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A cross-cultural study of considerations involved in the establishment of a special education program for mentally retarded as a possible model for Iran

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A cross-cultural study of considerations involved in the establishment of a special education program for mentally retarded as a possible model for Iran

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Content A CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF CONSIDERATIONS
INVOLVED IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SPECIAL EDUCATION
PROGRAM FOR MENTALLY RETARDED
AS A POSSIBLE MODEL FOR IRAN
by
Maryam Abedi.
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(Education)
December 1982
UMI Number: DP24852
All rights reserved
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UMI DP24852
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
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LOS ANGELES. CALIFORNIA 90007
This dissertation, written by
Maryam Abedi
under the direction of h.SX... Dissertation Corn-
mittee, and approved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by The Graduate
School, in partial fulfillm ent of requirements of
the degree of
D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y
^ ..........
Dean
October h , 1982
D a te ...........................................................
DISSERTATIO N C O M M IT T E E
DEDICATION
I am excessively grateful to all the forces, energies
and spirits in the Universe for allowing me to successfully
complete this endeavor. I am especially and equally grate
ful to my parents, Etrat and Rahim Abedi, for their faith,
support and prayers, and I do dedicate this effort as a
small token of appreciation to both of them.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. E. H. Williams,
for his assistance and understanding. My sincere thanks
to Dr. E. Carnes and Dr. W. J. Williams for their encour
agement and support.
Finally, my appreciation goes to the following:
my sister and brother, Marjan and Mehrdad Abedi, whose
love and support have been with me throughout my education
al pursuits; my fiance, Darius Bahmanyar, who cared; my
dearest cousin, Zahra Amanpour, who gave me hope and
courage; my friend, Natalie Orlins, for her assistance in
editing and typing my work; and to all other dear friends
who provided unsolicited and deeply felt support and
friendship.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
DEDICATION. .......... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. .... ........................... iii
LIST OF FIGURES ................... vi
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION .............................. 1
Background of the Problem
Principal Assumptions to be Made
Statement of the Problem
Questions to be Answered
Purpose of the Study
Rationale
Method and Procedures
Limitations
Delimitations
Definition of Terms
Organization of Study
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE..................... 18
Mental Retardation in Developing
Countries
Comparative Education and Cultural
Aspects of Special Education
Status of Special Education Programs
in General and of Programs for
Mentally Retarded in Particular
in Other Cultures
III. METHODOLOGY.......... ' ..................... 7 0
Research Questions
Sources and Method of Data
Collection
IV
Chapter Page
IV. PRESENTATION OF DATA..................... 77
Philosophy
Identification and Admission
Procedures for the Mentally
Retarded
Teacher Training
Educational and Vocational
Programming for Mentally
Retarded
V. PROPOSED MODEL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR
MENTALLY RETARDED IN IRAN. . ........ 14 7
Philosophy of the Program
Organization of the Program
Summary and Conclusions
Suggestions and Recommendations
REFERENCES . . .............................. 221
v
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1. Percentage of Gross National Product
Spent on Education Per Country in
1973. ................... 79
2. Organization of Special Education
in Sweden. ..................... 128
3. Ministries Responsible for Special
Education in the United States and
Sweden. . . .............. 143
4. Compulsory Education for the
Handicapped in the United States
and Sweden.......... 144
5. Various Types of Teacher Training
in the United States and Sweden. .... 145
6. Available Services for Mentally
Retarded in the United States,
Sweden, Iran, and Pakistan............... 146
7. Organization Chart for Ministry
of Education in Iran................... . 221
8. Organization Chart for the Proposed
Model of Special Education for the
Mentally Retarded in Iran. . . . . . . . 222
9. Different Possibilities for the
Placement of the Handicapped Child. . . . 172
vi
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This study explores the formulation of a plan for a
special education program for mentally retarded children
in Iran. It examines the concept of a comprehensive faci
lity that would include a wide range of services required
for the training of mentally retarded children. The plan
is logically derived from successful progressive programs
established for the mentally retarded in developed coun
tries with adjustments made for the special problems which
arise in the developing nations, in this case Iran.
The philosophy and practice in the training program
are thus rooted in the work of several related disciplines
in the United States and Sweden. Iran, as one of the de
veloping parts of the world, will be studied since special
education has yet to be properly organized. Mental retar
dation programs are scarce and are represented at best by
a few related and poorly staffed establishments.
According to the report made by UNESCO, education of
the mentally retarded deserves special attention because
they constitute the largest category of exceptional chil
dren and yet their education is usually the least developed
1
quantitatively and qualitatively (United Nations Education
al, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris, 1969).
The present effort is being made with the goal in
mind that, this segment of exceptional children would bene
fit from proper educational rehabilitation in Iran where
there have not been adequate programs for them.
Background of the Problem
Developing countries cover most of the land surface
of the world and contain most of its people (Dowd, 1957) .
Countries in North America and Western Europe, where the
people have generally mastered overall scientific tech
nique, contrast sharply with the vast areas of South
America, Africa, the Middle East and the Far East. Mal
nutrition and disease undermine the strength and shorten
the life span of predominantly agrarian illiterate masses
who, for a number of geographic, cultural, historical and
political reasons, benefit very little from the inventions
of modern science and technology (Brockington, 1958) .
Further again, as Lewis (1969) indicates, conditions of
poverty, poor health, inadequate shelter, low productivity,
high illiteracy, short life expectancies and high infant
mortality are among the serious variables existent in de
veloping countries. Iran is not an exception and all the
above factors eventually contribute to the economic condi
tion of the country which, in turn, hinder the development
of education for the handicapped children.
Iran has committed itself to the education of the
handicapped only since 1969 (UNESCO, 1977). Thus, special
education is still in its infancy and is confronted with
numerous difficulties. Special education, which is a re
latively new concept all over the world, is even more re
cent in Iran. With the extremely limited concept and
scope of the subject in Iran, it was not easy to develop
procedures for the establishment of the few scattered spe
cial education programs in the country. Lack of funds and
qualified personnel, as well as inadequate facilities,
contribute to the fact that present special education pro
grams do not meet the needs of those exceptional children.
Because of the lack of specialists and sophisticated de
vices for identification, many of these so called ”Excep-
tional Children” are still not identified. In addition,
when they are identified, they are still being ignored,
since more attention flows towards the education of the
non-handicapped children. The attitude of the people is
very important in this matter. It is essential that they
be convinced that these children can also function within
the limits of their potentialities, rather than being ig
nored or considered abnormals.
The existing special education program in Iran was
planned in foreign countries and mostly on the basis of
3
education and experiences in those countries. Therefore,
such planning as was done involved many problems of con
tent and adaptation. This clearly justifies the contention
that it is necessary to have some procedures which will
serve as guidelines for the implementation of a special
education program for Iran rather than simply replicating
foreign programs.
There have been a few reports on the special educa
tion program in Iran extracted from UNESCO publications
in 1971 and 1977. It has be©n indicated that an attempt
has been directed toward a program for deaf, blind, men
tally retarded and a few other categories of exception
ality, such as gifted children. Teacher training courses
also have been offered in Teacher’s College and the Uni
versity of Tehran. However, the existing programs overall
are too few, suffer from lack of funds and facilities and,
most importantly, qualified personnel.
This study is motivated by the author’s personal in
terest and a felt need, shared by other Iranians and pro
fessionals, to respond to the documented evidence of the
problems developing countries have been facing in their
educational systems due to poor planning. Specifically,
one should be concerned about the condition of exceptional
children in Iran, where there is not an organized and prop
er program suited to the needs of such children. It is
imperative that their potential must be both recognized
and expanded.
In a recent article, Fathedin (1979) stated that
handicapped children are in desperate need of a good pro
gram of special education and rehabilitation. At present,
the conditions are so bad that the mentally retarded are
placed under the same roof with non-handicapped children
and have no program suited to their special needs. He
went further and indicated that not only are such programs
lacking, but that these children are being treated badly
at home. Correct parental attitudes and knowledge, with
regard to handling of exceptional children, is sadly
lacking.
In another article printed in Kayhan (May, 1981), it
was indicated that although public attention has been
drawn to the problems of the mentally retarded, achieving
the goal still lies in the future. Lack of comprehensive
programs for the mentally retarded seems the most impor
tant concern of people and professionals. There are only
a few institutions throughout the country and these are
not adequately equipped to accommodate these children.
Shortage of qualified personnel has caused the system to
have more custodial type care rather than educational care.
Handicapped children of various types have not been prop
erly categorized according to their age, type and degree
5
of their handicap. In other instances, children with some
kind of infectious disease have been placed with others,
such as physically handicapped, which might jeopardize the
health , of these other children. Therefore, according to
the existing information one can picture that the situa
tion for these children is not promising. As the result
of this, an improvement in their condition would require
tremendous effort and knowledge and, most importantly,
a great concern and understanding.
Principal Assumptions to be Made
The following assumptions are to be pertinent to the
present study:
1. Educational system should, grow out of the existing
conditions of the society and should be channeled
to the fulfillment of its particular needs.
2. Cultural background should be taken into consid
eration in making any educational contribution.
3. Comparative education helps us to learn from the
achievements and mistakes other countries have
made in this way.
4. Special education is related to general economic,
political and social aspects of each country.
5. The gap between what is and what ought to be
creates the need to answer such questions as,
6
what can be done and how can it be done?
Statement of the Problem
The developing countries have become aware of their
needs and problems in the field of special education, and
these needs are many and varied. The low economic status
and inadequate education of the general population, the
extreme shortage.of trained professionals and a lack of
coordinated effort in the field aggravate the problem
(U.S. Department of,Health, Education and Welfare, Voca
tional Rehabilitation Administration, 1964). Assistance
can be provided through the formation of a feasible pro
gram for the education and training of exceptional chil
dren. Exceptional children cannot be taught with conven
tional methods of instruction. Services must be tailored
to meet their special needs if the population of the
children is well defined and if the program is planned
and organized by a professional team (Lukens, 1966). Fur
ther, numerous administrative complexities must be ad
dressed in the initiation, organization, coordination,
planning and operation of a program established for the
exceptional children in Iran.
Questions to be Answered
With the realization of inadequacies of educational
7
planning and difficulties in implementing such a program,
the following issues are of great concern and the study
will seek to answer them:
1. What issues are involved in determining the phi
losophical orientation of the program?
2. What issues are involved in identification, place
ment, educational programing and vocational re
habilitation of children with mental retardation?
3. What criteria are involved in determining the
qualifications of the staff (personality and
academic qualification)?
These questions will be researched and data compared for
the countries in mind.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose is to determine, from considerations in
volved in establishment of special education programs in
other cultures, what procedures would serve in the develop
ment of a possible model of special education program for
the mentally retarded in Iran.
Primarily, the purpose is to develop a program of
special education for the mentally retarded adjusted to the
cultural aspect of Iranian children. A second objective
is to suggest ways and means by which administrative con
cerns can be met, such as:
8
1. Establishment of criteria and provision for
admission.
2. Provision for necessary instructional facilities.
3. The need for guidance and psychological services
(including parental guidance).
4. The need for the specialized training of teachers
and personnel.
The overall purpose of this study is to describe
various aspects of planning and practice which are neces
sary to the efficient operation of such a program and to
the achievement of its goals.
Rationale
The problem of exceptional children must be viewed
and approached from the point of view of an Iranian child.
Since education in general is bound to each culture, a
special program for the mentally retarded must be closely
reflective of these ties as exceptionality itself is cul
turally defined. Based on this premise, exceptionality
in one culture may not be recognized as such in another.
This relates to the living standards within each society
and the degree of technological advancement. It follows,
therefore, that the philosophy of special education must
be applied according to the socio-cultural and educational
needs of the particular country where the program is to
9
be implemented.
Method and Procedures
The method of this study is descriptive-comparative.
The study does not lend itself to statistical analysis as
such, to explain relationships, test hypotheses, or make
predictions, as is the case in experimental design. The
accumulation of data is entirely descriptive and involves
the description, recording, analysis and interpretation of
the present state of. special education in general and of
mentally retarded in particular in Iran as well as the
United States, Sweden and Pakistan in order to be able to
propose a model suited to current Iranian conditions. For
these reasons, the descriptive-comparative method is best
suited for the purpose of the investigation at hand. Fur
ther, descriptive method is most appropriate because the
events and trends analyzed in the study have already taken
place.
The method is also sociological, philosophical and in
some respect historical. Authentic literature is investi
gated for the purpose of analyzing the conditions and
needs of the above countries.
The sources of data include cross cultural experi
ences in Iran, the United States, Sweden as a representa
tive of the Scandinavian countries, and including data
10
from Pakistan as another developing country. In other
words, the knowledge and philosophy of .special education
programs and also the organization of such programs will
be derived from the study of American literature as well
as information from other countries and adapted to the
Iranian culture.
The study emphasizes comparative education as an
instrument for educational planning within the field of
special education. It is apparent that what is practiced
in one country could be adapted to the particular needs
of another. Comparative education is also justified on
the basis that no educational system, anywhere, is worth
anything unless it is comparable in world terms.
For the purpose of comparison, the literature on the
status of special education specifically for mentally re
tarded children in other countries is reviewed. Attention
is focused on the considerations involved in implementing
special education programs in these countries, with a view
to determining what could be applicable to the situation
in Iran.
Information about the educational system (general and
special) in Iran and other countries will be obtained from
a review of the literature and other printed materials,
ministry documents and personal contacts or correspondence
with selected authorities and organizations such as:
11
1. Ministries of Education in Iran, Pakistan and
Sweden.
2. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul
tural Organization.
3. Children Protective Society and Rehabilitation
Centers in Iran.
4. UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Asia and
Oceania.
