Journal of Special Education and Rehabilitation

5-14

Authors: Goran AJDINSKI

The responsibilities and obligations of the special educators and the professional team that have to perform the process of inclusion is of a great im­portance, due to the fact that the education of chil­dren with special education needs is a serious issue which requires comprahensive approach, constant professional assistance, team work, contionuous in-service team training, as well as teacher and special educator training. Special educators should be trained for working in the regular schools. The training has to be carried out through direct sup­port in practice, workshops and seminars, ex­change of attitudes and development of further strategies for improvement of the process of inclu­sion. The special teacher, while teaching children with special education needs, has to realize a lot of ac­tivities such as: students’ preparation, assessment of the psychomotor development, evaluation of the students’ achieved results, adaptation of the cur­ricula, individual work, assistance to the main­stream teachers etc. Thus, the cooperation between the professional team and the parents is very im­portant in the process of inclusion.

25-32

Authors: Ljupcho AJDINSKI

The paper was presented at the Round table dis­cussions on conditions in education and employ­ment of people with disabilities in the Republic of Macedonia, held in September 2007. The condi­tions of the institutions, which provide early reha­bilitation, preschool, primary, secondary and higher education, as well as day and stationary care of people with disabilities were presented. The innovations in this field and the deinstitution­alized treatment of people with disabilities were discussed, too. The existing problems in the insti­tutions and proposed solutions for their improve­ment were also discussed.

43-46

Authors: Ljupcho EFREMOV

The employment of people with disabilities has shown positive results for the last few years, not only in the shelter commercial companies but as individual entrepreneurs or disabled people employed in individual commercial companies. The people with disabilities also, depending on the kind and degree of disability and the professional education are to be employed in the public administration and open commerce. Nowadays, in the Republic of Macedonia, there are about 650 registered shelter commercial companies that employ 3,550 people with disabilities and 4,350 people without disabilities, or the total of 7,900 employees in shelter commercial companies. There are 190 registered individual entrepreneurs, disabled people working on their own, and about 460 disabled people working as employees in individual commercial companies which makes a total of 4,200 employed disabled people. According to the Law on Employment being in effect from 02.06.2000, the number of the registered unemployed people in the Agency for employment in the Republic of Macedonia on 31.12.2001 was 3.300 people (this number includes registered disabled at work looking for a job), and in July 2007 the number was 2.200, which means that 1.100 people with disabilities have been employed since adopting the Law, and there is a tendency of increasing employment of disabled people.

53-57

Authors: Zoran KITKANJ

The Republic of Macedonia as one of the suc­cessors of former Yugoslavia, took over the pre­vious signed international conventions, dec­lara­tions, resolutions related to education, social and health care, social integration of children with developmental problems and special edu­cation needs. Thus, it was morally obliged to undertake activities for their successful and effi­cient inte­gration. On the other hand, the Article 35 of the Constitution of the Republic of Mace­donia le­gally obliges our state to develop a Na­tional Strategy for better life of this category of citi­zens, as well as their inclusion in all spheres of social life. Due to the mentioned above, it is necessary to change and amend the legal regulations in order to achieve more efficient integration of children and youth with disabilities. In other words, the contemporary European tendencies indicate on up-dating the legal regulations that directly or indirectly are related to these people and their more successful social integration.

61-62

Authors: Dragoslav KOPACHEV

The textbook titled “People with disabilities: professional orientation, qualification and employment” by Prof. Dr. Risto Petrov, was published in March 2007. The textbook is presented on 214 pages, computer processed. Topics included in the textbook are contemporary, current, clearly and documentarily worked out. They form a unit which presents the people with disabilities, reflects the professional orientation, qualification and employment of these people. The topics are fully adjusted to the subject, that according to ECTS, students of the Institute for Special Education and Rehabilitation study during the sixth semester. The material is structured in two parts: a general and a specific one, each consisting of several chapters. In the first, the General part, two units are worked out. In the first group of issues, the author considers the People with disabilities, especially those with impaired vision, impaired hearing, physically disabled people and people with mental retardation, as well as people with combined developmental disabilities. The author indicates on the definition, classification, especially points out the characteristics of these people from the aspect of their possibilities and abilities for work qualification and employment, In the second group of issues, the author talks about the Protection and rehabilitation of people with disabilities. He presents awareness about these issues since the first known documents. Furthermore, he defines the term rehabilitation and points out the conditions, principles, methods and tasks in rehabilitation of people with disabilities

