Franco-Vietnamese Dialogue on Special Education

The Franco-Vietnamese seminar: “Special Education: French Experience and the Possibility of Integration into Social Work” was jointly organized by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and AUF on April 14, 2009.

The workshop participants included experts in psychology, social work, and special education from the Erasme Institute of Social Work Toulouse, the Pierre Bourdieu Institute of Social Work, the Les Hirondelles Auch Institute of Medical Education, the Pau Institute of Social Work, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), and several special education centers in Vietnam.

Special education programs (SEs) are highly specialized educational programs focused on individuals with special circumstances, providing direct intervention, care, and treatment by a team of professionally trained social workers from fields such as medicine, psychology, pedagogy, sociology, law, and social work. The target group of SEs are individuals and groups experiencing abnormalities in their physical structure, impaired or lost functions in their daily lives, thus reducing their ability to integrate into society. In terms of methodology, SEs offer specialized treatment methods, educational approaches, care, and guidance tailored to the specific needs of these vulnerable individuals and groups.

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

One of the target groups of special education programs that has received attention in Vietnam is children with disabilities. According to recent research by the Center for Special Education under the Department of Strategy and Education Programs of Vietnam, there are nearly 100 specialized facilities nationwide caring for and educating over 7,000 children with disabilities. Currently, Vietnam has 1.4 million children with disabilities, of which 800,000 have not yet attended school. There are 1,500 lecturers with formal and informal training at the university and college levels in the education of students with disabilities, and 7 training institutions have departments or organizations responsible for special education.

Since 1975, the Ministry of Education has established research groups on the education of children with disabilities. By 1980, there were 30 specialized facilities, and by 1990, there were over 50 schools and institutions providing specialized education. Since 1990, with the effective assistance of many international organizations, the Vietnamese government has developed and perfected many policies investing in 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 positive methods and models in the care and education of children with disabilities.

At the workshop, many opinions were discussed regarding the prospects of integrating special education programs into social work programs. Opinions suggested that special education programs are an inseparable part of the overall social work education program, a specialized field of social work knowledge. The form and content of special education could be designed as specialized courses within the undergraduate social work program. However, the fundamental limitation of this integration lies in the ability to apply and practice specialized skills to specific target groups, given that social workers do not have enough time to intervene and assist clients, and lack scientific basis for evaluating the results after social work practice.

There have also been suggestions to establish a model of a special education center alongside training units (faculties, departments) at training institutions as a solution that combines various types of training with organizing scientific research, professional development, and practical skills training. The framework program for social work and the special education program could be adjusted to avoid duplication, while also utilizing research results from the special education center to supplement and improve the quality of social work training.

In addition to the main topic, several reports focused on clarifying the role of clinical psychology in special education, proposing the development of a mixed professional intervention model for treating children with special needs, suggesting methods for building and utilizing activity zones in special education, the role of daily care in the integration of people with disabilities, and practical experiences in special education in France and the United States.