Abstract
This paper session will discuss the reorientation of special education from the perspective of Mexico City and the state of Guanajuato that are occurring within the context of the delivery of a new twin delivery service model recently implemented throughout Mexico. Some of the accomplishments, obstacles, and challenges encountered will be identified and discussed.
Special education in Mexico, in step with worldwide trends, is in the process of transformation. Educational reform has been developed based on the UNESCO agreements that have recommended different measures to reorder educational systems to achieve the following objectives: 1) provide education that serves all students; 2) attends to the diversity of the student population; 3) provide quality education for all students.
These new goals and competencies of education are focused on the restructuring of the public school that will respond to the basic learning needs of all students with social equity while attending to their cultural, economic, physical and cognitive differences. In Mexico, as elsewhere, this has meant a change in legislation to meet the growing demands of students with special needs and teacher preparation to prepare professionals to work with these students. This has led to a reconceptualisation of the role of special education and its relationship to general education, systemic change in the delivery of services, retraining of both general and special education teachers and practices to meet the new demands of an integrated system, and time for the articulation of services in general and special education.
These will be explored and interviews with students gathered through focus groups will also be discussed with regard to change and their perceptions and feelings about it.
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