Components
The project has three components:
“Policy” Component
Policy frameworks promoting the inclusion of children with disabilities in schools and communities established in a participatory manner in both pilot regions by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the Ministry of Education and Science.
Current Status:
Ukraine has almost thirty (30) Laws, Decrees, and Codes (i.e. legislation) in existence that address to a certain extent disabled children and their families. They address issues such as pensions, rehabilitation, and education for disabled persons. The legislation to address the system of education in Ukraine includes: the Law of Ukraine Education (1991); the Law of Ukraine on General Secondary Education (1999); the Law of Ukraine on Pre-School Education (2001); the Law on Vocational Education (1998), and the Law on Higher Education (2002). The problem is that the current legislation is focused on creating and maintaining the network of special education institutions for disabled children and not inclusive models of education. For example, the Law of Ukraine on Education (1991) states education is a right for all Ukrainian citizens “regardless of their health conditions to be provided by the network of general education establishments for children with disabilities.” None of the current legislation mentions the term “inclusive education” and only one Decree (No.848 of 5.07 2004) mentions the term “integration of the disabled children.” [1]
Legislation/law also exists in Ukraine with respect to social services for children with disabilities including: Fundamentals of Social Protection of Disabled in Ukraine; Protection of Childhood; and, Government Social Assistance to Disabled from Birth and Disabled Children (2000). Again, the legislation focuses on maintaining disabled children on the periphery of society, with inadequate financial support, discriminatory recreational opportunities, and a general lack of social service options available, making hospitals the primary source of assistance to children and families. And furthermore, according to Ukrainian Law, disabled children can be placed by the state within either the education or the social protection system, ignoring the importance of both.
Legislation (or Law) is the means by which policies are made mandatory. There are no separate policies addressing children with disabilities in Ukraine and no provisions for inclusion. Policies, in general, are the guidelines for changing or creating the living conditions required for human welfare. Policies commonly provide the evidence, reasoning and methods to develop the conditions for healthy human existence. In Ukraine, there is an absence of social policies in general, and more specifically, the remnants of policies affecting disabled children and their families are scattered among various government and NGO documents. Analysis of existing policies in Ukraine and elsewhere as a means of developing evidenced-based inclusion policy is sporadic, with a notable lack of policy analysis capacity.
The result is that the education and social services available for children with disabilities are governed by legislation that is neither comprehensive nor progressive in meeting the needs of disabled children. Furthermore, the legislation is not based on any evidence-based policies as a rationale for the legislation or the provision of guidelines to implement the legislation. In addition, the legislation was not developed with the input from parents, children and youth, and non-government organizations. Without public engagement in policy development, there is no pressure to adhere to the legislation. In order to create a society conducive to the inclusion of disabled children, there is strong need to enhance the knowledge regarding the social nature of disability with the understanding that existing barriers to inclusion are systemic and not within the individual. This knowledge would provide the basis for jointly developed, evidenced-based policies in the areas of education and social services for disabled children and their families in collaboration with parents, children and youth, and NGOs. The policies will then provide the foundation on which to establish effective legislation and for the legislation to be ultimately adhered to.
Proposed Changes:
The focus of the project with respect to this outcome is to build the knowledge at all three levels of government and NGOs of inclusion policy concepts (e.g. social model of disability), tools in disability policy analysis (e.g. disability lens), and processes of participatory policy development. These elements combined with the development of policies form the policy framework. The expected result is that the knowledge foundation for policy analysis will be established and the evidence produced to support the development of policies in the areas of education and social protection. From the policy analysis will stem the work plan for the activities to be undertaken by government, educators, and NGOs in the development of policies. Policies in both the education and social service spheres will be adjusted or developed and will act as the basis for inclusive education and community-based disability social services. In addition, the policies that are developed as part of this project may be used to affect change in existing and drafted legislation or be used to form the basis of new legislation.
The focus of the change efforts will be in two regions in Ukraine, specifically Lviv and Crimea regions, with the latter particularly focused on Simferopol. The Kyiv region will be involved to the extent that they bring a national perspective to policy, education, and civil society. The national level government representatives, educational institutions and NGOs located in Ukraine, will be involved in the overall planning and implementation of the project outputs, but Kyiv will not be host to a pilot site. The project results will be disseminated to other regions in Ukraine, such as Zaporizha and Dnipropetrovsk.
In order to achieve this outcome, the partners involved in each of the outputs will include the Ministry of Social Protection and Labour and the Ministry of Education and Science (Ukraine and Crimea Autonomous Republic), the Institute of Special Pedagogy, Step by Step, the National Assembly of the Disabled, Lviv Independent Living Resource Centre, the Disabled Women’s Network, and Jurveda Children’s Information and Rehabilitation Centre. The target groups/organizations for change include education institutions (the Institute for Professional Upgrading, the National Pedagogical University of M.P. Drahomanov, Ivan Franko National University, Lviv Polytechnic, and Simferopol Pedagogical University) and non-government/service organizations (Nadiya Association, Novy Rozdil, Brody Children’s Rehabilitation and Information Organizations, and Physically Handicapped and Able Bodied).
In addition to the government representatives at the national level, representatives from the regional and municipal governments will be involved in the project planning, implementation, training, and information dissemination, including: the Lviv Department of Labour and Social Protection of the Lviv Oblast State Administration; Lviv Department of Education; the Lviv City Council Branch; the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea; Simferopol Department of Education; Simferopol Department of Labour and Social Policy, and Simferopol City Council Branch.
“Learning Institutions” Component
Delivery of inclusive and accessible education programs for children and youth with disabilities established in the two pilot regions and introduced in three additional regions of Ukraine (Zaporizha, Dnipropetrovsk and Kiev).
