Functional Diagnosis as a Strategy for Implementing Inclusive Education in Poland1

• Main Authors: Ewa DOMAGALA-ZYSK, Tomasz KNOPIK
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Associação Brasileira de Pesquisadores em Educação Especial
• Series: Revista Brasileira de Educação Especial
• Subjects: inclusive education; special education needs; functional diagnosis; polish system of pedagogical and psychological support
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-65382020000200002&lng=en&tlng=en
• ISSN: 1413-6538; 1980-5470

ABSTRACT: The 25th anniversary of the Salamanca Statement is a good opportunity to summarize to what extent the challenges described in it have been implemented by the signatory countries, all of which are members of UNESCO. This article presents a balance of achievements in implementing inclusive education in Poland, as well as a catalog of challenges for the future. Although the commitments to provide inclusive education for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) arise from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), which have both been ratified by Poland, systematic work on the implementation began only in 2010. The key measure was the Regulation of the Ministry of National Education on the principles of planning and organization of psychological and pedagogical support for pupils with SEN. Currently, in cooperation with the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education intensive work is underway to create a coherent system for recognizing the needs and possibilities of children and adolescents based on the functional diagnosis model. Therefore, this article presents the assumptions of this model with reference to the implemented or planned changes to the educational law.