The Right to Education for Children with Disabilities from an Early Age – Parents’ Experiences

Pravo na obrazovanje je jedno od temeljnih ljudskih prava. Istraživanje je provedeno sa roditeljima djece s teškoćama u razvoju, jer oniomogućuju djetetu prva iskustva i mogućnosti za razvoj i sve vrste učenja, te tako utječu na djetetov uspjeh u periodu obrazovanja. Cilj rada je istražiti iskustva roditelja vezana uz uključenost djece s teškoćama u programe ranog odgoja i obrazovanja. Sudionici opisuju izazove s kojima se suočavaju prilikom upisa djeteta u predškolske ustanove.Nailaze na otpor djelatnika, ističu lošu komunikaciju s djelatnicima vrtića, te pronalazak neutemeljenih razloga koji onemogućavaju upis djeteta. Sudionici istraživanja izražavaju nezadovoljstvopovratnom informacijom vrtića, zatim nedostatak podrške kod upisa, ali i nedostatak informacija pri samom upisu. Nadalje, sudionici naglašavaju da je njihovo iskustvo upisa djeteta u predškolske programe obilježeno izazovima koji su im donijeli emocionalnu preplavljenost i ulaganje dodatnih napora vezanih uz uključenje djeteta u vrtić. Također, sudionici nailaze na izazove unutar samog vrtića. Djetetu se ograničava boravak, smatraju da postoji nedovoljna uključenost djeteta s teškoćama u aktivnosti, a naglašavaju i organizacijske poteškoće vezane uz osiguranje rada asistenta. Imatiasistenta u vrtiću predstavlja trošak roditeljima, te su nezadovoljni radom asistenata, ali s druge strane ističu njihovu motiviranost. Djeca s teškoćama su prihvaćena od druge djece u vrtiću. Sudionici su nezadovoljniprofesionalnim, ali zadovoljni osobnim kompetencijama odgajateljica. Nezadovoljstvo iskazuju i u vezi rada stručnog tima. Susreću se i s diskriminacijom djeteta s teškoćama. Izazov s kojima se nose su i nasilno ponašanje djeteta prema drugoj djeci, ali i osjećaj straha od mogućnosti izbacivanja djeteta iz vrtića. Sudionici daju preporuke za unaprjeđenje inkluzije djece u vrtićima: unaprijediti uvjete upisa djece s teškoćama u vrtić, edukacija odgajatelja i asistenata za rad s djecom s teškoćama, pripremiti vrtićkuokolinu na dijete s teškoćama, poboljšati suradnju roditelja, vrtića i ostalih institucija, veća aktivnost roditelja za upis djeteta u vrtić. Smatraju kako se vrtići trebaju pridržavati pravila, trebaju zaposliti više stručnih djelatnika, smanjiti vrtićke grupe i uvesti aktivnosti koje su prilagođene individualnim mogućnostima i potrebama djeteta.The right to education is one of the fundamental human rights. The study was conducted on parents of children with disabilities, because they enable the first experiences and opportunities of a child, which serve as a starting point for its development and all kinds of learning, and thus affect the child's success in the education period. The aim of the thesis is to explore the experiences of parents regarding the inclusion of children with disabilities in programs of early education. Participants describe the challenges they face when enrolling a child in pre-school institutions. They encounter a dose of resistance from the employees, point out poor communication with the kindergarten employees, and emphasize the invention of unfounded reasons that prevent the registration of a child. Participants of the study express a dissatisfaction with the kindergarten feedback, mention the lack of support when enrolling a child, but also the lack of information during the enrollment itself. Furthermore, the participants stress that their experiences of enrolling their child in preschool programs were marked by challenges which have caused them to be emotionally overwhelmed and they had to make further efforts related to the inclusion of their child in the kindergarten. Moreover, participants face some challenges within the kindergarten. A child has a limited stay, parents believe a child with disabilities is insufficiently involved in everyday activities, and emphasize the existence of organizational difficulties related to the employment of an assistant. Having an assistant in the kindergarten is an expense for parents. They are dissatisfied with the work of assistants, however, they point out their motivation. Children with disabilities are accepted by the other children in the kindergarten. Participants are dissatisfied with professional but satisfied with personal competences of the educators. They express discontent with the work of the expert team. Furthermore, they are met with discrimination against the children with disabilities. The challenges they are faced with are also the child’s violent behavior towards the other children, and a sense of fear for the possible expulsion of the child from kindergarten. Participants make recommendations to improve the inclusion of children in kindergartens: improvement of conditions for enrollment of disabled children in kindergartens, the education of teachers and the assistants working with children with disabilities, preparation of the kindergarten environment for a child with disabilities, enhancement of the parents’ cooperation, as well as that of schools and other institutions, the greater activity of the parent for the enrollment of a child. They believe kindergartens should follow the rules, hire more professional workers, reduce kindergarten groups and introduce activities that are adapted to the individual abilities and needs of a child