Current Status:
Disabled children in Ukraine currently do not have access to quality education. In 2004, 1.8% of all children (135,773) in Ukraine were registered as having disabilities (includes all forms of disabilities). This is considered by many to be a significant underestimate. The majority of these students are in composite schools and do not have any school programs tailored to their needs. As of 2003-2004 the total enrolment of children with disabilities in boarding schools was 64,667. There were 304 boarding schools in urban areas with 52,051 students, and 93 boarding schools in rural areas with a total of 12,616 students.
Inclusive schools are a Canadian (and international) model for educating children. There are as yet no inclusive schools in Ukraine. A few smaller experimental projects are being attempted with integrated classes in Ukraine. For example, Step by Step, a leading non-government disability organization in Ukraine, is implementing some initiatives for integrated classrooms in Kyiv and oblast, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odessa, and Poltava. Inclusive schools, which is the objective of this project, is a more comprehensive approach to inclusive education focusing not only on teacher education and parental support, but the broader policy environment that supports inclusive education, such as accessibility and civil society.
Ukraine is a signatory of the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child and is currently reviewing draft legislation on inclusive education. The Ministry of Education and Science is fully committed to establishing inclusive education, however it reports a lack of a comprehensive inclusive education model; policies; specialized teacher preparation programs; and, student services.
Proposed Changes:
The Education component of the project will assist Ukrainian stakeholders (Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Social Protection and Labour, the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, NGOs, parents groups) to establish key sustainable elements of the inclusive education system. The project will contribute to creating an enabling environment by facilitating societal changes through education and policy as well as positive changes in public attitudes towards disability, inclusion and human rights in Ukraine. The methods implemented by the project to achieve this outcome are to establish models for inclusive schools in Ukraine, provide upgrade training to working teachers on inclusion, and establish an Inclusive Teacher specialized degree program. These changes will be replicated in two pilot schools (one from each pilot region) in Ukraine, demonstrating Ukrainian commitment to change, local ownership and sustainability of the proposed system. As well, representatives from a minimum of three (3) other schools will be asked to become Participant Observers in this project. Their role will be to attend meetings and education sessions for the purpose of transferring knowledge to their home schools. It is anticipated that the critical mass necessary for the transformation to inclusive education practices in Ukraine will include the two pilot schools, the three Participant Observer schools, the partner and target NGOs, and all three levels of government.
Sustainability of this component will be achieved through three methods:
- Both Lviv oblast and Crimea Departments of Education have indicated support for the project. The schools designated for the pilot will be evaluated (e.g. physical accessibility of the schools) and teacher training and education materials provided for the transformation into inclusive schools. Negotiations with the municipality regarding physical alterations to the school structure will take place when the project is in its implementation stage.
- University faculty members trained will become permanent staff. The programs to prepare Inclusive Teachers will be ongoing at the expense of the universities, sourced from the Ministry of Education and Science and therefore sustainable.
Courses on inclusive education will be introduced to the Institute of Professional Upgrading of Teachers. Every five years Ukrainian teachers (regardless of the subject they teach) must attend a professional development course offered by the Institute. Once these courses are established they will become available to every teacher in the Lviv oblast and Crimea, and subsequently, to all teachers of the other oblasts of Ukraine.
“Civil Society” Component
Capacity on non-governmental organizations to support and advance the inclusion of children and youth with disabilities in the two pilot regions and nationally improved.
Current Status:
The number of disability NGOs in Ukraine is increasing in response to the gaps in state-run services. In a constantly changing socio-economic environment in Ukraine, the local and regional NGOs have limited financial resources; limited analytical and management expertise; limited organizational capacity; gaps between stated mission and operational achievements; low degree of self-sustainability; isolation and lack of interorganizational communication and information sharing; and, limited expertise in strategic planning. NGOs in Ukraine do not have a strong history of collaborating with each other, or being included in collaborative efforts with other partners. Regardless of their current limitations, the NGOs in Ukraine have the potential to be a strong catalyst for change in how the area of disabilities is defined and dealt with at the government, education, and community levels. NGOs have certain advantages in the realm of social advocacy and service delivery, such as:
- ability to experiment freely with innovative approaches and, if necessary, to take risks
- flexibility in adapting to local situations and responding to local needs and therefore able to develop integrated projects, as well as intersectoral projects
- ability to communicate at all levels, from the individuals in the neighbourhood to the top levels of government, and,
- ability to recruit both experts and highly motivated staff with fewer restrictions than the government.
Proposed Changes:
The project proposes to build the capacity of NGOs in order to become more effective as advocates for change on behalf of children with disabilities, more proficient in the policy development and policy analysis process, and to become sustainable, long-term organizations. The means by which this outcome will be achieved is first to provide NGOs with training on policy development and policy analysis (attended jointly with government and educator representatives as described in Output 1.1). As well, the NGOs will receive specific training on organizational development, program design, and management. Resource centres or “Inclusion Resource Centres” will be established and operate out of two existing NGOs as a means of modelling partnership in the provision of planning for services and provide the basis for support for children and families including a centralized information network, and the basis for an alternative funding model to develop more inclusive services for disabled children and their families.
Part of the strategy in building the capacity of NGOs is to focus initially on the larger NGOs, such as the Lviv Independent Living Resource Centre and Nadiya Association, and implement a process of networking and information sharing between large and small NGOs. The experience and knowledge of the larger NGOs will assist smaller NGOs to increase their knowledge and ultimately to build their capacity. Areas of cooperation between larger and smaller NGOs include training provided by larger NGOs (through the ‘train the trainer’ model); information sharing; practical assistance in developing and implementing programs and projects; and, where possible, coordinating activities.
[1] World Systems Change and School Reform, Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress International Special Education Conference Inclusion: Celebrating Diversity?, www.isec2005.org.uk/isec/abstracts/papers
