Education of Children with Special Needs in Romania; Attitudes and Experiences

Policy, research and practice in special education and inclusion of children with disabilities in the mainstream school system and social life are one of the most important priorities in Romanian educational policies. The basic premise of the integration/inclusion movement is that principles of anti-discrimination, equity, social justice, and basic human rights make it imperative that students with disabilities and special needs should enjoy the same access as all other students to a regular school environment and to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum. Another hand, inclusion and integration remain a controversial concept in education and many discussions about inclusion or integration should address several important questions for educators and specialists in education. Also, in inclusive school communities, responding to and supporting learner diversity should be a shared responsibility of teachers, support providers, families, peers and community members, which necessitates expanding traditional roles. In this paper we have presented attitudes and experiences about special education reforms strategies in Romanian educational system, in last twenty years. Research methods are based on documents studies and cases studies about changes in social and educational policies for children with disabilities and/or special needs who are included in Romanian schools. Conclusions are that only a small proportion of the children with special needs have the opportunity to attend a regular community school with their non-disabled peers; most of them must attend a segregated school. There is growing evidence that children with disabilities learn better when they are allowed to go to a public school within their neighborhood. Examples of good practice exist, but the models need to be strengthened and made more systemic.