For people
with any type of disability
Find out the sports structure and educational structure
in your country! Check their websites and find information
about sportclubs, activities, lists of schools and
much more!
Education
Educational Structure
The general framework and structure of the education system are based on the principle that every child has a right to free basic education. This principle is laid down in the National Constitution (1976) and is defined in the Basic Education Law (Law No. 46/86), which establishes “a set of resources used to fulfil the right to education, expressed by the guarantee of a permanent formative action designed to encourage global development of the personality, social progress and the democratization of society, through an effective equality of opportunities of access and success in education”. The state is responsible for democratization in the development of education but is not entitled to impose any particular philosophic, aesthetic, political or religious principles.
Published in 1991, the Decree 319/91 established the right of children with special educational needs (including those with severe learning problems) to be educated in ordinary schools, and defined the necessary structures and measures that such schools must undertake in order to implement this aim. Another important feature of this law was that it made the elaboration of an Individual Education Programme compulsory, with the agreement of the pupil’s parents. This law became a “Magna Carta” of integration in Portugal, because at the same time as it legitimised the right of all children to be in ordinary schools, it clarified the duties imposed upon the schools’ services in order to make this possible (Costa & Rodrigues, 1999). Thanks to this Decree, 93% of children with disabilities can usufruct disciplines in school like Physical Education and Adapted Physical Activity were through movement the child is developing social skills and academic subjects, without additional costs for the family. Thereby 93% of SEN (Special Edcuational Needs) children is educated in regular schools, 4% in special schools (data of Ministry of Education-2001). Support of SEN children is organised through teams of “educational support”. These support teachers can be teachers of the school or peripatetic teachers. Classes with SEN students normally don’t have more than 16 students.
SEN students have to attend PE (Physical Education) classes. They can only be dismissed with a medical prescription. If they want they are free to participate in the structure of school sport since 2001.
Mariana de Mira Loureiro, supervisor; Prof. Dr. David Rodrigues
Education through Sports
APA is being developed in the inclusive educational system since 1991. It was decreed the right of all children with special educational needs to be educated in ordinary schools. This inclusive policy opened the doors to Motor Education in schools. APA reveales an important factor in children’s skills development, especially in children with motor disabilities and mental disabilities. In this field it is fundamental to develop amusing activities according to the child interests in order to motivate it to Physical Activity. Through movement the child is able to learn social skills, academic contents and transfer some activities to daily life. APA is a great instrument to develop social skills and academic subjects (like mats, reading and writing) in children with Mental Handicap, Learning Disabilities and Behaviour Disturbs. In children with Motor Disabilities APA can promote a better knowledge of the own body and how to use it better optimising its development. To all children with disabilities and handicaps Motor Education is a great instrument to develop kinetic skills that can help the child’s improvement in school.
Inclusion is a concept that has been widely spread across Europe. In Education, especially after the Salamanca UNESCO Declaration in June 1994. The idea of Inclusion motivated a lot of European countries to approve concrete legislative initiatives aiming to consider the student with special needs not as a guest in school but as a full participant and member. The same movement reached other areas of society towards a full participation of the individuals with disability conditions. AMA could not stay out of this idea of Inclusion, as an area that deals with all the movement experiences of individuals with disability conditions. AMA has direct links to education and to social inclusion. In Education, this influence can be seen in classes of Physical Education, School Sport and Leisure when children with Special Educational Needs are included in regular classes.
This way, AMA is an important field of intervention for children with Special Educational Needs. In Portugal, the Ministry of Education intervenes at pre-school, pre-professional and professional level, with the Ministry of Employment and Solidarity as well as by the Municipalities and non-governmental organizations. Since 1981 there are five Regional Education Authorities (North, Centre, Lisbon Region, Alentejo and Algarve) responsible for the direct supervision and orientation of the schools. Recently, school autonomy is being progressively implemented and the administration at regional and local level is moving to a more decentralized form as a result of a law published in 1998. The public universities and polytechnics have administrative, financial, academic and pedagogical autonomy. The education system includes: pre-school education; basic/compulsory education and secondary education containing three types of courses. This system also includes special education, recurrent education, distance education and teaching Portuguese language abroad.
Mariana de Mira Loureiro, supervisor; Prof. Dr. David Rodrigues
Adapted Physical Activity
Information APA in Portugal (pdf-file)
Education for trainers/ teachers
The “National Council for Continuous Education” is responsible for Physical Education (PE) teacher education. The Portuguese law foresees “Special Needs Education” training for all initial courses of teachers and educators. 45 hours are relating to Integration and Inclusion subjects.
At the Universities of Oporto and Lisbon there is a Master Degree Course on “Adapted Physical Activity”. Also private universities are developing specialised courses in APA.
APA is a scientific area in the faculty of Human Kinetics. Inside ‘Special Education and Rehabilitation’ there are different areas of intervention with special populations such as: Early Intervention, Development of Social Skills, Assessment and Mobility, Psychomotor Therapy and Adapted Physical Activity. APA develops activities of different types according to different target groups or individuals in order to reach specific goals. This course has duration of five years including one year of training post. In the last two years it’s given more emphasis to practical training in some of this areas witch are chosen by the student. Once the course embrace many subjects different students can work professionally in very different areas.
Other interesting links
Sport at school
Ministério da Educação
Gabinete Coordenador do Desporto Escolar
Avenida Elias Garcia, 137-4º
1050 Lisboa – Portugal
Tel 351.1.793 88 81/2
SNRIPD - National Secretariat for the Rehabilitation and integration of people with disabilities
|
