A study of the schools for mentally handicapped children conducted by the Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands

The major purpose of this study was to survey a group of schools for mentally handicapped children conducted by one religious congregation in five countries of Western Europe in order to ascertain and interpret specific characteristics and general procedures as well as basic educational principles which affect special education. The writer had a dual intent: (1) to place these schools within their own national setting and so to evaluate them; (2) to bring them into a focus with schools tor mentally handicapped children in the United States, and to point out aspects which seemed common to both systems and those which seemed unique or individual. The specific objectives or the study encompassed the following considerations: (1) the place of the retarded or handicapped child in the apostolic activity of the congregation, (2) the functioning ability and special needs of retarded children and the manner in which both are being served by the included schools, (3) the programs and the physical facilities, (4) the philosophy and the qualifications of the teachers and of the aides, (5) information concerning the national structure of the special school system, (6) the sources of financial income, and (7) after-school planning. Another objective was added during the study: (8) the variation in emphasis or attitude toward the child in special education as differentiated from that noticed here in America. Comparison was regarded as an end in itself and not as a tool toward an evaluation. In accordance with present attitudes toward comparative education, evaluation on the whole was avoided because re­liable universal yardsticks are lacking