Children With Severe Disabilities

¶ … education favor adoption of culturally sensitive curricula and instructional practices. This appears particularly pressing in light of increasingly heterogeneous classrooms. Equipped with a broad knowledge of global cultures and their respective practices, instructors are better able to create an academic environment that is both open to and accepting of diverse backgrounds. A brief examination of the Argentine educational system, the family's role in it, and societal perceptions towards disability advances this objective.

Argentina, a large South American country, holds a firm commitment towards education; this is evident with its 96% literacy rate (Dupre, 2001, p. 6). Compulsory education begins at age 5, with kindergarten. General basic education curricula follow and are broken into three cycles (ages 6-9, 9-12, and 12-15). Students may then enroll in an optional multipurpose education curriculum (ages 15-18). Higher educational public institutions, similar to their elementary and secondary counterparts, are tuition-free. Grades are rendered on a 1-10 scale; 10 is the U.S. equivalent of an A, a 100%, or a 4.0 G.P.A. Despite a communal pledge to education, Argentina inadequately funds its schools; as a result, basic supplies are deficient, classrooms are overcrowded, and teachers are grossly underpaid.

The Argentine Constitution stipulates citizens' rights to education. Additional legislation explicitly states parental responsibility for their children's education. Parents are required to promote the aims of the general basic education curricula; 'to supervise and support their children's education' (Dupre, p. 15); and 'to respect and make their children respect the norms of solidarity within the educational unit' (Dupre, p. 15). Considering this mandate, it is not surprising that deep family involvement in education is palpable in Argentine society. However, it is important to note that just as in the United States, due to economic pressures that oftentimes require dual income households, there is a noticeable decrease in parents' availability to support their children's education.

Educational legislation also provides special instruction for and integration of students with special needs. Per legislation, students with disabilities may receive services the moment their needs have been determined. So as not to marginalize this population, legislation calls for special instruction in conventional settings. In practice however, there is little mainstreamed instruction; students with special needs are typically serviced in schools designed to handle their requirements. This separation is also visible throughout society. People with disabilities oftentimes suffer discrimination and they do not have access to many essential services. What's more, family members are often forced to attend to their children's special needs in absence of social and governmental support.