Mobility impairment is a very broad term as it manifests itself very differently in individuals; the degrees of impairment and its causes also vary. The educational programme based on the concept of inclusion enables physically challenged students to study in a school where an adapted program of education with an equivalent educational standard is implemented in the immediate vicinity of their home. Before admitting a child with a physical disability to school, it is necessary to adapt the environment and didactic-methodical aids. The staff working with the child must be trained and all employees prepared to admit a child with a physical disability to school and, most importantly, peers must be prepared to admit the child to the class community. Since children in conventional primary schools, especially in smaller towns, do not have much experience with people with mobility impairments, they may have misconceptions about them; these are often stereotyped and full of prejudices due to lack of awareness. The social inclusion of children with mobility impairments in the class community and later also in wider society is therefore hindered. Children without special needs require direct experience that moves their cognitive, social and emotional areas to accept and understand the nature of functioning of children with mobility disabilities.
Experiential workshops were designed, implemented and analysed as part of the master’s thesis with the aim of improving the awareness and attitudes of children about mobility disabilities. The contents of the workshops included key information on the field, its causes, orthopaedic, technical and didactic-methodical aids they use and the challenges they face in everyday life and sports industries that are adapted to people with mobility impairments. The effect of the workshops was monitored on a sample of 19 students in the fifth grade of a nine-year primary school with a short test which the students solved three times. The first time before the workshop, the second time immediately after the workshop and the third time after two months had passed since the last workshop. The data obtained from the test were processed with the statistical program SPSS and analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The content and quality of the workshops were analysed after their implementation. The results of the research confirm the effectiveness of the implemented intervention and indicate the usefulness of preparing and conducting experiential workshops to improve students' awareness of the field of mobility impairments.
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