adaptation of categories imported from foreign educational systems or other areas of social life that flow from the concept of standardization and integration. The extent of these changes has become a source of many distortions, the marginalization of disabled pupils and their teachers, where one clear example is the domain of external exams. In addition to the clerical intuition regarding the construction of external examinations for certain groups of people with disabilities, we can observe the clear marginalization of these groups of pupils and their teachers in informing about the educational requirements and the results of the exams.

Tendencies in reforming the system  of special education – some comments concerning recent  legislative  changes

The presented study is mostly aimed at analysing the legal acts regulating the education of learners with  special  educational needs, which  were  published in Journals  of Laws in 2015. They  have been considered in regard to the essence, the subject and the object of change. The analysis is preceded  by a short introduction concerning the theoretical foundations of educational reforms  and the notion of the system of special education. The results of the analysis show that the introduced legislative  changes had  a narrow range  and  were  selective.  Most of them  dealt  with  organizational issues addressed to subjects managing the educational system in the local dimension, especially in the field of inclusion. There  were  no attempts at modernizing the system  of education, particularly in the aspect of separation.

(Im)maturity of pro-inclusive changes in the education of people with disabilities

Taking into consideration the need for discourse of the current issues of inclusion of people with disabilities into the education system, the article attempts to identify and critically analyze the changes carried out, so far, in this field, and on this basis justify the thesis that in order to make them satisfactory for those people, especially in the times of promoting inclusive education, it is primarily expected that its main implementers – teachers – are competently prepared. Even more so that such expectations resounded in the postulates of the participants of this education – pupils and students with and without disabilities – discussing its qualities and weaknesses during the international youth hearings.

Inclusive education in policy. Possibilities and restrictions

The changing education policy always significantly affect the appearance of special education. Adopted laws and regulations based on trends in educational and social mood proposed a transition from segregation model of education through the integration model to inclusive model of education. All these processes are to identify the barriers of full participation in the educational process of students with special educational needs, and then take action to abolish these barriers. The purpose of this article is to show how over the years changed education policy and how it affects of special education.

Early childhood education and care in Poland and UE – challenges for Polish educational policy

The issue of early childhood education and care is particularly important in the context of demo- graphic indicators for the Polish, but also the EU. The aging of European society is a fact. The number of children under 5 years of age in the EU by 2030 will be decreased (the average rate – 7.6%). In Poland, the downward trend will be one of the highest in Europe (estimated at 25%). In this context, the quality of early childhood education and investment in human capital are among the main priorities. They will determine the future of country and society. The presented results of analyzes on the state of early childhood education and care in Poland and the EU will help to diagnose areas of educational activities necessary to reflect on the priorities and possibly also attitudes towards this stage of the education of children in our country.

Educational Policy for Children with Special Educational Needs Approached Locally – Basing on the Opinions of Teachers from a Small Town

The paper discusses the problem of educational policy for children with individual developmental and educational needs in terms of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s concept of the social environment development. Apart from that, the article also presents the results of pilot research pertaining to the opinions delivered by teachers from generally available schools on the opportunities and limitations of inclusive education for children with the selected special educational needs.

Between inclusion and segregation – schools in Poland towards students with disabilities

The text discusses the issues related to the education of students with disabilities within the education system, including in particular the problem of transition from school segregation to inclusive education. The author argues that problems of many students with disabilities in mainstream schools are related to the discrepancy between the legal status providing a full range of forms of education and leveling forms of support and the educational practice. The text is based on the analysis of existing data, including in particular the results realized in 2014 nationwide, representative questionnaire survey of school principals and parents of children with disabilities Badanie ścieżek edukacyjnych niepełnosprawnych dzieci, uczniów i absolwentów (eng. The study of educational paths of disabled children, students and alumni) carried out by the Institute of Educational Research. As the data shows, the education system keeps a relatively high stability, and the increased number of students participating in inclusive education concerns mainly kindergarten and first grade of primary school. However, as the children get older, there is a gradual shift from inclusive education to the education carried out within special schools.