Non-Pedagogical School Personnel as Agents in the Functional Assessment of Students with Disabilities and Special Educational Needs

Authors

    Ewa Domagała-Zyśk

Published:

2024-04-30

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52291/ijse.2024.39.6

How to Cite

Domagała-Zyśk, E. (2024). Non-Pedagogical School Personnel as Agents in the Functional Assessment of Students with Disabilities and Special Educational Needs. International Journal of Special Education, 39(1), 53–59. https://doi.org/10.52291/ijse.2024.39.6

Abstract

Functional assessment, as opposed to classical psycho-pedagogical diagnosis, has been playing a significant role in the new model of inclusive education in Poland, launched by the Ministry of Education in 2020. It is a multispecialty process of collecting data about the child or youth’s functioning in order to design an adequate support plan in the ecological niche of the young person’s school. While the specialist role is well described in this process, subject teachers’ and parents’ roles are still being discussed. Little is known about the possibility of playing an active role in this process by the school’s non-pedagogical personnel. The paper aims to explore this role, which was done in a focus group research. The results are promising: they show a high level of non-pedagogical  personnel observation awareness of the children’s functioning and their readiness to learn more about the nature of children’s needs and
play a more active role in the functional assessment process.

Keywords:

Non-Pedagogical School Personnel, Functional Assessment, Disability, Special Educational Needs, Poland

Issue

Volume 39, Number: 1, Year 2024 of International Journal of Special Education