Hiking is an integral part of Slovenian culture. The number of people hiking in Slovenia increases on a yearly basis. This is an activity that can be performed in all seasons and has a positive effect on one's well-being. For this reason, it is also present in the field of education and the Special Education Programme.
In this master's thesis, we wanted to determine how a hike for young people with special needs is planned, performed and evaluated for the Movement and Physical Education class within the Special Education Programme on VI level. Research included four schools within the Special Education Programme from four different regions across Slovenia. We carried out an interview with one professional worker at each school. We then performed the hikes observed, one at each school. During the hike, we observed the young person's well-being, motivation, independence, interest in the surrounding area and hanging out with friends.
For the purpose of this master's thesis, we conducted the interviews and determined that, when planning the hike, professional workers focus mainly on technical and psychological preparation of the young person for the hike. In the planning process, professional workers consult each other, some of them even consult parents of the young people, who are able to provide additional information. During the hike, we determined that professional workers face different problems, such as emotional outbursts, behavioural problems, restlessness, impatience, boredom and disobedience of young people. We found that the hikes are evaluated both by professional workers and together with young people. Professional workers ask young people for their opinion on the hike and their further desires. If possible, they consider young people's desires, after verifying if they are feasible or not.
Based on the hikes observed, we determined that young people feel well during hikes. We found that motivation plays an important role in young people. Some need motivation at the beginning of the hike, while most of them require words of encouragement during the hike itself, especially when walking uphill. Motivation is thus key for hikes with young people. In addition, we determined that professional workers encourage young people to be as independent as possible when removing or putting on clothes and tying shoe laces. However, they still require reminders and guidance in these activities. We found that young people with special needs are rarely, or not at all, interested in their surrounding area. However, it is exactly the opposite when it comes to hanging out with friends. Young people talk to each other, but mostly to teachers and accompanying persons during hikes.
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