J. Except. People 2020, 9(1):47-64

An analysis of determinants of psycho-educational assessment for learners with learning disabilities in Brno, Czech Republic

Joseph Athiende1, Karel Pančocha2, Margaret Murugami3, Jessina Muthee3
1 Kenyatta University and Masaryk University, Teacher: Pine Rivers State High School, 13 Boyce Street, Margate 4019, Brisbane, Australia
2 Associate Professor of Special Education, Head of the Institute for Research in Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education Masaryk University, Poříčí 31a, 603 00 Brno - Czech Republic
3 Department of Special Needs Education, Kenyatta University, P.O.Box 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya

A comprehensive psycho-educational assessment for learners with learning disabilities (LD) is a significant event for parents, psycho-educational assessors, teachers and leaners. This research study aimed to analyze the determinants of psycho-educational assessment for learners with LD in the city of Brno in the Czech Republic. Psycho-educational assessment for learners with LD remains a challenge in the Czech Republic, hence, there is an extensive debate as to how to best improve psycho-educational assessment outcomes. Mixed method was used in which both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from primary and secondary sources. Quantitative data from secondary sources as well as in-depth interviews were used to investigate issues and to discover how the psycho-educational assessors and teachers thought and felt about the whole process. Interview data from parents of school-age children with LD who had psycho-educational assessments done within the past one year were crucial for the proposed study to find out their experiences with assessment process. Findings showed that the main challenges in psycho-educational assessment were linked to lack of proper stakeholder collaboration and interests, inadequate funding and resources, time taken in assessment and community backgrounds of the learners. This study recommends that the government through the Ministry of Education should address the critical challenge of funding to ensure enough resources including personnel. The education regulations need to be explicit to all stakeholders to ensure maximum degree of inclusion and access to psycho-educational services by learners with LD without discrimination.

Keywords: compulsory education, determinants, integration, inclusive education, learning disability, pedagogical and psychological counselling center (PPCC)

Published: June 11, 2020  Show citation

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Athiende, J., Pančocha, K., Murugami, M., & Muthee, J. (2020). An analysis of determinants of psycho-educational assessment for learners with learning disabilities in Brno, Czech Republic. Journal of Exceptional People, 9(16), 47-64
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