Parents’ opinions on elementary school with adapted education programme before and after the enrolment of their child

Magistrsko delo sodi na področje vzgoje in izobraževanja otrok s posebnimi potrebami, bolj natančno otrok z motnjami v duševnem razvoju. Osrednje problemsko vprašanje se nanaša na mnenja staršev o osnovni šoli s prilagojenim programom pred in po vstopu njihovega otroka v šolo. V teoretičnem delu opišem procese soočanja staršev z drugačnostjo otroka, potek izobraževanja teh učencev ter poudarim pomen partnerskega odnosa med starši in strokovnjaki, ki je potreben za uspešno soustvarjanje takšnih rešitev, ki bodo uspešne za otroka in starše. V raziskovalnem delu z analizo pričevanj staršev – ekspertov iz lastnih izkušenj, predstavim njihova mnenja o osnovni šoli s prilagojenim programom pred vstopom otroka v šolo ter njihove izkušnje v procesu šolanja. Analiza empiričnih podatkov omogoča zaključiti, da imajo v raziskavo vključeni starši pred vstopom njihovega otroka v takšno šolo o njej negativna mnenja in odpor do preusmeritve iz redne osnovne šole v šolo s prilagojenim programom. Po vstopu otroka v to šolo se negativna mnenja zaradi uspešnosti otroka preoblikujejo v pozitivna. Ocenjujejo, da je šolanje otroka na takšni šoli v korist uspešnega razvoja njihovega otroka.This master’s thesis deals with early education and education of children with special needs, namely those with mental developmental disabilities. The main focus of the thesis discusses parents’ opinions on elementary school with adapted education programme before and after the enrolment of their child. The theoretical part describes the process of parental acceptance of a child’s disability, the educational process of these pupils and the significance of the partnership between parents and experts in successfully creating solutions that result in success for the child and the parents. In the research part, the parents’ opinions on the elementary school with adapted education programme before the enrolment of their child and their experiences during the course of schooling are presented by analysing parents’ testimonies and expert opinions, also based on my personal experience. The analysis of the empirical data suggests that parents, included in the survey, had a negative opinion of the school with adapted education programme prior to the enrolment of their child and were reluctant to let their child transfer from a regular elementary school. However, after the child’s enrolment those negative opinions turn into positive ones due to the progress of the child. They realize that this type of schooling is beneficial to their child’s successful development