Pixel International Conferences

Children with disability in Albania continue to be one of the most segregated groups from the education system. After  the fall of communist regime in the early 90-s, in our country, efforts have been made by the civil society organizations and state bodies to develop the necessary policies and legislation in support of the education for children with disability,.  The goal was to create and promote inclusive models to the mainstream schools. The minor number of children with disability attending the regular schools though indicates that inclusion is a challenging process. The focus of the study conducted in  2 mainstreem schools  and 2 special schools in Tirana Region was to comprehensively assess from the perspective of the different stakeholders(teachers, parents of children with disability, children themselves and school mates of children with disability) the implementation of the inclusive model for children with disability in the regular schools or special schools by identifying the concerns and the need for intervention. The theory of social capital was put in place to analyse how much networks and norms as elements  can improve the full inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools. The social capital is studied as a  asset dound inside the  family and school likewise. Representatives from all types of stakeholders were considered to the research  such as papents and  siblings  of dchild with disability, teachers, school mates etc.  They contributed to the  findings for the study through a combined qualitative methodology.The study concluded that notwithstanding the positive approach of the stakeholders towards this process, the inclusivemodel for children with disability in the regular schools cannot be fully implemented/achieved. The existing shortcomings in terms of school organization, supportive infrastructure, qualification of school staff and integration of  parents and school mates show that the current education system needs all of them coordinated to provide the necessary conditions for a thorough inclusion. Social capital through its non-formal networks, and the formal procedures both can make the ground to guaranty the successful participation of those children into education system.