67-69

Authors: Boge CHADINOVSKI

The round table discussion on “The Conditions, Problems and Development in Education and Employment of People with Disabilities in RM” was held on 26th September 2007. After the intro­ductory presentations and the round table discus­sions the following CONCLUSIONS were brought. 1. The Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs within their authorities to approach to changes and amend­ments of the legal regula­tions in order to provide: · To accept children with developmental problems and special education needs in pre-school, primary and secondary edu­cation; · criteria and standards for inclusion of chil­dren with disabilities in mainstream pre-schools, primary schools and secon­dary schools; · qualified defectologists (spe­cial teachers), to employ defectologists and additional professional assistance weekly: 3 hours in pre-school institutions and 5 hours in schools; · To provide database. 2. The Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Culture should provide publi­cation of textbooks and other books for the blind; should consider the way and timing for integration of these children in the educa­tional process and enable objective and pro­fessional assessment for inclusion; 3. The new Draft Law on Higher Education should provide benefits for people with im­paired hearing, impaired vision and people with severe physical disabilities. Benefits such as the right to an interpreter for the deaf and the sign language should be provided as opportunities for communication. For the people with impaired vision–technical aid and training on Braille’s alphabet, computers with appropriate software, printers and readers to be provided. For people with severe physical disabilities-access to the buildings of educa­tional institutions to be provided; and for all certain benefits at enrollment at the Univer­sity, scholarships, board and lodging and fi­nancial compensation of the state; 4. Further development of the process for esta­blishing daily centers, deinstitutionalization of children from the special institutions, the choice of biological and foster families, the chice of housing with previously accepted strategies, as well as bringing a Law on thises issues ; 5. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs pre­pared Proposals for changes and amend­ments on the Law of Employment of people with disabilities in order to regulate the in­crease of the percentage of the total amount of the ex­isting contribution for employment from 5% to 15%, which is allocated to sub-account in the Agency for Employment in the Republic of Macedonia (Special Fund) and is to be ap­plied from 1st January 2008; 6. The Agency for Employment in the Republic of Macedonia to apply the Rulebook for training disabled people on the requests of enterprises that employ such people; 7. The secondary and Higher education should provide new vocations and jobs depending on the level of person’s disability, which will en­able employment of these people, possible activities related to electronics and informa­tion technology, i.e. prosperous development; 8. The Operative Body of the National Coor­di­na­­tive Body for equal rights of people with disabilities is to appoint a working group con­sisted of 3 members: Boge Chadi­novski–a de­fectologist, Vlado Dodevski–a eng. in pro­tec­t­ion at work and Ljupcho Efremov–a defec­tologist, to prepare the no­menclature of voca­tions meant for people with disabilities and the Coordinative Body should provide prem­ises as well as financial means for this pro­ject; 9. Components of the Conclusions are the pro­posals in the introductory presentations of the round table discussions on education, legal regulations, employment of people with dis­abilities as well as proposals of the discus­sions and working materials; 10. People with disabilities appeal to the relevant institutions in the state and the authorities with the motto: DON’T DO ANYTHING FOR US-WITHOUT US; 11. The Coordinative Body entrusts the Presi­dent and the Secretary of the National Co­ordina­tive Body to point out and appeal to the au­thorized institutions to carry out these con­clu­sions.

91-93

Authors: Daniela DIMITROVA-RADOJCHIKJ

Daniela Dimitrova-Radojcikj defended her doctoral thesis on January 23th, 2007 at the Institute for Special Edu­cation and Rehabilitation at the Faculty of Philoso­phy, University “Ss Cyril and Methodius”-Skopje before the com­mission cosisted of: Prof. Dr. Vladimir Radulov, Prof. Dr. Risto Petrov, Prof. Dr. Ljupcho Ajdinski, Prof. Dr. Goran Ajdinski and Prof. Dr. Zora Jachova.

96-97

Authors: Aneta STEFANOVSKA

Aneta Stefanovska defended her master thesis on October 18th, 2006 at the Institute for Special Edu­cation and Rehabilitation at the Faculty of Philoso­phy, University “Ss Cyril and Methodius”-Skopje before the com­mission cosisted of: Prof. Dr. Risto Petrov, Prof. Dr. Dragoslav Kopachev and Prof. Dr. Goran Ajdinski.