5. American and Iranian educators who have been
involved in planning and programing of education
in general and special education in particular
in Iran.
The analysis of the data obtained from the several
sources indicated above will be accomplished by making a
summary table (matrix) of data in terms of three factors:
goals and philosophy of the program, admission policy and
placement of children, and teacher training and their
qualifications. The data will be presented descriptively,
conclusions drawn and recommendations made.
Limitations
1. The limitation of the study mainly resides in the
factor that the author is not able to travel to Iran to
gather the needed information in person at the present
time. This is due to the difficult communication lines
12
between Iran and the United States as the result of the
revolution.
2. Data is mainly in the form of reliance on second
ary sources that are available in the United States in
forms of articles, books, newspapers, periodicals and
other personal contacts within and outside the United
States.
3. Documents and other government information in
Iran that are printed or written in Farsi will be trans
lated by this author. The author therefore accepts full
responsibility that these translations are accurate.
4. Generalizability of the proposed model to other
developing countries is also limited and should be done
with great care since conditions vary within each. Al
though all fall under the category of "developing coun
tries," special education programs must be tailored to the
social, economic and political aspects of each one. It is
apparent that the magnitude of problems will vary from
country to country relative to money, administrative
skills, support services, and so forth.
Delimitations
The investigation is limited to implementing a pro
gram for the mentally retarded children in Iran. The
literature and information might include data about other
13
categories of exceptionality since the philosophy under
neath is similar for all, but the program will only be
developed for the mentally retarded population.
Since special education is a new concept in developing
countries such as Iran, data goes back only to the late
1960 T s .
The present study will focus on the United States
and Sweden due to their advanced system of special educa
tion. Pakistan has also been selected as the other de
veloping country because of similarities of this culture
to the culture of Iran. Overall,. data on special educa
tion is available to some extent on other European and
developing countries, but the present investigation will
only focus on those which have been mentioned above.
Definition of Terms
1. Culture is defined as an abstraction from the
body of learned behavior which a group of people, who
share the same traditions, transmit in its entirety to
their children. It covers not only the arts and sciences,
religions and philosophies (to which the word "culture”
has historically been applied), but to the system of tech
nology in use, as well as the political practices extant
(e.g., the method of electing a prime minister or changing
the constitution). It would also include the small,
14
intimate habits of daily life such as the method of pre
paring food, or even of hushing a child to sleep (Mead,
1955, pp.12-13).
2. Today, countries such as the United States are
usually termed "developed" or "rich," and countries such
as Indonesia are called "developing," "poor," or "less
developed."
"Developed"■implies that Western countries have
reached an ultimate state of being, "developing" implies
that these countries are in fact progressing. In addi
tion, "less developed" assumes that these countries are
generally behind, whereas in humanistic sense they may in
fact be ahead of the west. Here "less developed" and
"developing" are used interchangeably (Kindervatter, 1977,
p.13).
3. Exceptional children are those who differ from
the average to such a degree, in physical and psychologi
cal characteristics, that school programs designed for the
majority of children do not afford them the opportunity
for all-round adjustment and optimum progress and who,
therefore, need either special instruction or, in some
cases, special ancillary services, or both, to achieve a
level commensurate with their respective abilities (Dunn,
1963, p.3).
By this definition, exceptional children include, but
15
are not limited to: the mentally retarded, mentally
gifted, neurologically impaired, deaf or hard of hearing,
visually handicapped, and those with health problems.
Some of the children may have more than one of these handi
caps.
4. Mental retardation refers to subaverage general
intellectual functioning which originates during the de
velopmental period and is associated with impairment in
adaptive behavior (Heber, 1961, p.3).
5. The term ’ 'special education” has been used to
denote those aspects of education that are applied to
handicapped and gifted children but are not usually used
with the majority of average children. Special is defined
by Webster as ’ ’distinguished by some unusual quality; un
common; noteworthy; extraordinary; additional to the reg
ular, extra; utilized or employed for a certain purpose
in addition to the ordinary.” Those definitions are cer
tainly applicable to special education, which consists of
the modification of, or addition to, school practices in
tended for ordinary child-practices that are unique, un
common, of unusual quality, and in particular in addition
to the organization and instructional procedures used with
the majority of children (Kirk and Gallagher, 1979 , p.12).
6. Comparative education is the study of different
educational systems throughout the world. The main and
16
most important task is to determine what particular fea
tures, drawn from the entire educational universe, might be
profitably adapted to a specific country such as Iran in
this case.
Organization of the Study
The second chapter offers a review of the causative
factors of mental retardation in developing countries. The
chapter will present the sensitive factors.involved in men
tal retardation incidence and the nature of special educa
tion programs for the retarded in these countries. The im
portance of the cultural aspects of special education will
also be reviewed. The present condition of special educa
tion in general and of mentally retarded in particular in
the United States, Sweden, Iran, and Pakistan will be
studied.
The third chapter presents the procedures and methods
of gathering and analyzing data regarding the questions to
be researched for the above named countries.
The fourth chapter consists of the presentation of da
ta on four variables of philosophy, identification, educa
tional and vocational rehabilitation programs and teacher
training for mentally retarded in selected countries.
Further, the fifth chapter presents the proposed model
of special education for the mentally retarded in Iran.
Conclusions, suggestions and recommendations will follow.
17
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Mental Retardation in Developing Countries
According to the UNESCO (1960), no surveys accurately
represented the different categories of the mentally re
tarded within the developing countries. It is therefore
very difficult to judge the true status of the programs
for the mentally retarded in these countries. Still,
there is no doubt that there are tens of millions of
people who are facing life with some sort of mental limita
tions that prevent them from attaining gainful employment
and self-fulfillment (U.S. Department of Health and Wel
fare, Vocational Administration, 1964).
It is very crucial here to note that if we speak of
the role of education of the handicapped, in this case
mentally retarded, in preparation for normal life, one
must have a clear idea of what one means by education,
handicapped and normal life, since the concepts of these
vary fromone part of the world to another (Moriyama, 1974).
Further, mental retardation has been described in differ
ent terms, involving many diverse conceptualizations and
varying characteristics, depending on societal influences
that were operating. The concept of mental retardation
18
has been elusive for a variety of reasons, not the least
of which have been the temporal factors associated with
economic, social, and political climates of the various
cultures existing throughout history (Chinn;, Drew, Logan,
1979). Within the same context Moriyama (1974) adds that,
a person may have physical deformity or mental deficiency
which is apparent but which, because of the circumstances
surrounding his life, is not a handicap or disability to
him. In another case a person may not appear to be handi
capped at all and yet be in no position to take advantage
of the educational facilities normal to his environment.
We need to ask the question of when is a handicap a handi
cap?
Expectations for a mentally retarded individual in
developing countries, especially some remote areas away
from urban areas, are very different from the expectations
a westerner might hold of a mentally retarded. As
Moriyama (1974) indicates:
Western education is based on the premise
which has grown from Christianity, that
man is able to control his environment.
’’ What cannot be cured must be endured,”
to a western person presupposes that one
has first done all in ones power to cure.
In developing countries a combination of
traditional beliefs and customs, together
with lassitude caused by malnutrition and
sub-acute disease, leads to the translation
of this proverb as something like, ’’ One
must endure since nothing can be done to
alter the situation.” (p.324)
19
This kind of attitude in itself somehow has blocked the
development of a proper program for the handicapped in
cluding the mentally retarded.
Although developing countries today have a number of
problems in their general education in terms of the low
percentage of citizens receiving the basic form of eight
years of schooling, the number of qualified teachers and
the crowded schools with minimal equipment, special educa
tion in many forms is growing (Kenmore, 1970). This is
mostly in the urban areas of these countries, since such
facilities are almost not existent in rural areas.
Only limited information about the extent of the
problem of mental retardation in terms of percentage of
population affected is available, but data so far col
lected indicate that mental retardation is widespread
throughout the world (WHO, 1968). Seldom does any devel
oping country have a health service which picks out the
"at risk" child and channels him/her to the appropriate
source of aid and when necessary into the special educa
tion system (Moriyama, 1974). There are no accurate
statistics about the mentally retarded population since
many of them still are not recognized or are hidden be
cause of their families’ attitude. Because of this it is
apparent that despite the importance of the problem, there
is no valid information on the incidence of mental
20
retardation outside the western world. Further, the
terminology used in defining mental disability varies from
one country to another regarding what really is considered
as mental retardation. Most developing countries such as
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India, Iraq, Iran and the United
Arab Republic place all degrees of mentally deficient
under a single title such as mentally handicapped or "in
tellectually deficient" (UNESCO, 1969). As Hilliard (1962)
indicated many statistical comparisons made between
countries should be treated with greatest caution until
it is clearly established that the criteria used in diagno
sis are approximately.the same. For example, in developing
countries the criteria for the diagnosis of mental retarda
tion are not clear. The difference between a person who
is insane and one who is not has apparently long posed a
problem depending on how one society considers mental re
tardation. Insane means aggressive and destructive or
impulse ridden, or he/she may suffer from hallucinations
or delusions but as long as he/she is not destructive or
very unstable, may not be considered insane. In fact, such
a person may be recognized as having supernatural capacity
for communication with the spirit world and may therefore
be regarded with reverence and. awe (Ozturk, 1964) .
It was found by Sarason and Gladwin (1959) that in
non-European countries mental retardation appears generally
21
to be fairly severe in degree or defect that they require
special attention. This is very true since the living
standard in developing countries, especially in rural
areas, is low and simple. Here, a mentally retarded person
probably would not be considered mentally retarded as
he/she would be in more advanced and complex society.
As early as 1958 Brockington stated, "The picture of
health and disease varies almost infinitely throughout the
world, so that a complete presentation of it is hardly
possible. Even in massive volumes, the more salient fea
ture of its kaleidoscopic patterns are presented" (pp. 27).
Thus, it would be idle to attempt a detailed description
in this discussion. In general terms the health picture
of every country depends upon its state of development.
Most of the disease in developing countries, including
malnutrition, is the result of poverty, technical backward
ness, inadequate supplies of nutritious foods, poor educa
tion, and defective hygiene. In developing countries the
per capita annual health budget may be between $.50 and
$1.00, as compared with $30 and $40 per head per annum in
western industrialized countries (Jelliffe, 1968). Poverty
as a major cause of mental retardation in developing coun
tries is closely related to poor nutrition, poor health
care, inadequate child care, supervision, and early stimu
lation and finally to an environment full of extra hazards
22
for a child, each of which may contribute to the emergence
of mental retardation. In fact,, the incidence of mental
retardation, health and social problems as well, is con
sistently found to be higher in poorer areas characterized
by overcrowding, increased maternal and infant mortality
rates, poor infant care, high birth rate, social disorgan
ization, disrupted family life, delinquency, frequent il
legitimacy, psychological factors of hopelessness, apathy,
and despair (Cassel, 19 73; Meyen,. 19 79).
The poor health standards and high disease incidence
in developing countries can be also attributed to the few
doctors, between 1 per 10,000 to 1 per 100,000 population,
compared with western countries in which there may be
about 1 per 1,000 population. In addition, there is usual
ly a geographic mal-distribution of medical aid with a
high proportion of the total in cities, and a relatively
small number in rural areas (Jelliffe, 1968). Despite
some differences from one part of the world to another the
general pattern of disease and ill health in early child
hood is broadly similar from region to region in developing
countries (Jelliffe, 1968). Further, as Brockington (1958)
stated:
The "top ten" childhood ailments in developing
countries are usually malnutrition, diarrheal
disease, pneumonia,' tuberculosis, malaria, cer
tain infectious fevers of childhood (notably
measles and whooping cough), intestinal worms,
23
accidents and infections of the newborn
(p.5).
In this regard Jelliffe further stated and argued
that, "characteristically, young children in developing
countries are rarely found to be suffering from one disease
alone, but from several at one time, each adding to the
total cumulative burden of misery and ill health" (p. 9).
This brings to the surface the negative correlation which
exists between the gross national product (GNP) and the in
cidence of the "top ten" childhood disease existing in de
veloping countries.
The major problem within the developing countries is
the problem of malnutrition which is associated with the
low socioeconomic level. The problem of malnutrition is
so serious that currently there are more than 300 million
children at risk from permanent brain damage because they
are malnourished during the critical period of their early
life. Obviously not all of these are children born into
the extreme nutritional and social underprivileged experi
ence in developing countries. Many of them are to be
found in the poorer parts of affluent cities in the west
(Lewin, 1974).
Statistics show that even in the most developed coun
tries like the United States, the problem of malnutrition
exists. Therefore, it is not surprising to see the less
developed countries have a greater problem in this matter.
24
In his article, Schmeck (1975) indicated that more
than a million American infants and young children have
either suffered stunting of their brains or are under risk
of that kind of damage because of malnutrition. As he
suggests, data obtained from a scientific inquiry implied
that a corresponding proposition of the difficulties chil
dren experience in school and later in their career devel
opment may be due to undernutrition affecting their brain
growth in utero and during early life, thus interfering
with the quality of their lives and placing an unmeasured
but probably significant burden on the rest of the society.
The result of the study as others have suggested in the
past, indicate that poverty is a vicious cycle trapping
the children of the poor and dooming them to the same
environment their parents endured. Studies related to
malnutrition have shown that individuals living near or
below the poverty level showed serious chemical deficien
cies. It was estimated that the average deficit in brain
weight among severely malnourished children is at 125 grams
comparing to 1,400 grams weight of a normal 4-year-oldTs
brain. It has been shown that malnourished infants and
young children experienced spurts in general growth and
head circumference when they were given special diets to
supplement their previously deficit nutrition. The result
derived from studies on malnutrition in developed countries
25
are also applicable within the less developed countries,
since those facts are similar all over the world. The dif
ference is in quantity but not in quality.
