KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

The second day of the international scientific conference being held at the Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU) and titled “Changing Education: Challenges of Universal Inclusion” featured speeches by the leading specialists in special education and psychology from Armenia, Russia and the United States.

Children’s services; the school-specialist connection; the Armenian model of the methodology for assessment of the mental state of people with mental health problems and their social skills and capabilities, as well as the key issues of maintenance of the mental stability of persons with disabilities and the issue of diagnosis of the fears of children with autism were touched upon.

What was also presented was the social interaction of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a result of teaching chess, the changes in behavioral manifestations and playing capabilities, the experimental studies on chess education in the context of inclusion, the opportunities for development of skills in professional orientation for adolescents with slight intellectual development disorders in Armenia and more.

“According to the concept paper on inclusive education, access to education and the creation of equal opportunities are mandatory conditions. This is the second decade in which we have seen significant changes and progress with regard to universal inclusion. Our objective is to, through this international scientific conference as well, be able to properly and literately solve the problems facing general education in the context of the leading practices of different countries and the existing legislative reforms,” Dean of the Faculty of Special and Inclusive Education at the Armenian State Pedagogical University Gohar Hovyan said during a conversation with aspu.am and regretted to note that even today, when people in Armenia say ‘inclusion’, they understand children with developmental problems, but this also concerns the inclusion of children with unique or special talents.

Gohar Hovyan emphasized that the scientific conference titled “Changing Education: Challenges of Universal Inclusion” is also targeted at the cooperation of different professionals, adding that there are many problems in the sector.

Summing up the two-day conference, the Dean said the event held at the initiative of the Faculty of Special and Inclusive Education at the Armenian State Pedagogical University and the Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center was a success, adding that the interactive master classes and the delivered speeches have already sparked great reactions. There are proposals for future cooperation, and many people even want to participate in the training courses scheduled to be held in November.

This scientific event, which is different from other scientific events in terms of format, stood out with the performances by the learners of the Yerevan Special Educational Complex for Children with Hearing Disorders and the Tshakhruk Ethno Music Group of Kharberd Specialized Orphanage.

ASPU Vice-Rector for HR Management and International Cooperation Marianna Harutyunyan granted certificates of appreciation to the performers for their participation in the international scientific conference.