Developing Inclusive Education Support Models for Children with Disabilities in Vietnam

Abstract

: To move a support system for children with disabilities forward in Vietnam, it is important for Vietnamese educators to consider acquiring knowledge from analyzing both successful international inclusive education practices as well as lessons from their own inclusive education experiences. In this article, the authors present the process through which Vietnam has learned from international experiences and its own practices with regard to implementing support models in inclusive schools. In the first part of the article, the authors present an overview of studies of how support models in inclusive schools have been organized in some representative international countries. The authors then present an analysis of initial research findings from the implementation of support models for children with disabilities in inclusive education schools in Vietnam. Drawing from insights of these analyses, in the final part of the article, the authors suggest that the support chamber become the preferred mode of support for children with disabilities in inclusive education schools in Vietnam as it is particularly appropriate to Vietnam’s educational context. Suggested goals, roles and responsibilities, physical arrangement, and regualtions for the support chamber are presented. The contribution of this paper rests on the potential for appropriating international initiatives for implementing support models for inclusive education schools in Vietnam and to serve the aim of enhancing the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities internationally.