Jelliffe (1968) mentioned the devastating effect of
malnutrition as, "It is now abundantly clear that, while
each classical tropical disease such as yellow fever and
cholera are very important health problems and block prog
ress, in reality they are of much less significance than
childhood malnutrition" (p.l). It is very unfortunate
that diets in most of the heavily populated or less devel
oped regions of the world are defective both in quantity
and quality. It has been indicated that many live on a
diet of some 1,500 calories, near to the basal metabolic
rate. In terms of animal protein, the general picture is
even more discouraging. Other studies suggest that under
nourishment is extremely important in the pre and perinatal
period. It is also of great importance throughout the
early years of life. Poor nutrition is receiving increas
ing attention. Women who had an inadequate diet as chil
dren have been found to be more prone to complications
during pregnancy and delivery. These women are likely to
be poorly developed, with pelvic disproportion and short
stature, making pregnancy and delivery more burdensome to
the mother and more hazardous to the infant. Further,
severe malnutrition can reduce both the number and the
26
size of the brain cells (Nutrition Canada, 1970).
It has been indicated that lack of protein-calorie
nutrition is responsible for mental retardation if it oc
curs in certain critical periods. The critical times for
mental development are the late prenatal period and the
first six months of life (Carter, 1970; Crom and Stern,
1967). Carter (1970) mentioned several studies showing
that prenatal dietary abnormalities, vitamin deficiencies
and maternal malnutrition may result in mental retardation.
The women in less developed' countries are even more suscep
tible to having more of these complications.
Poor nutrition predisposes infections and there is
every reason to believe that the unfavorable interaction
between malnutrition and infectious disease plays a major
role in many diseases, particularly in young children.
For example, clinical experience indicates that whooping
cough is a more serious disease among malnourished chil
dren than among those who are better nourished. Measles,
tuberculosis and typhus fever have also been reported to
be more severe in poorly, nourished individuals (WHO, 1965).
In India two very widespread factors, nutritional deficien
cy and poverty, operate to produce a high incidence of
mental retardation. The former generates organic brain
damage and the latter, although not connected with the
brain, effectively creates a retardation of intellectual
27
functioning through environments 1 stimulus deprivation
(Malin, 1970).
Crom and Stern (1967) discuss the theory that trans
placental infection accounts for a greater share of mental
defects in underdeveloped countries. They also found that
the commonest epidemic viral infection is probably influ
enza. It was found that of 663 pregant women who were be
lieved to have contracted the infection, the incidence of
congenital defects of CNS was 2.4 times greater than in a
control group. Mothers who had asiatic flue in the last
trimester of pregnancy delivered children who were mentally
retarded. Hydrocephalus has occurred fairly frequently
following asiatic flu (Carter, 1970) . Further, whooping
cough as an occasional cause of mental retardation has
been considered by Crom and Stern (1967) who attributed
the cerebral damage in such cases to anoxia.
Parasitic infections which cause retardation occur
particularly among the lower economic groups of the United
States and developing countries (Carter, 1970). Malaria
at one time was also responsible for an occasional cause
of mental retardation. The parasite is transferred through
the blood stream to the placenta, and into the infant
brain. In some of the tropical countries congenital re
tardation following a severe malaria infection in the
mother is still seen (Carter, 1970).
28
Due to lack of proper hygiene and good nutrition,
good prenatal care and obstetrical supervision, mental
retardation caused by infection is quite prevalent within
the developing countries. It seems that poverty is a
generic term which encompasses most of the causes of mental
retardation in developing countries. In other words, the
socio-cultural-economic situation in which a child is born
is very important (Hurly, 1969). Studies*' have shown that
test scores are often depressed in children from deprived
socio-cultural environments. It is important to note that
not only cultural deprivation, but also physical depriva
tion contribute to mental retardation. It has been shown
that marked protein deprivation can result in speech de
fects (Witkop, 1969). Studies in rats have demonstrated
that under-nutrition in the newborn period will produce
physical, chemical and functional changes in the brain
(Witkop, 1969). Studies of children exposed to severe
early malnutrition have also shown the effect of malnutri
tion on perception.
As the literature within the United States also
shows, in the group of mentally retarded individuals,
the poor, the non-white and especially the blacks are
over-represented (Hurly, 1969; Winick, 1969). They
further remarked that poor environmental factors will
lead to such a condition. The children of these indivi
duals are more frequently subjected to serious socio-cultural
29
deprivation and malnutrition as well as other environmental
stresses and strains like disease and family instability.
Further, the mortality rate fluctuates with regional vari
ations in socio-economic levels and the quality of care
avai1ab1e (Anderson, 1970). These facts are even more pre
valent in less developed countries where the economic
condition is poor.
Robinson and Robinson (1970) demonstrated the widely
varying factors leading to mental retardation. Among the
more important are emotional inadequacy of the parents,
low level of achievement motivation of the family and sub
culture of which it is a part, poor structure and limited
elaborativeness of the language patterns, discriminatory
responses by individuals in the larger society, marginal
finance of the family, inaccessibility of special prevent
ive or remedial instruction, parental rejection and ignor
ing and inaccessibility of adults to reinforce and facili
tate new behavior patterns. The above variables are also
evident within the less developed countries. The living
conditions are such that much burden and stress is placed
on the parents which does not allow them to practice a
proper parenting. Due to the crowded families resulting
from lack of knowledge about birth control andnost of all
disbelief, there is not enough time for the parents, par
ticularly the mother, to interact with children. Children
30
will only grow alongside their parents without any real
and healthy interaction. It is now well established that
children from larger families are at a disadvantage in in
tellectual development (Clausen and Clausen, 1973; Davie,
Butter and Goldstein, 1972) . In larger families the well
being of the children may be limited simply by the fact
that available resources must be divided into smaller
shares. Especially in the lower socio-economic groups,
adverse physical conditions may be intensified when many
family members must share a meager subsistence as in the
majority of households in innercity and urban areas in
Iran.
It has been suggested that children's IQ scores tend
to vary with the status of their families. Numerous in
vestigators have found that children’s scores on conven
tional intelligence tests are substantially correlated with
the. father’s occupation, the parents’ education, and
family income (Matarazzo, 1972; Roberts and Engel, 1976).
Therefore, the living condition, parents’ education and
family income all contribute to put a child of such a fam
ily in a very disadvantaged spot in most developing coun
tries. This is all summarized in what Caldwell (1970) sug
gested that one factor consistently related to poor cogni
tive functioning is a low socioeconomic profile.
The investigation of the causes of mental retardation
31
requires the intensive study of a given culture and state
of its development. In other words, culture cannot be
divorced from the causative factors of mental retardation.
For example, Jaffad (1974) states that the effect of cus
tom can be observed in Pakistan where the consanguinity
rate is about thirty percent. There, fifteen to seventeen
percent of children with neural tube defects have consan-
guinous parents. Further, the WHO study also showed high
ly significant associations between neural tube defect and
consanguinity in Alexandria and Bombay (WHO, 19 70) . Mental
retardation caused by such marriages are more common in
developing countries, where there are more marriages be
tween cousins and relatives. Lack of any examinations such
as blood tests before marriage, especially in rural parts
of these countries, contributes to the fact that mental
retardation caused this way is more prevalent. For in
stance, there is a popular expression among Iranian people,
especially those from rural areas and uneducated families,
that MGod has prearranged marriage of the two unborn cous
ins in the skies.” In other words, cousins are chosen for
each other by the time they are born. In most cases, this
would end in the marriage of the two cousins. In this
regard, Crom and Stern (1967) found that first cousin mar
riages are more common among parents of mentally retarded
than in the general population and that incidence of
32
consanguinity is also high in phenylketonuria, lipidoses
and some of the other metabolic disorders responsible for
mental retardation.
Beliefs in the under-developed world, except the more
recent development in urban societies, have little connec
tion with science. Additionally, due to lack of communica
tion between related disciplines, information regarding
the causative factors of mental retardation is not accu
rately disseminated or clearly communicated. This will
eventually lead to more complication.
Sometimes the living conditions not only provide the
children with unhealthy environment, but put them in
hazardous situations. As Moore and Moore (1977) reported,
serious incidences of mercury poisoning have occurred in
Iraq, Pakistan and Guatemala due to the ingestion of flour
and wheat seeds treated with mercurical fungicides. Due
to this occurrence hundreds of people died and many more
infants were prematurely crippled and mentally retarded.
Healthy social environment is considered another
major variable to which children in most developing coun
tries are not exposed. The condition of living provides
an unhealthy social environment. In relation to this mat
ter, sensory deprivation and impact on the developing
child is of great concern.- The effect of this deprivation
is acutely expressed in the child's first two years. These
33
effects not only* have devastating but lasting effects on
brain development (Ruther et al, 1972). Lack of sensory
stimulation is more prevalent among the families of 1 ower
socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic status of the family
plays a very important role in lack of stimulation within
the family situation as well as malnutrition.
Coleman and Provence (1957) indicated that restrictive
conditions found in lower class homes lead to restrictive
opportunities to learn which therefore result in retarded
growth in language, motor, social and cognitive functions.
In a much publicized report, Coleman (1966) found that
early experiences in an impoverished environment hindered
the school performance. Upon entrance into the first
grade, minority group and lower socioeconomic status chil
dren scored below the national average on school perform
ance measures.
Hess and Shipman (1965) stated that parental control
influences later cognitive and social behavior. In gener
al, lower class families use the type of control which is
less verbal, thereby reducing the child’s attentiveness for
action and thoughts. Further, in other studies Jerome
Kagan (1970) identified other psychological differences be
tween the lower class and the more privileged children.
According to him these differences emerge during the first
three years of life and are stable over the time. These
34
differences are being seen in the areas of language, mental
set, attachment inhibition, senses of effectiveness, moti
vation and expectancy of future. These variables directly
or indirectly influence school performance leading to dif
ficulties in one’s problem solving strategies.
Due to so many problems existing in developing coun
tries, one can assume that there should be so many people
who are retarded but either not recognized or not getting
a proper education and rehabilitation. Due to the lack of
communication between the responsible government and other
related organizations, lack of proper medical facilities
to identify the "at risk" children, the problem of the
mentally retarded is still .not solved. As Moriyama (1974)
s tated:
It is unfortunately the case that no
developing country has yet recognized
the need for the coordination of services,
for screening the "at risk" child, for
special formal educational facilities es
pecially annexes for the handicapped at
tached to normal schools, for physical re
habilitation, for prevocational and voca
tional training and finally for employment
and welfare care (pp.330 - 331).
Comparative Education and Cultural Aspects of
Special Education
It is very apparent that cultural background and
civilization of a given country should be kept in view in
making any contribution to educational development of that
country because the educational practices emerge from the
35
way of life of the people of that country. The system of
education is always better studied dn relation to the
society. As Chinn, et al (1979) argue, cultural factors
are very influential in shaping people’s perceptions of
their environment and their subsequent behavioral reac
tions. Such cultural differences are readily observed be
tween cultures, and even within a culture there are sub
groups that are manifestly different from each other and
the larger dominant group. These differences are demon
strated in speech patterns, language differences, clothing
styles, values, and so on. That such cultural differences,
particularly values, attitudes, and philosophy influence
the way a culture views the mentally retarded is also ap
parent, although not as easily observable.
Here, culture seems the key word. As early as 1945
Linton defined culture in its broadest sense as, "The
way of life in any society" (p.12). Further, in a more
passive sense it refers to- transmitted and created content
and patterns of values, ideas and other symbolic meaning
ful systems as in the shaping of human behavior,and the
artifacts produced through behavior (Kroeber and Parson,
1958) .
Culture is an organized body of rules concerning the
ways in which individuals in a population should communi
cate with one another, think about themselves and their
36
environment. Therefore, in regard to this, study, it is
essential that the Iranian way of life be kept in mind
when developing the procedures for implementation of a
special education program for the mentally retarded in
this country.
Considering the development of any educational program
in general and of special education in particular, the
society in which the system has to emerge to serve it
should be considered thoroughly. It is very apparent that
education and society afe interdependent, since it is the
society which sets the goals which education has to follow.
Cookey (1976) stated that education poses the same problems
in all societies, but the solutions adapted for them as
embodied in the respective educational systems differ from
society to society. In other words, education is planned
to meet the needs of the people of that particular society.
In his article, ”The Relationship Between the Family and
Education in England,” Musgrave (1971) defined education
in its broad terms as, "that.whole process whereby the
culture of a society is transmitted through formal and in
formal institutions” (p.17).
It seems that the concept of education of all forms
is culturally relative. If this is the case, special'edu
cation for the . ’ mentally retarded is even more so culturally
determined since exceptionality or a handipap in one
37
culture may not be termed so in another. Here one needs
to ask the question, when is a handicap a handicap? Both
education and culture reinforce each, since, both of them
should be considered in any planning of improvement or
development of education.
Kelly (1971) in his work, ’’Philosophical Perspectives
in Special Education," stated that:
It is one thing to review exceptionality
from the standpoint of our own cultural
context, in terms of our own definitions
and related incidence figures. It is a
far different matter to attempt to try
to understand another culture’s percep
tion of exceptionality, and in so doing
to discover that perhaps what we view as
exceptional is not recognized by some
other social group. Solutions to a problem
vary according to one's perception of its
magnitude. If a culture- fails to recog
nize certain behaviors as exceptional, they
are not likely to require treatment. In
some cases one is reminded of the maxim
that "where there is no problem there is no
solution and where there is no solution,
there is no problem" (p.33).
Comparing the developing nations to the more developed
ones, Masland (1958) remarked that for many simple cultures
such conditions as educable mental retardation, extreme
learning disability, mild to moderate emotional disturb
ance and the less severe speech disorders are not problems
which require special solutions. This holds true in de
veloping countries, in this case Iran. One can definitely
argue that there are several concepts which are still not
recognized there. Learning disability or mild retardation
38
which one can see in everyday classrooms are not considered
as problems, therefore nobody really seeks any solution.
