The Right to Education for Children with Disabilities from the Earliest Age/Pravo na odgoj i obrazovanje djece s teškoćama od najranije dobi

Abstract The right to education constitutes a fundamental human right and is the focus of numerous international agreements, conventions, as well as scientific and expert research. Grounded in a human rights perspective, this study aims to understand the involvement of children with disabilities in early education programs. The participants—parents of children with disabilities (N=10)—reported challenges faced while enrolling their children with disabilities in early education institutions, including insufficient support or even denied enrolment. Study participants also emphasized challenges extending beyond enrolment: children’s stays in daycare had been limited, children were insufficiently included in extracurricular activities, and parents encountered organizational challenges in securing financing for special needs assistants. While satisfied with the personal competencies of teachers, participants were dissatisfied with the teachers’ professional skills and were equally dissatisfied with the performance of the professional team. Some participants recounted discrimination against their children. In conclusion, these narratives reveal “vulnerabilities” of the early education system. Given the importance of educational inclusion for children with disabilities, this topic requires continued attention. Key words: children with disabilities; Croatia; early education; inclusion. --- Sažetak  Pravo na obrazovanje temeljno je ljudsko pravo i u sredistu je brojnih međunarodnih ugovora, konvencija, znanstvenih i strucnih istraživanja. Ovaj rad temelji se na modelu ljudskih prava i cilj mu je istražiti ukljucenost djece s teskocama u programe ranog odgoja i obrazovanja. Sudionici istraživanja – roditelji djece s teskocama u razvoju (N = 10) opisuju izazove s kojima se suocavaju prilikom upisa djeteta s teskocama u predskolske ustanove, izražavaju nedostatak podrske kod upisa ili cak nemogucnost upisa svog djeteta u predskolsku ustanovu. Također, sudionici nailaze na izazove unutar samog vrtica. Djetetu se ogranicava boravak u skupini, smatraju da postoji nedovoljna ukljucenost djeteta s teskocama u aktivnosti, a naglasavaju organizacijske poteskoce vezane uz osiguranje rada asistenta. Sudionici su zadovoljni osobnim kompetencijama odgojiteljica, ali su nezadovoljni njihovim profesionalnim kompetencijama, bas kao sto svoje nezadovoljstvo iskazuju i u vezi s radom strucnog tima. Neki su sudionici spomenuli diskriminaciju djece. Zakljucno, ti iskazi otkrivaju "ranjivosti" ranog obrazovnog sustava. S obzirom na važnost ukljucivanja u obrazovanje za djecu s teskocama u razvoju, ova tema zahtijeva stalnu pozornost. Kljucne rijeci: djeca s teskocama u razvoju; Hrvatska; inkluzija; rani odgoj i obrazovanje.