In Slovenia, the early treatment of children with special needs was not regulated for many years. In 2017 the Act Regulating the Integrated Early Treatment of Preschool Children with Special Needs (2017) was accepted and came into force in 2019. In our master's thesis, we were interested in how the provisions of the aforementioned law have been implemented into practice and what changes they have brought. We have focused in particular on the role and work tasks of kindergarten counsellors when working with children with special needs.
At the beginning of the theoretical part, we focused on the development of the early intervention of children with special needs and showed what opportunities the mentioned group of children had for inclusion in the educational process. We also defined the concept of inclusion and the development of the concept over time. We took a closer look at the medical and pedagogic discourse that influences the interpretation and the way the concept is implemented in official documents and practice. In the second part of the theoretical work, we defined the concept of early intervention and presented the formal regulations that have been in place since the adoption of the Act Regulating the Integrated Early Treatment of Preschool Children with Special Needs (2017). We compared the early intervention regulations before and after the introduction of the law. At the end of the theoretical part, we have pointed out and described the process of early intervention in educational institutions, focusing especially on the work of the counsellor in kindergarten. We highlighted some of the changes that have taken place in the field of counselling work in recent years and pointed out the conditions that must be met to successfully implement the new legal provisions.
In the empirical part, we conducted semi-structured interviews with six kindergarten counsellors. We wanted to analyse how the law is being implemented in kindergarten practice and also to examine in more detail what changes have occurred in the field of counselling work in kindergartens. We also compared counsellors’ experiences of working with early intervention centres, depending on whether the kindergartens are located in urban or non-urban areas. Finally, we were interested in how the interviewees assess their working conditions and what advantages and challenges they face in implementing the legal provisions.
We have found that with the enforcement of the Act Regulating the Integrated Early Treatment of Preschool Children with Special Needs (2017), the availability of early intervention has generally increased, as well as the possibilities for interdisciplinary treatment through collaboration between institutions, which also led to an increase in the number of children and families in treatment.
Due to failure to meet basic working conditions and the absence of regulations that would provide the necessary framework for early intervention, professionals face many challenges in practice. Moreover, it is also possible to perceive the disparities in the quality, approach, and extent of early intervention between different regions. In the context of legal and conceptual changes and the shifting needs at the individual kindergarten level, it seems necessary to regulate the field of counseling work in kindergartens.
Given the urgency of acceptance of sub-legislative acts, we suggest thinking carefully about possible solutions that would support preschool education and early intervention institutions in terms of personnel and professional support. Considering the different capacities of municipalities, it would be useful to examine the possibilities of financing early intervention in kindergartens. From the perspective of the changes and needs that are currently occurring in practice, it would be necessary to adapt the norms and standards defining child group sizes in kindergarten. In addition, the standards for counselling work in kindergartens should also be adapted.
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