These children would assimilate into the adult community
as time passes by. In this regard, Gladwin and Sarason
(19 5 3) also added that although the child so afflicted
may be viewed as slow or odd, he/she is likely assimilated
into the adult social and vocational community upon matur
ity. To this, Smith and Goethal (1965) observed:
One can reasonably argue of course, that
assimilation is in itself a solution,
that most of our culture's treatment
programs are designed merely to facili
tate it. This argument however, does
not account for the fact that in many
cultures, the assimilation process is ac
companied without programing and its ac
companying economic and psychological
expenses (p.443).
Additionally, Richardson (1961) stated that for all
societies, some minimal standards of exceptionality pre
vails. For the grossly mentally,- physically or emotion
ally handicapped, a general unfavorable perception of the
handicapped appears to be universal. This point was il
lustrated by Kelly in making distinction between absolute
and relative standards of exceptionality. Kelly (1971)
pointed out that:
Absolute exceptionality describes a
condition of exceptionality so profound
in its intellectual, adjustive, or
adaptive behavior that the individual
so affected would be perceived as de
viant in an existing culture. For
39
these individuals special solutions are
mandatory. Relative exceptionality
describes individuals who intellectually,
adjustively, or adaptively deviate from
the standards set for these criteria by
their particular society. Their excep
tionality is an ethnologically determined
phenomenon relative to local standards,
and even within those standards, appro
priate solutions are relative to educa
tional postulates, vocation ambitions and
family expectations (p.583).
Exceptionality, as Kelly puts it, is relative among
different ethnic or cultural settings. In other words,
one type of exceptionality in one culture might not be
the same in the other. Further, it is the cultural dynam
ics that label those exceptionalities. However, the ways
in which these exceptional individuals can be helped and
treated may contain some elements that could be utilized
in solving similar problems in other parts of the world.
This is one of the many reasons that educators from dif
ferent cultural backgrounds have placed emphasis upon
comparative education as an instrument to develop and/or
improve the education system.
Comparative education, however, as Noah (1975) stated,
is a difficult area of study. Its difficulty arises from
the complexity of the phenomenon and the variety of.situa
tions in which those phenomena are studied. Noah further
argued that, ' ’...multidisciplinary approaches must be at
tempted in order to acquire a good understanding of the
process at work in education in different cultural and
40
national contexts” (p.386).
Comparative education as a field of study came into
being in large part as a result of the development of
national systems of education (Zachariah, 1979.) • The
unique role of comparative education emerged as the study
of educational divergence, comparing similar educational
functions arising in dissimilar cultural settings. In
this respect, Epstein (1981) stated:
....comparative education is different
from a field like sociology and other
established social science disciplines.
Not only is it comparative and therefore
national, but it is also multidisciplin
ary and composed of heterogenous interests
.... Comparative education is, therefore,
unique, inasmuch as its development on a
national level is likely to be tied to its
growth and strength internationally... by
promoting communication among comparative
education specialists and the exchange of
ideas on education internationally, it
seeks to make the field not only of a
world scope in theoretical and methodologi
cal focus but also in the professional
recognition it elicits (pp.270 - 271).
The value of comparative education stems from its
multidisciplinary approach. Hans (cited by Harris, 1980)
pointed out that all comparative studies, whether of law,
government, or of any other social science, begins with
the comparison of existing institutions. It then passes
on to search for common origins and their differentiation
through history. It finally reaches the stage of attempt
ing a classification of forms and a formation of general
41
principles which might underline the variations (p. 9).
Having reviewed the importance of comparative educa
tion and cultural aspects of special education, it becomes
apparent that to develop any new program for a given
culture, an extensive study of the culture and its people
is required, as well as their attitude toward the handi
capped. It is true that no country is an island, each is
a part of the world. In view of this no educational sys
tem anywhere in the world is worth anything unless it is
comparable to some other system in the world, considering
the fact that there are also fundamental differences be
tween these cultures. It is apparent that no adequate
answers to any educational or social problem can be
determined within one country's confines any longer.
Therefore, comparative education is above all the disci
pline which systematizes our observations and conclusions
in relation to the shaping of the future as Lewis (1965)
stated.
Status of Special Education Programs in General and of
Programs for Mentally Retarded in Particular in Other
Cultures
Comparison means noting the differences and similari
ties. There are many differences between the systems
established by countries whose geographical location,
history, culture, stage of industrialization and political
42
organization are so dissimilar. There are also many
similarities. One might expect these to be evidence of
the beneficial results of exchanges of information. In
fact, although such exchanges produce appreciable results
which can easily be enumerated, it must be admitted that
what is even more striking are the analogies between suc
cessive stages in the best endowed countries and the pre
sent state of the systems in the less favored countries.
A survey of special education programs for the mental
ly retarded in different countries showed a variety of
systems in various stages of development. This study in
comparative special education was conducted by the Inter
national Bureau of Education in 1960 and indicated that
special education for the mentally retarded, considered on
a world-wide scale, is still at a very primitive stage
(UNESCO, 1960). Even in the most advanced countries, a
majority of mentally retarded children are not yet re
ceiving instruction adapted to their conditions. In under
developed countries, special education for the mentally
retarded is virtually unknown or is represented, at the
most, by a few isolated~establishments. The general in
formation obtained from the above comparative study of
special education in 71 countries is summarized.
The study has shown that diagnosis for the purposes
of identification and selection of the mentally retarded
43
is made on the basis of medical, psychological and peda
gogical observations. Social inquiries are also made re
garding the child’s family and environment. Study showed
that in the majority of countries the psychological analys
is seems to involve relatively similar techiques. The
traditional tests are'used either in an original or in a
revised form adapted to the conditions of the country. In
some countries, the main criteria are the detection and
location of organic lesions and an analysis of the child’s
behavior and school work. This type of observation is
often supplemented by the measurement of the intelligence
quotient. It seemed that, far from being the only orienta
tion for admission to the special schools or classes, the
IQ is only one element of diagnosis.
In most of the countries their legislation obligates
the authorities to organize special education for handi
capped as well as the mentally retarded children to attend
school. Although this has been the case in most of the
countries, parents had the option to send their children
to regular private or public schools. In other countries
the mentally retarded children were required to attend
school but the law did not expressly declare that the
authorities must organize special education for them. How
ever, the authorities were encouraged to do so by definite
provisions or simply by traditions. Study showed that
44
solutions adapted in situations where there were no special
education programs involved sending the child either to a
boarding school or to attend a special day school or
special school in a neighboring community. He/she attended
the regular school or did not attend school at all.
Taking all of the countries as a whole, the last solution
was apparently the most common. This practice of not at
tending school at all was unavoidably brought about by
vain attempts in regular classes. .The latter factor has
been common particularly in cases where the teacher did
not have time to attend to the less able students. Partial
solutions included individual attention given to the less
able students in regular classes or the transportation of
educable mentally retarded children to a special education
center which was jointly run by several local authorities.
A complex range of institutions were found in all
countries where there was a developed special education
program. These institutions were relatively similar in
nature although they may be identified differently such as
"differential classes," "developmental classes" or "board
ing schools" which are usually reserved for the more
seriously affected educable mentally retarded. Children
who were less mentally retarded and who lived in isolated
areas also attended boarding schools. In some countries
the special day school tended to be systematically replaced
45
by the boarding schools whereas other countries tried to
encourage the opposite.
It seemed that .t he -universal characteristic of the
methods and techniques for the special education of the
mentally retarded was the attempt to make instruction as
concrete and active as possible. Self confidence of chil
dren also was improved by simple activities such as physi
cal exercise and games. Generally education was highly
individualized in the sense that an effort was made to
treat each child according to his/her needs and abilities.
Education was also directed towards the adaptation of the
child to life in society through group activity.
Teacher training programs varied from one country to
the other. Twelve countries indicated that they had no
formal course and training for these teachers. Teachers
holding an ordinary teaching certificate may be appointed
to the special programs. So, during this appointment, the
teacher would acquire the special knowledge required by
this type of education through practical experience. In
some countries, taking specialized courses, although op
tional, tended to be compulsory. In other instances, only
teachers with several years of experience could take this
training in a university or in institutions of education.
Stevens and Heber (1968) surveyed programs for the
mentally retarded in a number of countries ranging from
46
highly industrialized to less developed countries. One
of their findings showed that there was a lack of uniform
ity in the descriptive categories of mental retardation
and in the criteria used to define the condition. These
variations in the criteria of mental retardation caused a
wide range of estimate of the overall prevalence of this
condition in each country. Serious shortage of personnel
and total lack of resources for training were hampering
the developing nations in planning services for the
mentally retarded.
Descriptions of special education programs in some
countries as found in the literature appear to show some
consistency and agreement relative to some selected program
practices. These practices include the methods of identi
fication and selection, training and education of the
mentally retarded.
The following section gives descriptions of special
education programs for the mentally retarded in selected
countries for purpose of reviewing developments in special
education. Programs in Sweden, as a country to represent
other Scandinavian countries, and the United States were
those considered by authorities in the field to be well
established since they have been in existence for quite
some time. Special education programs of Iran and Pakistan
as two developing countries will be also described to
47
provide a point of comparison for developing a new and
comprehensive program for the mentally retarded children
in Iran. The effort has been taken to emphasize on impor
tant points for the purpose of drawing conclusions as the
result of comparison regarding the development of a
comprehensive program for the mentally retarded children
later in this investigation. The United States of America
and Sweden will represent the most advanced systems of
special education as a guiding line to follow. Further,
special education in Iran and Pakistan will be reviewed.
Statistics about the medical aspects and nutritional
conditions will be included for a better understanding and
comparison of the so-called countries included in the
study.
United States of America
The United States is located in North America with
the area of 3,615,122 square miles equal to 9,363,123
square kilometers with a population of 203,211,926 as of
1970.
Health and nutritional condition seems much superior
compared to the other countries. According to the statis
tics in Encyclopeadia Britannica (15th ed.) there was one
doctor per 618 persons and one hospital bed per 124 per
sons in 1970. The calorie intake of 3,290 was also found
48
as an average daily calorie intake which is higher than
the amount of 2,590 calories which the Food and Agricul
tural Organization has recommended. This gives the reader
a point at which to start a comparison between the selected
countries. These numbers and statistics give one a
picture of the developmental stage of each country regard
ing its economy and consequently its education. The
United States is considered as one of the countries with
the most advanced system of education and consequently the
highest rate of literacy. Gilhool (1973) indicates that:
Education in any society tends to
reflect the political philosophy of that
society. Under a democracy as practiced
in the United States, where the state is
believed to exist for the welfare of the
individual, education must be organized
primarily to achieve that end. ’’ All men
are created equal” has become trite, but
it still has important meaning for educa
tion in a democratic society. Although
it was used by the founders to denote
equality before the law it has also been
interpreted to mean equality of opportunity
for all children - the right of each child
to receive help in learning to the limits
of his or her capacity, whether that capa
city be small or great. Recent court de
cisions have confirmed the right to all
children - handicapped or not - to an ap
propriate education. Those legal decisions
have mandated that the public schools take
whatever action necessary to provide that
education to handicapped children (pp.597-610).
The compulsory education laws of the states apply to
all children. Public Law 94-142 of 1975 opened the way
for those handicapped children who had been excluded from
49
the opportunity to gain education. Mentally retarded chil
dren were provided with proper and comprehensive programs.
Educational placement of mentally retarded children
is mainly a responsibility of schools. However, there is
increasing effort to involve professional individuals from
the various professional fields such as medicine and social
welfare in diagnosing and recommending placement, especial
ly where the children are severely retarded or may have
multiple handicaps.
The criteria used to identify children for special
class placement includes: intelligence quotient, educa
tional achievements, social maturity, and emotional stabil
ity. In practice, most state and local school systems
combine intelligence test results with other objective
tests and clinical judgment. The intelligence quotient is
one of the most widely used criteria since it is based on
a reasonably standardized test of mental ability.
Although the compulsory education laws of the states
apply to all children, in actual practice many of the
schools have not been equipped to deal with some of the
mentally retarded, and specifically the more severely re
tarded.
The problem of providing education for the mentally
retarded as well as many other types of exceptional chil
dren has been sufficiently critical to warrant the passing
50
of special laws for such children in most states. Most of
these specialized state laws are designed to permit the
local school districts to organize special facilities,
usually with state aid and financial support. If no
special facilities are available locally, effort is made
to transport a child to some other school district partic
ularly if the child is in the upper range of the mentally
retarded group. Where the child is in a regular class,
the teacher is encouraged to aid in the child’s individual
development. A program individualized to attack the
specific weaknesses of each child is to be much preferred
to a mechanical group approach (Bateman, 1967). Educators
are also searching for ways of matching children’s apti
tude with methods as opposed to levels of instruction
(Reynolds and Balow, 1974). However, few authorities in
the field believe that the truly mentally retarded progress
satisfactorily in regular classes.
The United States Office of Education of the Depart
ment of Health, Education and Welfard maintains a section
which carries on activities related to the education of
all types of exceptional children. It works mainly with
the State Department of Education, national organizations,
colleges and universities and other government agencies.
This section conducts research and collects and dissemi
nates information through studies, publications,
51
consultation, conferences and lectures.
Special classes for the mentally retarded at the
elementary and secondary levels are being- provided in pub
lic and private schools. The trend seems to be in the
direction of day school programs in public or private
schools for the upper range or educable mentally retarded
pupils. Consultant and itinerant teachers are also being
utilized in more sparsely populated areas.
