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The process of inclusion
demands active engagement of different stakeholders such as policy makers,
teachers, school administration, non-governmental organizations and parents.
All of them are in charge of creating the positive atmosphere for the development
of inclusive education. However, the most part of the burden of the promotion
of inclusion lies on parents who have children with disabilities. The reasons
to write the post about parental activism are following: first of all, parents
are the powerful advocates for their children. Secondly, they are able to
influence positively on the quality of educational service, demanding the
fulfillment of obligations of other stakeholders. Finally, parents are able to
monitor the outcomes of the education policies, identifying its strength and
weaknesses.
At present time parents of
children with disabilities in Kazakhstan
become more aware of their role and small, but very vital initiatives have been
already done by them towards promotion of inclusive education (Rouse and
Lapham, 2013). Many of parents of
children with disabilities organize their own non governmental organizations.
Most of these organizations were initiated after informal meetings or were
shaped within the help of special governmental organizations, which provided
education programs for their children (Rouse and Lapham, 2013).
One of the examples of
parents’ activism is the first NGO in Kazakhstan - Association of Parents
of Children with Disabilities in Almaty, which calls “ARDI”. It was established
in 1991 and now it takes care of 537 families with children with disabilities,
147 of them are using wheelchairs. ARDI operates organizes different project
such as opening of the “Special Art” studio and organization of sport
championships for disabled children. Every year ARDI is awarded for its
achievements and merits to the community.
No less important meaning has recently established Club for parents of
Children with Disabilities organized by Psycho Medical
Correctional Center
with the support of Dara Foundation. The main objective of this club is to
provide social and psychological support for other parents.
One more manifestation of
parents’ initiative is Ashyk Alem Association of Parents with Children with
Autism. It was estanlished in 2011 by the three women who had children with
Authism. They have met in the Center
of Adaptation and
Professional Rehabilitation in Almaty.
At the beginning this association had an aim to provide psychological
and informational support for other parents and then become a powerful
organization on protection of children’s rights. Today Ashyk Alem works on
international level banding parents from different regions of Central
Asia (Rouse and Lapham, 2013). A young organization takes
participation in round tables, discussions and conferences regarding the issues
of Autism and organizes special trainings for other parents. It also conducted
research on state service of children with Autism and wrote a critical report
basing on it. Once should not forget, that the most important achievement of
this association is that they attract attention of media, representative of
legislative power, civil servants and other parents to their problem whereby
awaking their awareness (Markova and Sultanalieva, 2013).
Parental activism in Kazakhstan
demonstrates how a small group of people can contribute to the development of
global trend in education. Furthermore, parental activism is a powerful
instrument that delivers the voice of children with disabilities to the policy
makers. This kind of collaboration
between parents, NGO and civil servants has potential to be productive (Markova
and Sultanalieva, 2013).
References
Markova M., Sultanalieva D. (2013). Parent activism in Kazakhstan: the
promotion of autistic children’s educational rights by the Ashyk Alem
foundation. The Journal of Social Policy
study, 11(4), pp. 483-498.
Rouse, M. and Lapham, K. (2013). The long road to inclusion. The Journal of Social Policy study,
11(4), pp. 439-454.
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ReplyDeleteHi, Zukhra! I think, when activism comes from a society, "from a bottom" it is more valuable than it comes from a government. In this case, the problem is real and can't be said that it is "not to hold water" (притянута за уши). When parental activism increases its power, the aim of a government is to support it, but of course it depends on particular situations. I can't imagine how such a big organization as "Ashik Alem" can grow from enthusiasm of three parents. It is amazing! This example illustrates that we as IE cohort are also able to do a lot in the trend of inclusive education!
I absolutely agree with your post. It is interesting to discover that school stuff also believes that progress at school depends on parents. Few inclusive schools in Kazakhstan were initiated just because of parental activism. Parents play a vital role in every child's life!
ReplyDeleteDue to my personal issues, I know a lot of parents of children with special needs. By observing their actions, I can definitely say that parental activism help to decide child's life path. Those parents who never give up and search for information that could be helpful for their children, their children are more socialized and developed. On the other hand, it is sad to say, but there are a lot of families, where parents don't have time on their children, due to many obstacles. Special needs children in such families grow without proper attention, thus they grow up without self-esteem.
I cannot condemn nobody, but I want parents to be more responsible. Once you have got your child, no matter with or without special need, he needs your attention and love.