Monitoring of inclusive teaching and transit education programs in Georgian public schools, 2018

22 Feb 2018

The aim of the sociological research was to monitor two projects initiated by the ministry of education and science of Georgia – implementation of inclusive education and transitive educational program.

Monitoring project of inclusive education implementation aimed to study inclusive education in public schools in many respects. Through the analysis of the survey, there were singled out the issues and with their solution eventually, there must be determined the ways to improve inclusive education in public schools.

The monitoring project was implemented by ISSA through the sociological research – to achieve the research aims the organization used both qualitative and quantitative methods. Survey of the quantitative method (with face-to-face interview)  covered 80 schools (that were equally distributed to Tbilisi and regions) [1]. In the frames of the survey, 80 school directors/deputy directors, 332 parents of pupils with special needs, 252 teachers, and 136 special teachers were interviewed.

Monitoring of transitive educational program on the one hand, implied the analysis of knowledge and experience regarding the program accumulated in recent years, based on the data acquired from the individuals who are directly involved in the implementation of the program, on the other hand, the assessment of existing social environment in public schools, that would allow the assessment of openness and readiness of school and its personnel regarding homeless children.

ISSA covered 26 public schools with the quantitative method, where program beneficiaries are studying now. Within the research framework, 26 school directors/deputies and 63 teachers were interviewed. At the same time within the frame of quantitative research interviews were conducted with 26 employees of 6 day-centers that are working with homeless children. A group discussion was conducted with the transitive program specialists, within the research framework.

The case study was implemented in qualitative research framework that implied to study 10 cases of pupils. For the above-mentioned 10 cases two groups of pupils were selected: 1) pupils of special educational needs who have status of individuals with disabilities or existing characteristics in different fields of development (group 1) and (2) pupils involved in the state program “The second opportunity to get education for children left beyond the learning process in Georgia" (transit educational program) (group2).

The aim of the case study was to analyze the factors that affect the involvement efficiency in educational processes of the pupils with special educational needs.

Research works included the period from May 2017 to November of the same year.