The curriculum is increasingly a functional one de
signed to help the child in his/her everyday life in his/
her own family and community. For the elementary level it
is usually pre-academic. Emphasis is more on the develop
ment of self confidence, enriched,language development
and good habits of health, safety, work, and play. At
the secondary level special programs tend to emphasize
vocational education and domestic skills. In fact, these
were first established as occupational classes in the late
1930's and early 1940's (Douglas, 1974; Hungerford,
Deprospo, and Rosenzweig, 1968). Instruction in tool sub
jects is continued with emphasis on practical everyday
jobs. The prevalent concept regarding vocational training
in public school classes for the mentally retarded empha
sizes pre-vocational and early vocational training prior
to training for a specific trade.
Despite the great effort on the part of authorities,
52
it still seems that there is a severe shortage of qualified
personnel in all fields of special education in the United
States. It is estimated that about 65,000 teachers of the
mentally retarded would be required to staff the nation1s
schools.
Increasingly, teachers of the mentally retarded are
receiving distinctive training for their work. Special
training in mental retardation is usually in addition to
the regular training of all teachers.
Sweden
A constitutional monarchy located in Northern Europe,
Sweden has a population of 8,076,903 as of 1970 and is
spread over an area of 173,622 square miles.
Sweden has long been characterized by a high standard
of living and by an almost completely literate population.
A law as early as 1842 stipulated a certain amount of
knowledge which pupils had to obtain before leaving school,
though it was not until 1921 that six years of compulsory
school were specified,later this requirement was extended
to nine years in 1946 (Taylor and Taylor, 1960).
Vital statistics of the health condition as of 1969-
1970 has shown a promising picture in this country. Sta
tistics show one doctor per 767 persons and one hospital
bed to every 58 persons. The amount of adequate calories
53
consumed by an individual is 2 ,990 calories which is 410
calories more than the amount of 2,580 calories which the
Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has recommended
(Encyclopeadia Britannica, 15th ed.). Factors related
to the health condition contribute to better and healthier
individuals. Although the medical and nutritional pictures
seem promising, there are still maj or causes of disease
and death which are important to mention. According to
the statistic taken by the Encyclopeadia Britannica (15th
fid.), the major causes of death per 100 ,000 population are
arteriosclerotic and degenerative heart disease of 330.3
persons, vascular lesions affecting central nervous system
of 116.2 persons and pneumonia of 58.4 persons. These
statistics are important because they, do make an important
contribution to the field of* special education.
Along with the development in general education,
special education has been strongly emphasized and its
importance recognized. Legislation enacted in 1944 recog
nized the importance of the educational aspects of mental
retardation which had previously been viewed solely as a
medical problem. The present organization of special edu
cation developed in 1954 divided the responsibility for
programs for the retarded among the national boards of
education, vocational training and health under the
Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Education and
54
Religion (The President’s Panel on Mental Retardation,
1962).
According to Swedish educational policy, special edu
cation is defined as: "A flexible system of educational
facilities for those pupils who experience difficulties of
varying types and importance in their schooling as the
result of environmental or hereditary factors and physical
or mental disorders" (UNESCO, 1974, p. 22).
Based on this definition, the exclusion of the concept
of handicapped would allow different categories of chil
dren suffering from more or less serious learning diffi
culties to benefit from special education. Further, the
presence of the idea of "pupil" would emphasize the strict
ly educational aspects of special education. In July, 1968
a decision came into force which required the local author
ities in Sweden to arrange educational activities for the
most seriously mentally retarded, most of who had been
treated as "cases of care."
Handicapped children, especially mentally retarded
children, came to the focus very strongly. Adaptation in
general education has been taking place for many years to
accommodate the mentally retarded children. In this re
gard, Wessman (1976) has argued that the need for special
education depends greatly on the organization of the regu
lar school system. He went further and pointed out that,
55
if the education in the ordinary school is good enough for
the handicapped, there is no need for special education.
As he again stated, at present there are different facili
ties for handicapped children. There are special auxiliary
teaching, separate special teaching, special classes in
ordinary schools and special schools. The same argument
indicates that the number of special classes for slow
learners and pupils with retarded maturity is being re
duced, while the number of pupils taking special lessons is
being increased. Meanwhile, independent special schools
are being replaced by special classes.
This clearly shows that within the Swedish system in
tegration is the key word, meaning that to accept the
handicapped as equal members of the school, society gives
them a chance to develop by experiencing fellowships with
their more fortunate peers in working with the same sub
ject matter or taking part in common creative activities
(Kjellman, 1976). In fact, the new system in Sweden is
best expressed in a pedagogical slogan as ’’ pupil first.”
Thus, the aim is to give each pupil individual instruction
which encourages his/her all-round development and which
is adapted to his/her aptitude. This means that methods
of work in the ordinary school are becoming more like those
formerly considered characteristic of special instruction.
Based on this premise, it can no longer be said that a
56
pupil cannot satisfy the demands made by the school. On
the contrary, it is the school that shall satisfy the de
mand of the pupil.
Education for the mentally retarded was emphasized
more strongly by Sweden’s more recent act about services
for the retarded in 1968. As the result of this act, the
system provides for a much more comprehensive range of
services than before. This led to the arrangement of
pedagogic activities for all mentally retarded children in:
eluding training of those formerly considered "non-educa-
ble” and individual education of those unable to attend
classes. The Swedish system of education puts a great deal
of stress on education and social welfare. The education
of the handicapped has for many years been considered an
important task and has also been carried out with great
care and good results. Education of the exceptional chil
dren in Sweden has been considered one of the most advanced
systems of special education due to its great considera
tion, positive and unique points regarding the handicapped
children. This is justified by the Report of the Panel on
Mental Retardation that in other countries, especially in
the Netherlands (1962a) and the Scandinavian nations
(1962b), there were programs for the retarded which far
exceeded those in the United States both in humanitarian-
ism and effectiveness.
57
Pakistan
Pakistan is located in Southern Asia with a population
of approximately 100,000,000 and the per capita Gross Na
tional Product of 140 U.S. dollars. The area is about
307,344 square miles equal to 796,095 square kilometers.
Eighty-two percent of the population is illiterate. This
society is mostly agrarian and the majority of the popula
tion lives in rural areas. According to the existing
statistics, the health and nutritional condition does not
seem adequate. There was one doctor per 3,967 persons and
one hospital bed per 2,048 persons in 1970 (Encyclopeadia
Britannica, 15th ed.). The distribution of medical facili
ties and doctors as in other developing countries seems
uneven. Further, as of 1970, the daily per capita calory
intake was found to be 2,280 calories which was below the
average amount of 2,300 calories per individual which the
Food and Agricultural Organization had recommended (Ency
clopeadia Britannica, 15th id.).
As the result of poor nutrition and inadequate health
facilities and diagnosis, one can expect the incidence of
different diseases and also handicapping conditions to be
high. It seems that increase in population and malnutri
tion are among the most important factors in developing
countries. As Malin (1970) points out, the estimated pre
valence of mental retardation in India has been given as
58
3% of the population, therefore, applying the same criter
ia for Pakistan, one can estimate that there are 3.1 mil
lion mentally retarded persons in Pakistan.
As Jaffad (1974) indicated, during the years 1965-
1970 in Pakistan, over 25, 000 cases of omental retardation
were thoroughly investigated. The interesting feature was
the high incidence of mental retardation due to infections.
He further stated that programs for mentally retarded have
not been fully developed. These programs have been set up
only for moderate to moderately severe groups, but not for
mildly retarded persons, something which is very necessary.
This would also hold true in other developing countries
such as Iran where the standard of living-is not high.
Within such a situation a mildly retarded individual would
be absorbed into a larger community, since the existing
demands are uncomplicated enough that a mildly retarded
individual can fulfill them. In other words, within such
a simple society mild retardation is not considered a prob
lem. Where there is no problem, there is no solution in
consequence. It is very important to realize that a mild
ly retarded person in a primitive and simple society would
definitely be considered retarded in a more advanced and
industrialized society and even in an industrialized city
of the same developing country and culture.
It is important to remember that the developing coun
tries are seriously lacking in medical and training
59
resources and in job opportunities necessary for the spe
cial education and rehabilitation of the mentally handi
capped. Even more important is the fact that they lack
an adequate economic base from which to generate enough
wealth to invest in special education programs, medical
facilities and development for the manufacture of prosthet
ic appliances . Further, they are less developed in their
standards of mass education and a wide variety of other
indices (U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare,
Vocational Rehabilitation Administration, 1964).
Due to the existing problems, one can hardly acquire
adequate information and statistics regarding the system
of special education and the incidence of mental retarda
tion. In fact, there is not much to say about the various
programs for the mentally retarded individuals.
The most urgent problem that £ developing country
faces in providing adequate educational services for the
mentally retarded is the public's lack of understanding
of the problem (Stevens and Heber, 1968). It seems that
to the general public it is fate that causes one to be born
with a malformation or to acquire a disease causing physi
cal or mental incapacity. For the majority this is the
will of the creator, and parents accept the situation with
fatalism. In fact, in certain classes of the population
superstitions are deeply rooted.
60
Pakistan, as one of the developing countries, still
has a long way to go. There are a number of concepts with
in the field of education which are not recognized. These
concepts should be recognized and studied thoroughly and
the attitudes of its population modified, before any
further steps can take place.
Iran
Iran is located in Southern Asia with a population
estimated in 1977 of 34 million, growing at a rate of 2.7
percent per annum (Nyrop, 1978). Out of the whole popula
tion, about 40.6% live in urban areas and the rest in rural
areas. The literacy picture does not look promising.
Eighty-two percent of the population is illiterate which,
in consequence, leads to a low and simple standard of
living (Encyclopeadia Britannica, 15th Sd.).
Iran is considered a multi-lingual and diverse cultur
al society. In other words, ethnically speaking, the pre
sent’ people of Iran are extremely heterogenous. Persians
constitute the largest ethnic group (63%) and- others are
Kurds, Azarbaijanies (Turks), Lurs, Bakhtiars, Baluchis
and Arabs. Farsi or Persian is the official language of
the country, and half of the population speaks it, while
it is used as a second language by the other half (Nyrop,
1978). The religion of the country is overwhelmingly
61
Islam (98%) and 90% of the Muslems are Shiite. Other re
ligious groups are Armenians, Assyrians, Zoroasterians and
Jews (Nyrop, 1978).
Health, medical facilities and nutrition do not seem
adequate. As of 1979, there was one doctor per 3,585
persons and one hospital bed per 797 persons. Further,
daily per capita caloric intake of 1,890 calories was
found as of 1966 which was below the required amount of
2,400 daily calories which the Food and Agricultural Organ
ization had recommended (Encyclopeadia Britannica, 15th
£d.) .
It seems that major problems include rapid population
growth due to the lack of proper family planning and educa
tion, migration to urban areas, and illiteracy. These
would lead to a number of complications in several impor
tant aspects such as health condition within the communi
ties. Although there have been numerous drawbacks in re
lation to the health conditions, there has been some ap
preciable improvement due to some combined effort of gov
ernment and international agencies and philanthropic
endeavor. For example, by 1965, small pox was eradicated,
plague had disappeared, and malaria was wiped out. Chol
era, believed to have been controlled, broke out again in
1970, but was speedily checked (Encyclopeadia Britannica,
15th &d.). Health facilities, however, are still far from
62
adequate, and most are inequitably distributed. Over 40%
of the entire medical profession was concentrated in
Tehran in the years 1969-1970. Hospital beds were reason
ably adequate in the capital, but averaged only one for
every 20,000 persons in tribal and rural areas (Encyclo
peadia Britannica, 15th eid.).
In many cities purified water is piped into the
houses, while small towns and villages rely on wells,
springs or rivers. Central heating is not common except
for modern buildings in major cities. Portable kerosens
heaters, iron stoves using wood and charcoal are the com
mon sources of heat (Encyclopeadia Britannica, 15th ed. ).
In fact, there is a variety of substantial variables in
living conditions which evidently contributes to poor
physical and mental status. Overcrowding, lack of hot
water, poor temperature control, flaking lead-based paint,
unprotected stairs, open heaters and-lack of safe outdoor
play space are among the major variables. These in turn
could be considered as some of the hazardous factors which
are existent in the physical environment of individuals,
especially those in rural areas and low socioeconomic
status category.
According
nica (15th ed.
tice permitted
63
to an article in the Encyclopeadia Britan-
marriage to one’s cousin is a common prac-
by Islam. It has been shown that 41% of a
sample of working class married couples in the city of
Isfahan were, in a study, found to involve cousin mar
riages. Opinions as to the desirability of such marriages
are defined very widely among these people, but the prac
tice is traditional and is generally assumed to be a re
inforcement of kinship solidarity. Here, one can assume
that, problems emerging from such marriages such as blood
type incompatability between the couples would be common,
especially among those from lower socioeconomic background,
where there is no understanding of the consequences of such
marriages. In other words, these kinds of marriages or
mating occur because of preferential practices. In such
cases recessive genetic disorders are usually increased
because of the greater probability of the mating of two
carriers of the same deleterious gene. The incidence of
mental retardation is thus likely to be higher in groups
in which inbreeding is prevalent (Commission on Mental Re
tardation, 1965). Another problem would emerge from early
marriages among most Iranian women from very religious
families, rural areas and lower socioeconomic groups.
These marriages take place when the women are between the
ages of 13 and 18, and men on the average roughly seven
years older. In a study of four villages near Shiraz in
1965, the median age of woman entering marriage was found
to be between 13 and 15, and in a study of working class
64
families in the city of Isfahan in 1970-1971, it was found
that 80% of the wives had married between the ages of 9
and 16 inclusive, most of them within the previous 20
years (Encyclopeadia Britannica, 15th ed.)* As a result
of this, the condition of the newborn baby, as well as the
mother, might be put at risk because it has repeatedly
been shown that early pregnancies as well as late pregnan
cies might be dangerous for both the expectant mother and
the baby.
