DIGITAL LIBRARY
THE EXPERIENCE WITH INCLUSIVE EDUCATION OF PUPILS WITH SLIGHT MENTAL DISABILITIES IN PRIMARY SCHOOL
Palacký University in Olomouc, Faculty of Education (CZECH REPUBLIC)
About this paper:
Appears in: ICERI2016 Proceedings
Publication year: 2016
Pages: 2059-2068
ISBN: 978-84-617-5895-1
ISSN: 2340-1095
doi: 10.21125/iceri.2016.1465
Conference name: 9th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation
Dates: 14-16 November, 2016
Location: Seville, Spain
Abstract:
The inclusive education of pupils with slight mental disabilities is currently very discussed topic in Czech Republic. There are a lot of proponents of inclusive education on one side, on the other side there are a lot of concerns. Therefore, we were interested in the specific experience with this type of education.

The main goal of the research was to find out the experience with the individual integration of the pupils with slight mental disabilities on the common type of primary schools.This all from the perspective of teachers and all the educational staff, parents of the children with those mental disabilities, their classmates and also directly from the point of view of the pupils with slight mental disabilities themselves.
The research took place in the Zlín region in the Czech Republic. The methods of the research were the analysis of the documentation, cases, direct observation of pupils during the process of education, interviews and sociometric investigation of the class collectives.
The conclusion of the research pointed out that the pupils have problems mainly in mathematics. The interviews with teachers showed that with these children, to prepare for the educational process is much more difficult.

The positive findings were that as teachers, classmates and even pupils with slight mental disabilities themselves perceive this integration as very beneficial. Interviews with parents showed that they are mainly satisfied with the integration. They liked the cooperation with schools, with the Special -pedagogical centres and also the educational process itself.

The research-mainly interviews with children with slight mental disabilities and their classmates also pointed that those pupils are taken as a full-featured partners and friends. Sociometric research even showed that those pupils are often very popular in their collectives. Their schoolmates accept them as a natural part of their lives. It is necessary to say that children with slight mental disabilities also feel very comfortably in the collectiv of children on common type of primary schools.

As a conclusion of the research it could be said that both-teachers and all the pedagogical staff and the parents of children with slight mental disabilities accept the integration as a positive part of education. They all agree that every part of the educational process must be perfectly prepared, planned and that the cooperation and positive attitude to this integration is necessary within the school and the family.
Keywords:
Inclusion, education, mental disability, pupils with slight mental disabilities.