“Extension of the Curriculum for Pupils with Special Needs” – One more example from the long-term Swiss-Armenian successful cooperation
The cooperation between Switzerland and Armenia started several decades ago after a tragic event: an earthquake that stroke Armenia hard. Our cooperation developed in different areas however always evolving around the pediatric patients and the services provided to them in the field of healthcare, psychology, social work and education. The cooperation between the hospital schools of Direct Aid Association (DAA) in Yerevan and the University Children’s Hospital in Zurich is the one that developed in the field of hospital and special education. Over the years our common work, projects, conferences, trainings, visits have grown stronger, and we cherish it dearly on both sides. We have exchanged ideas, professional experience, we learn from each other and share personal friendship as well.
Both of us, Christine and Liana, have shared examples of our productive and close cooperation in numerous instances: articles in previous editions of the HOPE Newsletter, presentations at HOPE Congresses and many more.
Throughout more than 3 decades we experienced much: conferences and training courses where we had full conference halls of more than 120 participants, different specialists working to build the field of special education in Armenia. We had informational visits and professional exchanges, workshops and sessions where Swiss professionals supported Armenian colleagues in developing and enhancing the integration and inclusive education. It would not be possible to name it all here… We have more to share with you, the experience of one very special day in October 2024.
Thursday, October 10th, 2024 was not an exceptional day, maybe so for many of you. It was a very special day for DAA hospital school teachers, our colleagues in Yerevan and regions of Armenia who had an exceptional chance to join a one-day online course generously offered by Prof. Judith Hollenweger Haskell, from the University of Teacher Education in Zurich, Switzerland and UNICEF Consultant. It was another day when we got together on different sides of the continent with time and language differences to share professional knowledge, experience and learn again. As in all the previous instances the purpose was to better understand and address the educational needs of the children we work with.
The online training and exchange course was dedicated to the “Extension of the Curriculum for Pupils with Special Needs”. It is interesting that both, Armenia and Switzerland, recently received a new curriculum. Our Armenian colleagues: DAA hospital school teachers and participants of the Special Educators’ Club, specialists working in different schools and centers in Armenia had an exceptional opportunity to listen to a singular informative presentation full of theoretical and practical details in English, directly translated into the Armenian language by Liana. Judith shared with us ways for extending the curriculum as well as showing examples and explained how the educational objectives can be set and developed to address the child’s particular needs. Armenian colleagues learnt how to adapt the theoretical and practical examples to the existing local conditions so that in practice fruitful outcome is guaranteed. We gained knowledge on how to expand the educational goals, at the same time making them very specific to the child’s need and how to look at the educational process from different perspectives. Christine connected the theory with examples from her practical experience as a hospital school teacher. Mery Abrahamyan, Ani Hovhannisyan and Yelena Tadevosyan shared some cases from their work.
Although the course was online, which interfered somewhat the life interactions, the audience was active. After the course we received some interesting feedback from the participants, e.g. that many parts of the knowledge gained during the course could be directly used in practice and some parts needed adaptation to Armenian reality.
The most important take away for Liana, as the co-organizer on the Armenian side, was the fact that the professional seed was planted in the minds. There is almost no limit to what can be done in the education when all the perspectives: that of the child, of the family and of the school are taken into consideration and when all the role players are ready to put in efforts for the sake of the child. Christine was so impressed by Liana who translated the whole day long from English into Armenian and the other way round and by the creativity of her Armenian colleagues when it comes to adapt new knowledge into practice.
It’s another successful example of our Swiss Armenian long-term cooperation. It brought us again together around the central idea of the daily work we do with and for the children: to give them the opportunity to learn, develop and succeed.
Christine Walser
HOPE Committee Member, Switzerland
Liana Sanamyan
HOPE Committee Member, Armenia
