International Conference Held on "Inclusive Education: Perspectives for Development in Russia"
By Perspektiva (http://perspektiva-inva.ru/index-eng.shtml)
Despite Russia's acceptance of the principles laid out in international documents demanding assisted access to education for children with disabilities, in practice assisted access to education is currently not a priority for the government. At present, of the estimated 659,000 disabled school-aged children in Russia, only 280,000 attend various educational institutions, mainly specialized institutions, or are taught at home. The rest of the children with disabilities are cut off from educational opportunities and deprived of their constitutional right to an education.
Questions of how to promote the practice of inclusive education in Russia, how to provide assisted access for the disabled to education, and how to create a supportive coalition were discussed at the international conference on "Inclusive Education: Perspectives for Development in Russia," held June 14-15 at Golitsyno, an education center outside of Moscow.
Conference organizers included Perspektiva, a Russian regional organization for the disabled, and the World Institute on Disability (USA). Financial support for the conference was provided by USAID. Russia's Ministry of Specialized Education and Science also supported the conference.
More than 150 representatives from 22 Russian regions from western Russia to the Far East participated in the conference. Representatives from Armenia, Georgia, Lithuania, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Britain and the United States also attended and among them were specialists, educational organizers, parents of disabled children, and young people with disabilities. Representatives from social change organizations also attended.
Examples of international experiences in gaining support for inclusive education and successful models of inclusive education were presented during the conference sessions as well as the positioning of government structures, educational institutions and social organizations toward the backing and development of inclusive education. Young lawyers and parents also discussed the legal rights of persons with disabilities to accessible education and talked about their efforts to successfully defend their children's right to education in Russian courts.
As Alexander Vershbow, U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation, noted in his opening speech, "...many experts believe the greatest obstacle preventing disabled Russian children and young adults from fully integrating into society is discrimination in equal access to education." [Ambassador Vershbow's entire speech is reprinted in this issue.]
Conference participants drew up a number of recommendations to ensure a more effective introduction of inclusive education in Russia, and proposals for governing and structural bodies that make decisions regarding education for persons with disabilities included:
- passing normative bills/acts allowing for the realization of inclusive educational models among the already existing educational institutions, (i.e. kindergartens and schools);
- persuading those persons with experience in inclusive education, including representatives of social organizations, parents committees, and educational institutions, to put these acts into action;
- calculating the expenses associated with educating a disabled child at a local, non-specialized school and presenting this information to social organizations;
- specifying to federal and regional educational bodies how the organization and control of access for the disabled to inclusive education will be handled;
- organizing training and continued training in inclusive education for educators, including the creation of a resource center with consultants to provide teachers from non-specialized schools with assistance and advice. Also needed is the creation of internship/work experience/training opportunities in those education institutions which have successfully implemented inclusive education;
- creating a system of special educational assistants for teachers and educational personnel; and
- implementing a system of standards for evaluating children who are excluded early on from the educational system, i.e. how to effectively provide education to those children with severe or multiple disabilities and who require individual educational plans.
Proposals for social organizations interested in securing the rights of disabled persons to a quality education included:
- consolidating the efforts of those social organizations that are interested in introducing inclusive education by forming a national coalition called "For Inclusive Education;"
- promoting active inclusion of children and young people with disabilities in all spheres of the educational system: preschool, grades K-11, institutions of higher learning and in process of attaining job-related skills and training;
- promoting effective models for inclusive education using unified informational resources and effective exchanges of information; and
- strengthening parental participation and influence in securing education for their child with a disability.
Denise Roza, Director of Perspektiva, summarized that "the recommendations developed by administrators, parents, teachers, disability advocates and NGOs attending this conference gives everyone hope that this critical issue for children with disabilities will gain additional public support and that the introduction of inclusive education in secondary schools will receive backing from both regional and federal authorities in the near future."
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