ESCUELA NORMAL FRONTERIZA TIJUANA

Special education in Mexico

Jess Javier Luzania Lpez
30/01/2012

Special education in Mexico

The special education in Mexico began in 1867 when Benito Juarez established the National School for the Deaf, which was the first to Mexico to offer education to persons with hearing disabilities; two years later he founded the National School for the Blind. It is until 100 years later when establishing the Directorate General of Special Education and in 1974 began the Project of Integration, which is intended to regular education and special education work together to provide response to educational needs are people with disabilities. This project formed special groups of students with educational needs and attention in basic education schools was given regularly and these were supported by Special Education Centers. In 1990, the inclusive education movement gained extensive ground globally and Mexico was among the countries that embraced this concept. Inclusive education would recast the role of the special education teacher: Rather than teaching special needs children in alternative classrooms and facilities, special education teachers would assist regular classroom teachers, accommodating special needs children in regular classrooms. Inclusion implied a change in the mindset about the ways in which schools should serve children. Proponents of the inclusion model touted increased intellectual benefits and improved social skills. Mexican law guarantees that the state will serve all people with disabilities and special education needs, and enlists the education system in a policy of educational integration. The General Education Law of 1993 was the first federal mandate obligating the state to address the needs of special education students in Mexico. Since then, Mexican educational, health, and social welfare agencies have made significant changes in the services provided to children with special education needs. Current special education policy discards the parallel curriculum model in favor of the using same curriculum for all students, adapting it to meet various needs. An attempt at integration is obligatory, but if it fails for a given child, the child has the right to be in an alternative setting. The idea implicit in the policy is that the childs learning is dependent on the learning context, so some students learning speed and rhythm may differ from others.

In 1994 held a meeting in Salamanca, Spain, in this meeting involving several countries in the world, at this were discussed the special educational needs and created the Treaty of Salamanca, which provides access for people who show disabilities to regular school and orthodontia within it always and when his condition permission, the other hand asked the teachers that they designed new teaching strategies to provide opportunities for students with special educational needs. These strategies would be designed according to the needs of these students also should encourage pupils who do not have special educational needs and, consequently, raise the quality of education. In 2002, the Mexican Government and the Secretary of public education give to know the national programed for strengthening of special education and educational integration (PRONAFO). In this document it is to meet the guidelines, objectives and the Mission of special education. Also referred to the challenges which faced special education services, as are the coverage of its services, the resources that are available to give attention to the students, accessibility to facilities in regular school, the Organization of support within the schools of regular education services, collaborative work between regular and special education, and so on. Also this paper refers on the strengthening of special education, the updating of teachers supporting regular schools is essential to improve the service and attention to the students. This document underwent a reform in 2009. During 2006 it gives to know the guidelines document for the operation of services of special education, which is part of the national program for the strengthening of special education and educational integration. This document is the one used in the support services for their organization and operation, the activities to be performed each of the members that make up the team supports the regular school. Current Mexican educational policy is based on the premise that special education students need additional resources to learn the content included in the national program of studies and need additional resources. Mexican educators no longer focus exclusively on the particular problems exhibited by individual students. Instead, a holistic approach is encouraged, which considers factors such as the school, home, and community environment as well as teaching methods issues that may affect a childs progress or exacerbate a problem.

The two models in Mexico for service delivery are: y y Regular Education Support Services Unit ( USAER) Multiple Attention Centers (CAM).

According to Todd Fletcher of the University of Arizona, USAER and CAM serve children with and without disabilities who have special learning needs, akin to combining 504 plans with disability categories. A student, therefore, may not be assigned a disability category, but may receive services for special learning needs that teachers and USAERs have identified, but have not specifically labeled. For example, hyperactivity (ADHD) is not considered a disability, but special education professionals are aware of it and any intervention associated with hyperactivity would be provided by mental health professionals such as psychologists or psychiatrists. There are educational associations that focus on ADHD-type conditions, but teachers generally do not have knowledge or training in how to deal with it in the classroom (email communication, Todd Fletcher, 2007). The USAERs conduct psychpedagogical evaluations similar to holistic assessments in which they gather information, such as student history, educational experience, and student work samples. Special education personnel conduct informal non-standardized assessments to determine learning needs (email communication, Fletcher, 2007). USAERs usually consist of a social worker, a psychologist, a speech and language therapist, and a special education teacher. They serve four or five schools, spending one day per week in each. USAERs conduct studies of the school operations and environment, and of the community the school serves as well. USAERs are designed to integrate special needs students into regular classrooms. Special education teachers in these units collaborate with regular classroom teachers to help build success among special needs students in the classrooms. Primary objectives of USAER are: initial evaluations, intervention planning, intervention, and ongoing assessment, and monitoring. The USAER uses curriculum-based assessments to determine progress. Students are provided with curriculum adaptations in the regular classrooms according to their needs.

CAM is alternative settings or special schools designed to provide education to preschool through high school students who are unable to integrate successfully into regular classrooms and need additional accommodations. The centers are organized by group and age and work to provide instruction to students with diverse disabilities in the same group. Each center maintains autonomy in organizing, planning and instruction of their students.