Educational support in employment sphere of persons with mild mental disability

Nowadays people with light mental disability are preparing for their future career mainly in apprentice vocational schools and in two-year remedial practical schools. Competence which should be gained during studies is defined in Curriculum which is in obedience to Law No.561/2004 of Legal Code, Education Law, Ministry of Education System, Youth and Sports. Acquired output competence could help graduates to find employment in a protected labour market or ideally in an open labour market. However, people with light mental disability count among the group of people that is strongly endangered by unemployment. The reason of that fact could be, like in case of other groups endangered by unemployment, an insufficient personality or vocational training. Purposeful educational activities, for example retraining courses or job clubs financed or organized by job centres, are the solution to this situation. The group of disabled people is very specific, that is why we have to follow special educational methods and it is necessary to adapt a content and organization. These activities should be realized by remedial teachers. The goal of the thesis is to suggest ways of remedial teaching support in the area of employment of light mental disabled people. To reach the goal of the thesis, it is necessary to define the target group and characterize its specific in the area of education and social integration that is connected with opportunity and ability of finding employment. The specific feature of mental development is slower data processing, insufficiently developed logical thinking, worsened memory, short-term attention, worsened ability of analysis and synthesis, difficulties with understanding of expressive part of speech, emotional instability, insufficient willingness. In social area there are difficulties with making and maintaining social contacts, problems with understanding of social roles, complicated building of own identity and social status, danger of stigma of disabled people. To meet the goal of the thesis - to suggest ways of remedial teaching support in the area of employment of light mental disabled people, the further part of the thesis deals with vocational training of the target group, which is mainly educated in apprentice vocational schools and two-year remedial practical schools. Both types of schools are briefly characterized and then the key and vocational competence defined in Curriculum, which should be gained by graduates, is specified. There is competence of learning, competence of solving problems, communicative, social and personal competence, civic competence, work (employment) competence, in apprentice vocational schools also mathematical competence and competence of information and communication technology and dealing with information. Vocational competence is defined according to the type of school and in apprentice vocational schools the vocational competence is defined in according to the branch of study. The third part of the thesis is focused on importance of employment as the main motivational element for the light mental disabled people. The present forms of specific employment support, which deepen competence and follow in competence gained in mentioned schools and so it is important in the system of vocational training, are described. It is about supported employment, transit program and job clubs