Now that the reader has gained a somewhat clear pic
ture of some aspects of living conditions in Iran, the
author will discuss some other points in relation to the
field of special education and programs for the mentally
retarded in this country.
The Department of Special Education, a unit of the
Ministry of Education, was established in 1969 and is
responsible for education of various types of children
with exceptional needs.
The Ministry of Education deals with the administra
tion of education and pre-vocational education for handi
capped children at primary and secondary levels. The
Ministry of Social Welfare handles post-school vocational
and professional training and rehabilitation of disabled.
Further, organizations for the protection of children have
special programing^ for helping handicapped and disadvan
taged children (UNESCO, 1977).
65
The Act of Compulsory Schooling of 1943 calls for the
creation of special schools for handicapped children and
the mentally retarded and stipulates that the Ministry of
Education shall train such children in accordance with a
settled program, teaching them crafts, industrial trades
or agricultural skills. Although schooling is compulsory
for handicapped as for all others under the Act of 1943,
shortage of revenue and of staff competent to teach and
train such children has, however, delayed the achievement
of the hoped for results (UNESCO, 1969) .
According to Nadjafian (1981), due to the lack of
trained personnel, teacher training programs were ini
tiated by the Ministry of Education first for one year
and then extended to two years. Candidates had to have
at least their high school diploma. Courses consisted of
child development, diagnosis and identification of mentally
retarded, psychology of learning, language development
and speech therapy, testing and measurement, method of
teaching in reading, math and behavior modification
techniques. Further, there have been a few attempts to
offer courses in special education, physiotherapy and
speech pathology leading to a Bachelor degree in Motahedin
and Tavanbakshi University.
Special teaching for the mentally retarded is carried
66
on in boarding schools, in day schools and in special
classes attached to ordinary schools. - In addition, remedi
al teaching is given to individual children in ordinary
schools to supplement the work of the classroom teacher.
In all classes, great care is taken to analyze the pupils’
difficulties to assure their receiving appropriate treat
ment. Although there has been an effort to integrate the
handicapped children, as Ahy (1977) puts it, in Iran there
still is.not total integration. So far the attempt to
integrate the handicapped with the normal population of
students has not been successful. This has been caused by
the lack of preparation on the part of the regular teacher
and also inadequate knowledge of handicapped children on
the part of other students. As Nadjafian (1981) explained,
exceptional children did not improve in their adjustment
and gaining confidence, they were also left alone, which in
consequence harmed their self confidence.
Educational program for mentally retarded children
mainly aims at developing such latent potential and capaci
ty as will enable them to act with confidence, even in un
familiar surroundings. To achieve this, specialists are
required from many fields such as education, medicine, oc
cupational therapy and social work. Unfortunately, the ap
pointed budget for special education program does not at
tract the other professional people to join for such pur
poses.
67
Frequently the most difficult problem for a mentally
retarded individual is social in nature. Within the edu
cational program academic achievements are not considered
as significant as those in the fields of social adaptation
and vocational education. Thus pre-vocational education
is aimed basically at expanding their social and emotional
development. Later, at fourteen years of age, the retarded
persons are sent to one of the vocational centers to learn
the necessary skills for a specific job. It is unfortunate
that such vocational centers are only available in Tehran
and a few other major cities (Nadjafian,1981).
Despite the speedy effort toward the progression of
special education program for the handicapped and stipula
tion of the law (compulsory education), many handicapped
are still denied schooling owing to the absence of a suf^
ficient number of specialized institutions (United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1969).
The program for the mentally retarded children still is
not fully developed due to the lack of adequate facilities
and professionals within the field. Many of these chil
dren are not recognized and, if they were, have not been
placed in a proper program. Iran as one of the developing
countries still has a long way to go to accomplish its
goals for the mentally retarded and this project hopefully
would be one step toward achieving such a goal to have a
68
comprehensive and proper program for these children. It
is worth mentioning that an emerging plan, in this case
for mentally retarded, should be made on the present con
dition of a given country if it should work. To make a
plan on a hypothetical and ideal situation will not work.
The country of Iran is going through one of its most dif
ficult and critical phases in history which has put a very
large limitation on its resources, revenues and manpower.
69
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
The method of the present study is descriptive - compar
ative. Since the events and trends analyzed!.in the study
have already taken place, a descriptive approach is most
appropriate. As has been indicated (Van Dalen, 1973)
the purpose of descriptive research is to describe system
atically the facts and characteristics of a given popula
tion or area of interest, factually and accurately. It is
the accumulation of a data base that is solely descriptive.
This type of research does not necessarily seek or explain
relationships, test hypotheses or make predictions. Sur
vey study is also used to describe research, as one of its
purposes is to identify problems or describe current condi
tions and practices.
In this study descriptive method has been chosen to
describe and present the facts about the different pro
grams for mentally retarded in the countries of Iran,
Pakistan, Sweden and the United States of America. The
facts about the present status of the situation in the
above named countries were presented while seeking accurate
description of activities and objectives of the programs.
In fact, descriptive-comparative method was selected to
70
conduct a comprehensive study of existing special educa
tion programs for mentally retarded to determine the over
all characteristics of the different programs with a view
towards development and/or improvement of the existing pro
gram for mentally retarded in Iran. Through this method,
information was gathered about the various aspects of the
mental retardation programs and was evaluated in the light
of the objectives of the programs. As Van Dalen (1973)
indicated, the employing data in descriptive study would
justify the current conditions and practices which in con
sequence would make more intelligent plans for improvement.
The objective of this study, therefore, was not only to
ascertain the status of the program for mentally retarded
in Iran, but also to determine the adequacy of status by
comparing it with selected or established standards.
The method of the present study is also a system ap
proach as it begins with a clarification of the different
aspects of the programs for mentally retarded and includes
appraisal of the aspects in administration, identification
and admission procedure, instructional and vocational pro
grams, personnel qualifications, pupil and parental guid
ance. It was felt that, because of the interdependence of
the various aspects, a survey of the overall program gen
erally gives a more meaningful picture than a survey re
stricted to a single department in isolation. This method
71
was chosen because the aim was towards the development
and/or making proposals for the improvement of the pro
grams for mentally retarded rather than simply the deter
mination of existing conditions with emphasis on the dis
covery of weaknesses.
The method is also -historical in some respects. As
Mouly (1970) stated, historical approach as it applies to
research, is primarily an inquiry, an attempt to discover
what has happened or been done in a specific area. More
and more, the emphasis has been towards the interpretation
of the data, towards giving meaning to the events described
rather tban simply producing an encyclopedic catalogue of
events. The foremost purpose of doing historical research
is to gain a clear perspective of the present. Historical
research not only leads to a formation of hypotheses for
the resolution of current problems, but also to a greater
insight into one’s culture and into the role which educa
tion is to play in the progress of the society. The
importance of historical method is justified. As Traverse
(1964) suggested, the amateur reformers in the field of
education would probably drop most of their plans for the
remodeling of public education if they had a better under
standing of the failure of such attempts in the past.
The historical aspects of the present study contrib
ute to the initiation of a comprehensive coverage of the
72
various aspects of educational programs for mentally re
tarded in selected countries and their sociological and
philosophical significance.
Descriptive and/or historical approach both are de
vices to analyze the content and documentations related to
programs for the mentally retarded. This method of inves
tigation is sometimes also referred to as ’’Content,” ’’ Act
ivity” or ’’Informational” analysis for it is concerned
with the classification, quantification and comparison of
the content of communication. The communication may be in
the form of official records or in any other written,
printed, verbal or practical form. Through this, one
would find the differences and likenesses in curriculum in
different parts of the country or the world (Van Dalen,
1973). As in the case of this study, one can find how the
programs for mentally retarded in the country of Iran are
similar to or different from the other countries such as
the United States, Sweden and Pakistan. Such an analysis
would make more intelligent suggestions and recommendations.
Research Questions
The following questions seemed principal in developing
a comprehensive program for the mentally retarded in Iran.
Throughout the study the attempt was made to provide
answers to these questions:
73
1. What issues are involved in determining the
philosophical orientation of the program?
2. What issues are involved in identification, place
ment, educational programing and vocational re
habilitation of children with mental retardation?
3. What issues are involved in the establishment of
teacher training programs and the determination
of qualifications for the staff?
Sources and Method of Data Collection
To conduct a descriptive study two sources of data
can be used, primary and secondary. In the present study
both primary and secondary sources were used in order to
arrive at conclusions and answers to the questions for the
purpose of developing a program for the mentally retarded
in Iran. The following is a summary of these sources.
Primary Sources
Primary sources are those which are provided by
actual witnesses to the incident in question (Mouly, 1970) .
Since a major concern of this study was the development
of a comprehensive program for mentally retarded in Iran,
the organizations responsible for running such a program
in Iran were contacted. These organizations were al
most exclusively sponsored by the government. Although
74
there were also a few scattered private organizations,
governmental agencies were chosen because they were the
best representatives of the existing situation.
Primary data published by the Ministry of Education,
Division of Special Education was most valuable in this
regard. Children Protective Society and Rehabilitation
Center publications were also used, since this government
agency is also a major element in running different pro
grams for normal and exceptional children in Iran. Publi
cations from the Plan and Budget Organization, and also
from the Institute of Scientific, Educational Research and
Programing were utilized.
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources have been defined as those where a
middleman has come between the original witness and the
present consumer in presenting the information (Mouly,
1970) .
For the purpose of conducting this investigation,
some secondary sources have also been used. Books, jour
nals, and newspapers in relation to the present subject
matter were utilized. Personal contact with the Director
General of Special Education Division provided useful in
formation in this matter, especially about the situation
of post-revoluationary era in Iran. Information was also
75
extracted from various publications of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the
UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Asia and Oceania
in this regard.
Expression of Data
Descriptive data may be expressed qualitatively,
in verbal symbols, and/or quantitatively, in numerical
symbols. The primary and secondary data utilized in this
study were extensive. To increase the clarity, comprehen
sion and comparability, summary tables are presented in
both qualitative and quantitative manner when justified.
76
CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION OF DATA
The extent to which mental retardation is recognized
and dealt with as a separate problem in any country depends
on a number of factors such as: the country’s general
level of development, the effectiveness of its educational
plans, the availability of social welfare services, the
demand and supply levels of human labor, the distribution
of labor, and the country’s stage of development in tech
nology. It has already been stated in previous chapters
that developing countries are relatively poor and have an
agricultural economy rather than having an industrial one
like some western countries. The planning of a comprehen
sive program in special education for the mentally retarded
will have to take these facts of underdevelopment into
consideration because financial, technical, and personnel
resources will not be available to deal with this problem
at the same level as they would be in a developed country.
It must therefore be emphasized that planning in Iran or
any other developing country has to be geared to that coun
try’ s resources and customs.
77
The amount of money being spent on the general edu
cation in the United States, Sweden, Iran and Pakistan
give the reader a direction as to where the special educa
tion programs are leading. In other words, special
education as part of general education is obviously de
pendent on the economic resources and manpower as well.
As shown in Figure 1 on page 79, Sweden has the highest
percentage expenditure for its general education among the
selected countries. It has been repeatedly stated that
there is almost no illiteracy in this country. Out of
the total Gross National Product, 7.9% is spent on general
education. The United States holds the second position
among the selected countries, spending 6.7% of its Gross
National Product (GNP) on general education. Further
down is Iran, spending 3.3%, and finally Pakistan spending
only 1.7% of their GNP on general education (UNESCO, 1973).
As a country’s general level of development, effect
iveness of its educational plans, the availability of
social welfare services, the demand and supply levels of
human labor, and the country’s stage of development in one
way or another relate to the level of general education, one
can picture that the financial limitations in developing
countries would block the development of their education
78
FIGURE; .1. ' '.Percentage of Gross National Product Spent on
Education Per Country in 1973.
79
of which special education is a part. As the result of
the financial resources and other related factors, the
special education programs for exceptional children, among
which are the mentally retarded, are not promising. This
is because education simply does not adequately serve the
general population, and the main emphasis is still being
put on the education of normal children.
The following section of this chapter will present
various stages of development in the countries involved
in this study. It will include the four variables of
philosophy, identification and admission procedures, voca
tional and educational programmings, and teacher training
for the mentally retarded. It is important to know that
each variable itself relates to the other factors such as
administration, which are important in planning a compre
hensive program for the retarded which will be discussed
briefly. As the result of discussion and comparison, a
comprehensive program for the mentally retarded in Iran
will be developed in the following chapter based on her
available resources and cultural heritage.
Philosophy
The International League of Societies for the Mentally
Handicapped issued a statement as a "Declaration of general
and special rights of the retarded" (Meyen, 1979). The
80
importance of such declaration.swas that the mentally re
tarded person has all the fundamental rights of any other
person of.his/her age and nationality. These rights may
be limited or abrogated only by lawful judicial process,
and the exercise of the rights must be protected by posi
tive assistance in the presence of handicapping conditions.
The specific rights to which the retarded person is en
titled consist of the following:
1. The right to live in the least restrictive
and most constructive circumstances that
the person's condition allows.
2. The right to exercise free choice either
directly or through a representative or
guardian, and to undergo the risks in
herent in freedom of choice.
3. The right to guardianship or other form of
protective advocacy.
4. The right to appropriate education and
training according to the developmental
level.
5. The right to freedom from discriminatory
restriction solely on the basis of mental
retardation.
6. The right to fair treatment in the courts
when accused of unlawful conduct.
7. The right to freedom from cruel and de
humanizing treatment.
8. The right to vote, and finally
9. The right to marry and to procreate
(Meyen, 1979, pp.136-137).
