The development of inclusive education in Kazakhstan: Part II Current practices

In the previous post, the development of inclusive education in Kazakhstan: Part I, the historical background of inclusive education was discussed. This part is given in order to evaluate the current inclusive education implementation progress. Thus, it is recommended to read both parts of the post to better understand the reform.

After launching the State Program of Education Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2011-2020 (2010), one of the targets is to develop inclusive education by creating favorable conditions for all children regardless of their abilities. Despite the mentioned hindrances of inclusive education in Part I , there is a number of mainstream schools throughout the country which are implementing the reform and can be counted as the best examples of the implementation process of inclusive education.

There is a school № 11 of Rudnyy which started to include children with minor mental retardations into the general educational process from 2007-2008 academic year (Yelisseeva, 2013). Today, there are 161 students studying in 11 classes (from 1 to 9 grades). All teachers, who are dealing with those children, have completed the professional development courses; five teachers including the principal have higher defectological education.

The mainstream school №7 of Kostanay has been accommodating the children with severe speech impairment in special classes. The school’s development plan includes a section which is dedicated to the development of inclusive education. Additionally, there is a psychological and educational support group which prepares special educational plans to meet the needs of each child with disability. The school produces an internal journal - “Semerochka”, in which the children with limited abilities are also involved together with the other children (Yelisseeva, 2013).    

The mainstream school № 13 of Petropavlovsk has 13 years of experience in integrating the children with loco motor impairments into its general educational space. Currently, there are 24 students with loco motor impairment enrolled in the school (which comprises the 13% of the whole student population). The school is physically accessible for those children. The school staff is constantly working for removing the barriers to ensure the participation of all learners. One of the accomplishments of the school is the formation of tolerant environment which alleviates the psychological discomfort experienced by some children (Yelisseeva, 2013).

The school-gymnasium № 65 in Astana has been implementing inclusive education since 2010. There are 139 children with limited abilities in the school (Principal of the school, personal communication, 2015, April 10). In the statute of the school it is written that enrollment of children with special educational needs together with typically developed children will be mandatory. There is an agreement of cooperation between the administration of the school and the parents of the children with limited abilities (Principal of the school, personal communication, 2015, April 10).

To sum up, the development of inclusive education in Kazakhstan has roots from the

Soviet times, and today it focuses on the education of children with limited abilities in mainstream schools. Reflecting on the literature, it can be concluded that the reform has still some gaps and shortcomings in the implementation process and there is a huge need for strong leadership and management.

References:

Ministry of Education & Science. (2010). State program of education development in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2011-2020 (№ 1118). Astana.

Yelisseeva, I. G. (2013). Vklyuchenie detey s ogranichennymi vozmozhnostyami v obshee obrazovanie. Resursnye materialy. [Inclusion of students with limited abilities into general compulsory education system. Resource materials.] Astana