Abstract:

Since 2016, there has been a relatively unique model for providing support measures to pupils with special educational needs in the Czech Republic. Unique in the sense of legally anchoring the right (free of charge) to the provision of funds for special pedagogical support - support measures. This is based on the recommendation (which has the legal force of decision) of the school counseling facility.

Four years after the amendment to the Education Act anchored this right, the research team of the Institute of Special Pedagogical Studies of the Faculty of Education, Palacky University in Olomouc dealt with the readiness of school counseling facilities for a uniform assessment of special educational needs - and the resulting entitlement to support measures. The main focus was on the availability and use of (non) standardized diagnostic tools.

The starting point was "unjustified differences" in the frequency of pupils with individual health disadvantages in the regions of the Czech Republic. There are about 110 special pedagogical centers in the Czech Republic which by law perform about 95% of diagnostics for pupils in the target group. Representatives of 90% of SPCs accepted the survey and a total of 236 respondents commented on individual research questions.

The aim of the research was to find out to what extent the standardized diagnostics of special educational needs of disadvantaged clients is used - especially which special pedagogical diagnostic tools are used for diagnostics in special pedagogical centers.


To find out these data, a questionnaire was used. It was distributed to special pedagogical centers. Through the questionnaire it was posible to find out the area in which special pedagogical diagnostics takes place and whether special pedagogical standardized or non-standardized tools are used for the given area.

The results of the survey showed that the large variability in the recommended support measures (in their areas and in their intensity) is fundamentally influenced by the large differences in the use of diagnostic procedures and the insufficient number of standardized special pedagogical diagnostic tools.
Within the article, attention is paid especially to the un/reasonability of differences in the used diagnostic tools.

Keywords:

Special education needs, diagnostics, evaluation.