French-Vietnamese seminar on special education

French-Vietnamese seminar: “Special education: French experience and the possibility of integration into social work” co-organized by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and AUF on April 14, 2009.

The delegates attending the workshop were experts in psychology, social work, and special education from the Erasme Toulouse Social Work Institute, Pierre Bourdieu Social Work Institute, Les Hirondelles Auch Medical Education Institute, Pau Social Work Institute, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (VNU) and a number of special education centers in Vietnam...

The special education program (SEP) is a specialized educational program, focusing on groups of people with special circumstances, who are directly intervened, cared for, and treated by a team of cadres and social workers professionally trained in fields such as medicine, psychology, pedagogy, sociology, law, social work, etc. The subjects of the SEP program are individuals and groups who are experiencing abnormal problems with their body structure, with impaired or lost functions in human life activities, thereby reducing their ability to integrate into society. In terms of methods, the SEP program provides treatment methods, educational methods, special care and guidance, adapted to each special case of individuals and disadvantaged groups.

[img class="caption" src="images/stories/2009/04/14/img_4794.jpg" border="0" alt="MSc. Le Van Phu (Head of Social Work Department - Faculty of Social Sciences) represented the group of authors presenting the first report at the seminar" title="MSc. Le Van Phu (Head of Social Work Department - Faculty of Social Sciences) represented the group of authors presenting the first report at the seminar" width="240" height="160" align="right" ]

One of the target groups of the special education program that has been receiving attention in Vietnam is children with disabilities. According to recent research results of the Special Education Center under the Department of Strategy and Education Program of Vietnam, the whole country has nearly 100 specialized facilities to care for and educate over 7,000 children with disabilities. Currently, Vietnam has 1.4 million children with disabilities, of which 800,000 children with disabilities have not been to school, there are 1,500 lecturers with formal and informal university and college degrees in educating students with disabilities, there are 7 training facilities with faculty units or grassroots organizations responsible for special education.

Since 1975, the Ministry of Education has established a research team on education for children with disabilities. By 1980, there were 30 specialized facilities, and by 1990, there were over 50 schools and facilities with specialized education tasks. Since 1990, with the effective assistance of many international organizations, the Vietnamese government has developed and perfected many investment policies for research and training in the field of special education. On May 22, 2006, the Ministry of Education and Training issued regulations on inclusive education for people with disabilities, demonstrating the State's efforts in applying and developing active methods and models in the care and education of children with disabilities.

At the workshop, there were many opinions discussing the prospect of integrating the special education program into the social work program. Opinions stated that the special education program is an inseparable part of the general social work education program, a specialized field of social work knowledge. The form and content of special education can be designed as specialized subjects in the social work bachelor's training program. However, the basic limitation of this integration activity is the ability to apply and practice specialized skills for each group of special subjects when social workers do not have enough time to intervene, help clients and lack scientific basis to evaluate the results after the social work practice process.

There are also suggestions for building a model of special education centers next to training units (faculties, departments) at training institutions as a solution to combine training types, organize scientific research, foster and practice professional skills. The framework program on social work and the special education program can be adjusted to avoid duplication, and take advantage of research results from the special education center to supplement and improve the quality of training in social work.

In addition to the main topic above, some reports focused on clarifying the role of clinical psychology in special education, proposing the construction of a mixed group intervention model of professionals in the treatment of special children, proposing methods for building and using an activity area in special education, the role of daily care in the integration of people with disabilities, practical experience in France and the US on special education....