"Focus on the Person": Disability Awareness Educational Program in schools
a. Description
The innovative Educational Program "Focus on the Person" has been successfully implemented since 2009. The program is approved by the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs.
It aims to awaken students and change their attitude towards diversity while introducing them to the notion of social acceptance and equality.
Main Features:
• Conducted in primary & secondary education schools, during school hours. It is aimed at 1 or 2 classes, providing the number of participating students does not exceed 80. The duration of the session is set at one or two teaching hours.
• Consists of an Experiential Non – Formal Educational Program: Open Informative dialogue promoting awareness.
• Addresses primary & secondary education mainstream students and their teachers.
• Implemented & coordinated by SKEP’s motivational speakers (youth with physical impairments) and other associates
More specifically, the program focuses on:
- Familiarizing them with the notion of disability
- Helping them understand the daily obstacles faced by people with disability as well as the potential they possess
- Facilitating communication between youth with & without disability
- Improving their self-confidence and trust in themselves, while enhancing their ability to overcome obstacles (hearing about true accounts of people managing to defeat personal adversities)
- Energizing reflexes of solidarity & responsibility, aiming to empower the social conscious of the next generation
Goals
1. Deconstruct stereotypes of prejudice about disability through the awakening of the general population and the reshaping of attitudes
2. Integrating people with disability into everyday life, aiming towards their social inclusion
Secondary benefits
At the same time, the Educational Program contributes towards students’ psycho-social development, enabling them to view both society & themselves in a different way.
1. By hearing about true accounts of people managing to defeat personal adversities, children improve their self-confidence and trust in themselves, while enhancing their ability to overcome obstacles.
2. By interacting with diversity the students develop empathy and a sense of right and wrong, helping them to become a beacon of change within the community.
The importance of the Educational System within the school framework
Our programs within the school framework, emphasize on:
1/ Access to information and awareness campaigns for mainstream students regarding diversity.
‘I am informed, I comprehend, I learn, I think, I alter my attitude’
2/ Subsequent social and professional integration of all persons with disability in all levels of society.
‘They see me, They understand the abilities I have but also realize the obstacles I face, They take me into consideration, They alter their attitude towards diversity’
Above all, the open dialogues within the school framework enable students to comprehend the everyday life of a young person with disability through spontaneous and honest discussions. They will hear real-life stories about people who have found ways to overcome obstacles and have defeated adversity. Apart from familiarizing students with disability, the program offers the participants a life lesson by creating a new communication code, building relationships of understanding, respect and acceptance through the experiential process. Additionally, it reinforces the notion of social inclusion, camaraderie and awareness, while simultaneously promoting trust in ourselves and others. Genuine feelings represent the most successful recipe for a life stance without restrictions, stereotypes and “limited” perceptions.
b. Methodology
The program has been designed according to students’ age groups and to the different needs that arise.
- Primary Education: Educational Program "Approaching Diversity"
In a simple way for students of a younger age group to understand, the motivational speakers emphasize on informing and describing the conditions and everyday life of people with disability in our country. It is essentially an introduction to the notion of diversity.
a/ 1st Section:
- The speaker with disability explains and describes his own reality about his disability and focuses on daily issues such as: routine, accessibility, obstacles he faces but also opportunities which arise
b/ 2nd Section:
Open dialogue with students
- Secondary Education: Educational Program "Disability as a challenge: Barriers & Solutions"
This particular program is aimed at older students. In a personal, simple, direct yet lively way, interaction with people with disability offers students the opportunity to approach and realize the concepts of diversity, social acceptance and equity, while improving their individual and social development. Multi-thematic speeches are held for a wider dissemination of information, with the active participation of students.
c. In Numbers
Since the beginning we have:
- Raised awareness among more than 200,000 young people
- Carried out 10 educational programs per school week, annually
- Collaborated with more than 575 public and private primary and secondary education schools in Greece
d. Evaluation of the Program
Qualitative Analysis in Schools: The Educational Program "Focus on the Person" in Action: Observation in the School Context - In collaboration with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Department of Psychology
During the school year 2017-2018, SKEP evaluated the impact of the "Focus on the Person" educational program on students, by making a qualitative analysis through:
- Ongoing cooperation and feedback by the teachers participating in the program
- Feedback from the students, always in collaboration with the school
- Collection and processing of data in collaboration with Professor Frosso Motti-Stefanidi, Ph.D, Department of Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The Educational Program took place inside the school during teaching hours. The approach and information that needed to be shared with the students was designed according to their age groups.
Specifically, the Qualitative Analysis was implemented in Primary and Secondary Schools in the wider region of Attica.
Specifically:
- 14 schools: 7 Primary and 7 Secondary Education
- 340 students: 173 Primary and 167 Secondary School students
- 166 boys and 174 girls
The qualitative analysis was designed to capture the influence of the program on Primary and Secondary Education students. Through observation and recording of emotions in the familiar environment of the classroom of the students and the teachers who attended, conclusions were drawn that outlined the impact of the educational program.
The conclusions were presented by the Professor of the Department of Psychology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Mrs Frosso Motti-Stephanidi, at the 1st Interactive Conference on "Fostering Respect and Acceptance of Diversity in Schools" - Educational Approaches for the Social Inclusion of Young People with Disability, organized by "Marianna V. Vardinoyannis" Foundation and SKEP, on Friday 30 November 2018, in Zappeion, Athens -Greece.
The Conference was held under the auspices of H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos.
In conclusion, SKEP's Educational Program:
- Raised awareness amongst children's thoughts and feelings regarding disability: Children expressed more positive than negative feelings about this experience and realized through social comparison that people with disability have needs, difficulties and abilities like the rest of the world.
- Helped understand the daily barriers faced by people with disability as well as to realize their potential: Children emphasized in the speaker's mental resilience*
- Contributed to the review and change of attitudes, perceptions, feelings about disability in a significant percentage of children
*An important role in this process was played by the personality of the speaker who made the intervention: The children were impressed by the openness of the speaker with regard to his or her disability, character and resilience.
SKEP's educational program seems to contribute on familiarizing students with the reality of disability. This intervention may be the trigger for creating a school as a framework of equal opportunities and inclusion in a community. A school that promotes empathy, dialogue, coexistence, acceptance, solidarity and respect for the uniqueness of everyone.
e. Policy Development
We are proud that our educational program "Focus on the person" in schools, is amongst IEA case studies. UNESCO and the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education have designed this unique collection of case studies in order to support stakeholders (e.g. policy makers, teachers and educators, researchers, development partners, NGOs) to develop and implement inclusive and equitable education policies, programs and practices. The case studies section presents detailed and highly structured material on key policy developments.
The aim of the case study material is to provide detailed information on inclusive policy and practice from policy makers and practitioners, about the implementation and its results. It includes a collection of case studies relating to policy statements, descriptions and evaluations of policy developments, plans for and reflections on policy implementation from different regions. At present the case studies are all in English, but additional material may be provided in any language. This section will continue to be updated with ongoing case studies.
f. Awards
- 2019: SKEP awarded by the Bravo Sustainability Dialogue & Awards 2019 for its “Educational Disability Awareness Program in Schools: Focus on the Person” as an initiative that contributes and supports the "Greece of Tomorrow".
- 2017: SKEP awarded with both the Prize in its respective category and the Grand Jury Prize at the 2nd French-Greek Innovation Forum Mazinnov2, an initiative of the Embassy of France in Greece together with the Ambassador Mr Christophe Chantepy.
