Does categorical special education make sense? The Flemish special education system in the international debate

Abstract

In Flanders more than 4% of the pupils in primary education are going to special schools for mildly mentally handicapped children (MMH-schools, 9.915 pupils, 2.4%) and to special schools for children with (serious) learning disabilities (LD-school, 8.029 pupils, 1.9%) (Ministry of the Flemish Community, 1996). The theoretical and practical arguments for the distinction that is made between these two groups of children with learning problems, the nature of which is cognitive (there is, for instance, no sensory or motoric deficiency), are frequently under discussion and have, of course, implications for policy. For reasons of economy investigations are made as to the possibilities of integrating the different types of schools (costcutting through scaling-up) and preventing the growth of special education (costcutting through preventive measures, such as broadening care in regular schools). At the moment the first approach is especially advocated in the Netherlands. An example of the latter method is found in Flanders as well, inter alia in the strategy that has been developed in the project ‘Help in learning’ by the Federation for Vocational Guidance (C.B.S.O.) and the K.U. Leuven (University of Leuven). For a number of years some forty educational psychologists and special educationists have set up or have given themselves individual remediation in primary schools. One of the chief objectives is to advance the quality of diagnosis and to advise in such a way, that when problems arise, the solution is found preferably in the pupil’s own school. (Ghesquière et al., 1997a; Ghesquière, et al., 1997b). In this contribution we will deal with the different arguments and reasons for justification of the existing situation and define our own position. To do so, we will subsequently go deeper into the definition of the problem, discuss various definitions that are the basis of current practice and deal with the problems that are related to categorical special education. After some discussion we will reach a conclusion.