The main goal of the “SEE BEYOND” project is to support the educational process of students with visual impairments by ensuring equal access to educational resources, additional literature, and materials, as well as creating a supportive environment for their inclusion in the secondary education system.
For the Problem:
One of the major challenges faced by families of children with visual impairments of school age is the lack of adapted educational resources, which hinders the educational inclusion of these children in school. Parents, teachers, and experts share that each of them takes an individual approach and personally provides educational materials and teaching methods for the children. In different EU countries, educational policies in this area vary significantly:
- In Bulgaria, the commitments of the responsible institutions are currently limited to the adaptation of textbooks only, but not educational resources and additional literature, which are an essential part of the curricula for various subjects. There is a network of resource centres, but not every centre has specialists trained to work with blind individuals.
- In Italy, there is an effective and well-developed support system for children with visual impairments, based on inclusive education and specific services for supporting students with visual disabilities. Specialized institutes ensure the training of a wide range of teachers for integrated classroom teaching, as well as the development and provision of all necessary educational materials and additional specialized tools.
- Romanian educational policy encourages the inclusion of children with visual impairments in secondary education. Teachers receive training and assistive tools to adapt the teaching process, but there is a lack of a comprehensive national plan for implementing a clear methodology for educating students with visual difficulties. The individual approach is widely recognized here as well.
The main objectives of the project are:
- Adaptation of resources and educational literature into accessible formats for students with visual impairments;
- Creating equal opportunities for students with visual impairments to be included in the secondary education system;
- Supporting teachers, experts, and families of children with visual impairments in building a supportive environment;
The project consortium aims to contribute in the long term to the creation of a clear and effective system in which institutions play an active role in the process of adapting and printing the necessary educational materials for each school year, with a focus on all students enrolled in general education schools.
Target Groups of the Project:
– Students with visual impairments in the primary stage, learning Braille;
– Students with visual impairments in the primary stage, learning enlarged print;
– Parents of students with visual impairments;
– Teachers from general education schools working with students with visual impairments who are learning Braille;
– Specialists from regional centers for inclusive education.
Partners of the “SEE BEYOND” Project:
Creative Center Plovdiv Association is a non-governmental organization focused on developing and providing educational, cultural, and social resources for people of all ages. As the coordinator of the “SEE BEYOND” project, the association’s team ensures the necessary human, material, and intellectual resources to support young people with visual impairments in their full inclusion in society and the educational system.
Regional Center for Support of the Processes of General Education – Plovdiv (RCSPIE – Plovdiv) provides specialized support for children and students with special educational needs (SEN), including visual impairments. The center’s team plays a key role in the “SEE BEYOND” project, contributing its expertise to the full inclusion of students with visual difficulties in the educational environment. The experts at RCSPIE – Plovdiv organize and conduct Braille training, therapeutic methods, and provide comprehensive support for students with visual impairments.
Young Effect Association is a non-governmental organization based in Magenta that supports disadvantaged youth, including individuals with disabilities, through education and social inclusion. Within the “SEE BEYOND” project, the association’s team contributes its expertise in non-formal education for young people with limited opportunities and promotes equal access to specialized educational resources.
Asociația Tinerii 3D is a non-governmental organization based in Craiova that actively works towards the social inclusion of disadvantaged youth. The association’s experts initiate numerous initiatives aimed at developing various skills and fostering the social integration of young people. Within the “SEE BEYOND” project, they contribute with their extensive experience in training activities and organizing events from the project calendar.
Project Activities:
The teams of the partner organizations are actively involved in developing a specialized web platform with a unified database of adapted educational materials and literary resources, which will be freely accessible to all interested parties.
The project partners maintain close contact with parents of children with visual impairments, resource teachers, field specialists, and non-governmental organizations that support the process on a voluntary basis. All of them share the view that institutions do not demonstrate readiness to address the issue, which logically leads to the need for support at the non-governmental level.