Above all, the rights to which the mentally retarded person
is entitled means that, "the mentally retarded person has
the right to respect."
It is imperative to note that the philosophy under
neath the special education for mentally retarded persons
to a great extent relates to the attitude of the general
81
population towards this group of exceptional children.
It is obvious that a better and more positive and construe
tive attitude will lead to better programming and stronger
concern. As it has appeared in one of the United Nations
publications (1974), the philosophy of such programs is
reflected in each country’s legislation concerning the
handicapped. Further, the legal basis given to special
education in some countries is not clearly defined. It
may even in a few cases appear imperative, or even non-"
existent, when related to quite significant practical ap
plication. There are still countries that do not have any
specific provision for the mentally retarded in their
constitutions or legislation of any kind. There are
places in this world where people view the mentally re
tarded as insane, strange, or having supernatural power.
Therefore, as long as such attitudes exist, one cannot ex
pect that mentally retarded individuals will get their
individual rights everywhere.
United States of America
Starting with the United States, the philosophy of
education for the handicapped is based on the premise that
handicapped children remain insofar as possible with
normal children and that they are not isolated from normal
schools. Legislation stipulates that their special needs
82
be met within this framework. School systems provide
special classes and services and the integration of the
handicapped with other students is a continuing process
(UNESCO, 1974).
It is believed that, in a very real sense, the mental
ly retarded are no different from the rest of the popula
tion. A total life concept of necessary services for
those of normal intelligence such as medicine, education,
psychology, sociology, anthropology, social work and reli-
gionVis also required by the mentally retarded. The
mentally retarded require attention from all of these di
verse fractions to an even greater degree (Chinn, Drew,
Logan, 19 79).
The Commission on Mental Retardation (1965) encompas
ses the view that each mentally retarded is an individual,
different from others, yet entitled to the same respect
for his dignity as a human being. The Commission also be
lieved that programs to meet the needs of these individuals
must be flexible and adaptable. Education and training
6
services should constitute a clearly defined area. Its
basic responsibility is to provide education and training
services for all residents deemed capable of benefiting
from such programs.
As early as 1958, Douglass stressed on dimensions and
elements of the emerging philosophy for the mentally ri• •
83
retarded individuals as follows:
1. Development of positive rather than negative
approaches to the group which are reflected
in a concept of their widest possible inclu
sion in the services generally available for
the entire population rather than their ex
clusion from such services.
2. Discarding of the notion of the simple group
ing of retardates in terms of high, middle,
and low mental ability as an outgrowth of
the increased knowledge, concerning the high
degree of their typological variability and
the fallability of intelligence tests as
measures of capability.
3. Growing acceptance of a concept of normal
progression in accordance with specific symp
tomatology, i.e. through recognition of the
limitations of the handicaps, defining as
"normal" that which may be reasonably ex
pected of the class within which the indivi
dual may be grouped.
4. Increased recognition of the vast range of
progressively successful psychological and oc
cupational adjustments possible despite some
mental needs, wishes, and desires.
5. The growing concept of community responsibility
for the provision of services designed to meet
the totality of needs of all who may require
them (p. 777) .
The goals of education generally support the principle
of providing every child with the opportunity to develop
to his/her fullest potential and to see his/her abilities
in a way which will bring him/her fulfillment and happi
ness .... .Principle as providing appropriate education to
individuals1 needs from the time of identification within
a setting which promotes maximum interaction with the
84
general school population (California Master Plan for
Special Education, 1974). In cases where mentally re
tarded should stay within an institution, education and
training programming should be conceived and conducted as
an integral part of the total institution-community effort
leading to the mental-emotional-physical-social and voca
tional growth of each resident (Commission of Mental Re-
gardation, 1965). In other words, the institutional life
for a mentally retarded should be brought as close as pos
sible to a normal way of living.
It is quite obvious that the mentally retarded are
being provided with a variety of services and being placed
where they can interact with normal children. It is
justifiable to say that positive attitudes towards the
mentally retarded and handicapped children in general have
promoted the initiation and improvement of various pro
grams for, and deep understanding of, the mentally re
tarded children based on a humanitarian philosophy. Men
tally retarded individuals are respected for what they are
and are being treated such as is their right. It is ob
vious that the quality of such programs will work for the
benefit of these children. In no way, though, does it
mean that all the mentally retarded in the United States
are getting adequate and proper services. The U.S. Office
of Education (USOE) estimates that nearly half of the
85
eight million handicapped children in the United States
between 3 and 21 years of age are receiving less than an
adequate education. Nearly one million are receiving no
education at all. In California alone children in many
schools are on waiting lists for special education because
of insufficient funds to accommodate all children who
qualify (California Master Plan, revised edition, 1980).
Statistics (UNESCO, 1973) show the number of children and
young people aged 5 to 21 receiving special education as
follows:
Mentally retarded
689,255 or 46% of the total in this category
Deaf and hard of hearing
61,903 or 22% of the total in this category
Speech impaired
1,026,631 or 48% of the total in this category
Visually handicapped
24,575 or 32% of the total in this category
Emotionally disturbed
105,471 or 13% of the total in this category
Crippled
: ,'68,685 or 22% of the total in this category
Other health impaired (including learning disabilities!
138,198 or 18% of the total in this category
Multiple handicap
24,238 or 27% of the total in this category
2,138,956 or 36% of all handicapped children.
Further, it is estimated that there are 5,961,268 children
in the same age group (5 to 21) who are in need of special
education. It follows that only 36% of the handicapped
children and young people are receiving the special educa
tion which they require. In spite of the shortcomings or
86
inadequacies of services for handicapped in generalland
mentally.'retarded in particular, when it comes to the
comparison of the provisions available for the mentally
retarded in selected countries, the United States holds
one of the higher positions.
Sweden
The philosophy of special education in Sweden has
established, in a way, that schools are concerned to help
overcome the handicapped and to train the child in living,
functioning and working with his or her difficulties, not
just in spite of them. It is believed that it is surely
a civil right to be ’ 'different” and yet belong to the com
munity in work, in contacts with friends and colleagues,
and in leisure activities. In other words, the philosophy
and the attitude towards these children initiate the con
cept of normalization. Based on this premise, great care
and attention is devoted in special schools to the task of
teaching the pupils to function with as little deviation
as possible from ordinary pupils. This is done based on
the belief that it makes it easier for the retarded indivi
duals, as adults, to function with self confidence and
security in their relationships with others (UNESCO, 1974).
In fact, the aim of education is to make the pupil as fit
for everyday life as possible and to adapt him/her socially
(Villeneuve, 1970).
87
As it has been mentioned previously, modern trends
in Swedish school policy concerning education of the handi
capped could be summarized in concepts of normalization,
integration, and flexibility.
Normalization signifies educating and training the
handicapped child to be a•functioning member of society,
accepted and adapted tosta life that is little different
from that of other members of the society. It is under
the notion of normalization that this popular Swedish
statement comes to focus: "The handicapped should have
the right to be different but not strange." Integration
and flexibility are also two other concepts that the
Swedish educational systems puts too much stress on. A
mentally retarded individual has to be placed within a
regular classroom or within other types of settings close
to any normal environment. Further, society is responsible
and should have a duty to provide alternatives for place
ment. If the specific class placement does not seem ap
propriate to the child’s needs, it must be possible to
place him/her for shorter or longer periods in an institu
tion where an expert team and other resources can be
augmented and where schooling, medical treatment and
boarding are all available (UNESCO, 1974).
The Swedish special education system is considered
one of the most advanced arid comprehensive systems in
88
the world. In fact, the Swedish Parliament reformed the
educational system of this country in 1962. In 1968, a
new act came into force: nThe Care for Mentally Retarded
Act.” Special education was provided for different cate
gories of handicapped children. It was following these
legislative actions that regulations for the mentally re
tarded were issued by the National Board of Education in
Sweden (UNESCO, 1974).
According to the existing educational provisions,
the emphasis is not only on the pedagogic aims of educa
tion as evaluated in terms of knowledge, skills and
achievement, but also on the social and emotional develop
ment of the child. These criteria are incorporated into
general education as well as special education. The aim is
to offer each individual student a course of study that
suits his/her particular aptitudes and needs and gives
him/her=an opportunity to perform according to his/her
ability. This aim is embodied in the curricula of the 9
year compulsory school in Sweden and is also valid for
special teaching. It implies the creation of better op
portunities in the school system as a whole for children
and young people with some sort of special difficulties or
handicaps. Nowadays, special education in Sweden is a
part of the general education as one of the elements de
signed to make it possible for all pupils, including the
handicapped, to benefit by access ’ vfco learning or training.
89
An overall description of the philosophy within the
Swedish educational system indicates that a mentally re
tarded individual has the right to enjoy a full course of
normal life. Therefore, it is considered the responsibili
ty of society to provide the necessary services for health,
training and education for these children at no cost. This
way of thinking in Sweden is very similar to the United
States, and in some respects it is even more expanded.
This is due to the public attitude towards the mentally re
tarded. For example, in several occasions it is indicated
that there is no policy in Sweden to keep the sexes sepa
rate, it is strongly believed that it is part of the
normal life (Clark and Jane, 1970).
Such positive and constructive attitudes have opened
the way to a better and more comprehensive program for
these children. They have a right to be different, and
only different but not strange, and can have all the
privileges as human beings like any other citizens.
It is to believed that, just as the school system
follows the dynamic evolution of society, so does educa
tion of the handicapped. They are considered as individu
als who have a right to: 1) be different, 2) share in
ordinary education, 3) work in normal surroundings, 4)
leisure, 5) continuing education, 6) choose and, 7) auto
nomy (UNESCO, 19 74).
90
Iran
It appears that the sole basis of special education
is the Act on Compulsory Education of August 5th, 1943.
Articlee II of this act calls for the creation of special
schools for handicapped and mentally retarded and stipu
lates that the Ministry of Education shall train these
children in accordance with a settled program, teaching
them crafts, industrial trades, and agricultural skills.
Under the Act of 1943 schooling is compulsory for handi
capped children as for all others, although shortage of
revenue and competent staff to teach and train such chil
dren have delayed the achievement of this goal. It is
believed that the aim of special education is not differ
ent from ordinary education. The goal of all educational
and rehabilitational work for the handicapped child or
adult is to enable him/her to fulfill his/her personal
potential, and so enrich his/her private life, and to pre
pare him/her for an active, independent, responsible
existence as an integral part of his/her family, occupa
tional group, community, country and the community of
nations (UNESCO, 1977). Normal curricula is modified ac
cording to the kind and degree of impairment (visual dis
ability, mental retardation), which means adding or
strengthening certain educational services or omitting
certain subjects and activities.
91
The philosophy underneath the special education for
the handicapped seems favorable, although its application
is questionable. The key concept in the formation of the
philosophy of special education in Iran has also indicated
that normalization and integration should be the main
focus of services. As Ahy (1977) puts it, there is not
yet total integration within this system. This is mainly
due to the lack of financial resources, trained personnel,
unfavorable attitudes of the general population and their
lack of knowledge concerning the true status of mental re
tardation common to developing countries. So far, accord
ing to what Nadjafian (1981) indicates, attempts to main
stream the retarded children have not been successful.
The retarded lost his/her enthusiasm to work within the
regular classroom. Consequently, this affected his/her
self confidence and dignity. Nadjafian strongly believes
that this is due to the lack of knowledge about the
handling of the retarded children on the part of the
regular classroom teachers and also on other normal chil-
ren.
As Lundstrom (1970) stated, the policy of special
education in Iran followed by the Department of Special
Education is equal to modern policies in the area of
special education in other countries. It is based on a
deep psychological knowledge of the problem involved,
92
connected with a scientifically based approach to this
problem. The extent to which it applies, however, is
based on several factors existing within developing coun
tries, each playing an important role. The existing
literature seems favorable regarding the education of the
mentally retarded, yet observant eyes can see that the
system is not working properly to serve the mentally re
tarded.
Pakistan
In Pakistan, the policy and philosophy underneath the
special education program for exceptional children and
mentally retarded in particular is almost the same as in
other western and developed countries. The variables
contributing to the applicability of the so-called philo
sophy is also similar all over, especially among the
developing nations. Lack of resources of any kind would
block the application of this philosophy. The policy is
formed to initiate appropriate services. To what extent
it is used in reality depends on several factors.
Jaffad (1974) states that special education for the
mentally retarded in Pakistan is based on the premise that,
the handicapped has the same general needs as other growing
and developing individuals. He/she has the right of access
to the best medical diagnosis and treatment, allied
93
therapeutic services, nursing and social services, educa
tional, vocational preparation and employment. The
mentally retarded should be treated equally like the
others and be integrated within the community as much as
possible.
Pakistan, as a relatively poor underdeveloped coun
try, is facing even more acute shortages of all kinds.
Public attitude toward the mentally retarded is not so
positive and constructive as to promote integrated services
ices. To plan a program for the mentally retarded in such
countries requires much effort in promoting a broad
public relations program.
Mentally retarded individuals, as Jaffad (1974) ex
plains, all have the right to be provided with the wide
range of life experiences essential to their optimum
development which should be done within the most favor
able environment closest to normal life. To achieve such
goals, strong public relations and involvement of all the
agencies in the Pakistani communities should be greatly
emphasi zed.
It seems that the favorable and positive attitude
toward the mentally retarded and the philosophy underneath
such programs in western and developed countries has been
a blueprint for other underdeveloped nations to follow.
It has also been shown that several of these services
94
based on such philosophies have failed to provide the so-
called "proper services" for the mentally retarded. There
are still other problems and obstacles existing specifical
ly in developing countries for education of mentally re
tarded persons that make it unjustifiable to follow other
developed nations’ philosophies and programs. There are
other important areas that should be recognized and
studied thoroughly before the integration of and educa
tional programs for the handicapped would succeed. Until
such important steps are taken, the education for the
mentally retarded will not work towards the benefit of
these children and the surrounding population.
