Education for Students with Disabilities in Mongolia pre-1990

From Mongol Studies Online Reference

During Socialism, people with disabilities were generally kept separate from other people. This included a network of specialized schools in each aimag and in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Most students with severe cognitive disabilities or mental health issues were kept at home or in institutions. Students who were so called “teachable” including blind and deaf students, students with mild or light cognitive impairments were taught in special schools. Students with limb impairments or other physical disabilities were generally attended regular schools assuming they could get into the building. Most of the specialist teachers trained to work with students with disabilities were trained in the former Soviet Union during the 1970s and 1980s. They adopted the Vygotskian notion of “defectology” which focuses on the degree of impairment. During Socialist times, the vocational school system was quite active in finding non-traditional forms of education that appealed to all types of learners. It is said that many students with disabilities were trained in vocational schools during this time.

[edit] Other References

Steiner-Khamsi, Gita & Stolpe, Ines (2006). Educational Import in Mongolia: Local Steiner-Encounters with Global Forces. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Johnstone, Tungalag (2002) The Status of Training and Employment Policies and Practices for People with Disabilities in Mongolia. International Labour Office 2002

Vygotsky, Lev http://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/works/1929/defectology/index.htm; http://www.bgcenter.com/Fundamentals.htm