Identification and Admission Procedures
for the Mental Retarded
United States of America
It is strongly believed that continuous referral and
screening are two major components of any comprehensive
program for mentally retarded. To identify a mentally
retarded child is probably the first and most important
step toward the education of these children. As the Com
mission on Mental Retardation (1965) suggests, in order to
make a proper provision for the children needing special
educational services, the school must identify those who
are underprivileged, the slow learners and the mentally
95
retarded. In this regard the state makes financial as
sistance available to school districts to inaugurate sys
tematic and periodic surveys to locate and effectively
identify these children.
According to the American Association of Mental Defi
ciency (Hebery, 1961), mental retardation refers to sub
average general intellectual functioning which originates
during the developmental period and is associated with im
pairment in adaptive behavior. Based on this definition,
eligibility for placement in special classes for the
mentally retarded is determined by the behavioral charac
teristics of the child as well as his/her IQ score. An
IQ score alone cannot be used as the criterion for de
termining eligibility. Following this policy, public
schools are concerned with both the learning ability and
the social adaptive ability of the pupil.
Hanson and Shyrock (1974) indicate that the referral
procedures start with various kinds of evaluations. The
individual evaluation for referral is usually made by one
of the following: 1) teacher who has instructional respon
sibility for the pupil; 2) the pupils’ parents, guardian,
or authorized representative; 3) principal, vice principal,
counselor or other school official; 4) school nurse,
social worker; and finally, 5) pupils and physicians. In
formal assessment takes the next step. The school
96
psychologist is usually responsible for such an evalua
tion through classroom and play observation, review of
the pupil’s recent work, consultation with teacher and
other school personnel, and finally discussion with
parents and pupil. Individual case study is set forth in
Education Code Section 6902.085 which indicates that no
pupil shall be placed in a special education program for
the mentally retarded unless a complete psychological
examination by a credentialled school psychologist inves
tigating such factors as developmental history, cultural
background and school achievement substantiates the re
tarded intellectual development indicated by the individu
al test scores. This examination shall also include
estimates of adaptive behavior. The individual case
study will usually include materials about: educational
history, developmental and health history, intellectual
ability, cognitive development, language development,
adaptive behavior, self-concept, assessment of basic
skills, and outline of educational objectives which is
based on both cognitive as well as intellectual abilities
of the pupil.
The admissions committee will then decide as to where
the child has to be placed. The committee analyzes the
complete case study of each pupil being recommended for
assignment to a special program for the mentally retarded.
97
The eligibility for the placement in the special program
will be determined according to the results of the indivi
dual case study accompanied by all the other available
information. The committee decides that the pupil is
ineligible^for placement in special education for the
mentally retarded; is fit for an integrated program of
instruction; should be placed for trainable mentally re
tarded; be placed in another special education program
which is more appropriate; or finally, the child has to
be referred for more psychological and educational evalua
tions for placement.
It is imperative to note that no assignment and
placement should be considered permanent. This is due to
the belief that mental retardation is a dynamic state, as
one might be considered retarded at one time but not the
other. According to this premise, the admission committee
must annually review all pupils enrolled in special pro
grams for the mentally retarded.
It has been repeatedly indicated that identification,
assessment and admission are all part of a comprehensive
program for mentally retarded. California Master Plan for
Special Education (1974) indicates that systematic pro
cedures should be developed for the referral of exception
al children by teachers, parents, agencies, and appropriate
ate professionals. Further, at least two levels of
98
identification, assessment, and instructional planning
should be included such as, School Appraisal Team (SAT),
and Education Assessment Service (EAS). If the parents
of a retarded are not satisfied with the evaluation of
their child at the first level (SAT) or if the pupil’s
problem is not resolved, then the second phase of evalua
tion begins. This evaluation committee consists of pro
fessional specialists representing health, psychology,
social work, language services, .management services and
diagnosis. The committee would add recommendations or
adjust the placement or program.
The structure of the whole procedure of referral,
identification and admission according to the revised
edition of Master Plan in California (1980) is as follows:
1. Referral and referral analysis
2. Parent notification
3. Information gathering
4. School Appraisal Team (SAT) and assessment
by Educational Assessment Services (EAS)
5. Individualized educational program (IEP)
6. Enrollment in special programs
7. Ongoing review of pupil progress
According to the rules that the Master Plan of California
■r
(1974) laid out, the material for identification and as
sessment should not be racially, culturally, or sexually
discriminatory. Tests have to be administered in pupil
language by a trained professional. They should be
validated for the specific purpose for which they are
used. No single procedure is allowed to be used as the
99
sole criterion for determining an appropriate educational
program for an individual. Further, the pupil is assessed
in all areas related to the suspected disability, includ
ing health and development, vision, hearing, motor abili
ties, language function, general ability, academic per
formance, and social and emotional status. The assessment
is made by a multidisciplinary group of persons.
After all, it seems that the whole process of identi
fication, assessment and placement of the retarded indivi
dual forms the main basis for the educational programming
of the mentally retarded. The active participation of
different professionals in identification and assessment
appears to be a definite part. This way the identifica
tion and placement will come about as the active parti
cipation of several disciplines and broad informational
indices.
It is important to note that each state within the
United States may have its own policy regarding the
identification and admission of the mentally retarded
individuals. The common theme appears to be the multi-
disciplinary approach toward this matter. A mentally re
tarded individual is no longer viewed through one channel,
but is viewed and evaluated through several disciplines.
One would be justified to say that in this way the mental
ly retarded will be studied more thoroughly and will be
provided with better and more appropriate services.
100
Sweden
Identification of the mentally retarded seems to have
a very crucial place in special education settings in
Sweden. It is required by law that school authorities
report any congenitally blind, deaf, or mentally retarded
children to the nearest special school or class. Medical
examinations are carried out and psychological group tests
are usually made with the pupils before they start
schooling (UNESCO, 1974). The screening procedures are
initiated only with the consent of parents who must be
kept informed of the results of each of the examinations.
These consist of multidisciplinary exams such as medical,
psychological and educational (UNESCO, 1971).
According to the Swedish system, it is quite clear
that the initial educational work with handicapped of all
kinds should preferably, and even necessarily, start
earlier than age seven. Accordingly, there is great co
operation between educational and medical authorities and
agencies in identifying very young handicapped children.
A system of welfare centers for mothers and their chil
dren offer medical supervision and health guidance to
families with newborn babies. According tb©the United
Nations Report (1971) nearly all children up to one year
derive advantages from these free services which have
given Sweden the lowest percentage of infant mortality.
101
Not only is a great deal of attention given to health
and physical development, but also to prevention, detec
tion and treatment of different diseases, with special at
tention being paid to hearing, sight, and mental hygiene.
In 1968 it was proposed by an expert committee that the
regional medical authorities should start health super
vision for 4-year-old children as a follow-up to the
mother and the child. The guiding principle for this
work was to ensure general supervision of all children and
continuous supervision and follow-up action in the case of
handicapped children.
It is apparent that the main objective in relation to
identification is the early diagnosis of mental retarda
tion. In this regard, Swedish Association of Parents of
Mentally Retarded Children is doing outstanding work in
cooperation with medical and school authorities by giving
information, support and advice to parents. This en
courages them to seek help as early as possible, and also
influences public opinion to take a positive interest in
these children. In fact, personnel are professionally
trained to detect signs of retardation and are supplied
with the necessary equipment to be able to screen the bulk
of the population of very young children at an early
stage. The arrangement has been made in the schools that
the local education authorities are responsible for
102
organizing regular medical exams for children from the
age of two onward (UNESCO, 1971).
The school authorities and social and health services
have major responsibility for identification and place
ment of retarded children. As soon as the child is
registered in school, the school health officers take over
responsibility for health supervision, including special
supervision of handicapped children. As a result, a
proper placement for the child is identified (UNESCO,
1974). The placement decision is usually made by the
principal of the school, and becomes effective if the
parents agree. In cases where they do not agree, it is
referred for arbitration to the local school board and, if
the parents so wish, to the regional school board, which
makes the final decision (UNESCO, 1971) .
Throughout Scandinavia, minimum regard is paid to
IQs. The stress is put mainly on social adjustment, as in
the schools less emphasis is placed on teaching academic
subjects than on activities for daily living (ADL). The
obvious purpose of this is to prepare as many retarded as
possible for assimilation into community living. Conse
quently, a great deal of attention is paid to social
adjustment when identifying a mentally retarded child
(Clark and Jane, 1970).
In cases of more severe retardation, admission to a
103
suitable institution is decided on by a special board set
up to deal with this category. If there is any objection
on the part of the parents, the case is referred to a
decision committee (UNESCO, 1971) .
Iran
The matter of identification and placement of
mentally retarded persons seems to be among the most
serious problems in educating these individuals. In Iran,
screening and individual assessment is seriously lacking.
The identification of the retarded is mainly based on mere
observations such as pupil performance in classroom, play
ground or on the job (in the case of vocational evalua
tion) . As in the United Nations Report (1974), some coun
tries, among them Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Nigeria,,
would appear to still rely on rule-of-thumb identification
without any legislative background. In most of these
countries, however, identification does not occur until
the opening stage of primary schooling. It is usually
carried out within the school orbit and rests on an exam
ination of the child by technicians (doctors, psychos?,
metrists, social assistance, if there is any) undertaken
at the request of the headmaster or occasionally of the
parents. Information is lacking most in the identifica
tion of handicapped children, their assignment and
104
admission to special schools and their study programs.
In Iran, there is no screening, as such, of any kind.
Only those with obvious handicaps, (blind, deaf, severely
mentally retarded, severely physically handicapped) in
whose cases the impossibility of normal schooling soon be
comes apparent to their families, can find places. The
mildly retarded children are referred for special place
ment only after they fail for several years in one grade,
if they do not drop out voluntarily. Further lack of
proper intelligence, psychological, and vocational tests
make the identification procedures very difficult and
inadequate. This is mainly due to the fact that psycho
logical and intelligence tests cannot simply be translated
into other languages and, because of the lack of profes
sionals, these tests cannot be restandardized to fit this
particular culture (Ahy, 1977). The problem does not end
at this point. Since Iran is a multicultural country with
different ethnic groups and subcultures with different
customs and languages, one set of standard tests cannot
be used.
The severity of the handicap must be great in order
to be recognized by mere observation. As mentioned by
Sarason and Gladwin (1959), in non-European societies
mental retardation appears generally to be no serious
problem, the mentally retarded have to be fairly severe in
105
degree or defect before they require special attention.
Mildly retarded individuals usually remain disguised until
eventually absorbed into the larger society. Even in
cases of slightly more than mildly retarded, the child re
mains in the same grade with the hope that he/she will
pass the next year. He/she is being considered as lazy
or stubborn or someone who daydreams all day. It is in
dicated that where yearly grade promotion is the norm,
children retained in one grade achieve less the second
year than they did the first, seldom catching up as ex
pected (Dobbs, 1965; Kraus, 1973). Such cases usually end
up repeating one grade for several years without getting
any kind of special help or will drop out of the school.
According to the UNESCO Report (1974), children in
Iran are usually classified under the medical criteria.
This indicates that children are categorized according to
their physical handicap or other medical ailment rather
than their educational needs. The educable mentally re
tarded does not have any place in the system as far as
his/her educational needs are concerned.
In his letter dated April, 1981, Nadjafian, the
Director General of Special Education, stated that there
is no adequate and proper test for identification of
mentally retarded. There are only a few private and public
lie institutions in Tehran which use some type of IQ
106
tests. These tests are mainly a translated version of
the existing intelligence tests in other western coun
tires. The situation for other types of tests is even
worse. IQ tests are the major devices for identification
without the accompanied scores on social adaptability and
psychological tests. Nadjafian (1981) elaborates further
and explains that there is no nationwide screening or
procedure for identification of children before school age
let alone at the school entrance stage. They are lucky
if they are suspected by an observant teacher or parent
or physician. In other cases they are referred by parents
or even the teacher out of frustration rather than a deep
knowledge of the existing problem.
It is apparent that there is no clear cut procedure
for identification and placement of mentally retarded in
dividuals in Iran. A few scattered programs for mentally
retarded mainly in Tehran and other parts of the country
follow their own line as far as their commitment allows.
It seems that the problem of identification and placement
of mentally retarded, especially educable retarded, should
be dealt with seriously. Without it mild to moderate
mentally retarded persons will not be recognized and
placed appropriately.
107
Pakistan
The situation for mentally retarded in Pakistan is
no better than the situation for the mentally retarded in
Iran. There have been a few scattered pilot projects re
ported initiating programs for mentally retarded. Within
this ground there have been attempts in developing various
tests measuring different types of disability. Tests such
as motor tests, mental tests, psychological tests, and
personal adjustment tests were selected. Care was taken
to use mainly tests requiring a minimal amount of verbal
skills, such as Peabody non-language test, Purdue non
language test, and Lorge Thorndike Intelligence test
(Jaffad, 1974) . Due to lack of sufficient resources
(personal, financial) the programs for exceptional chil
dren in general and for mentally retarded in particular
have not achieved their goals. Tests are almost the
translated version of existing tests in developed countries;
and are not standardized based on the culture of Pakistan.
There is no nationwide screening procedure for identifica
tion of retardates. Mentally retarded are usually re
ferred to special schools or institutions by a friend,
physician or parent of the retarded. Early diagnosis and '
screening is not available whatsoever and the general
public attitude toward mentally retarded is not favorable.
The public is usually ignorant of such problems. Most
108
cases of mental retardation remain disguised, except those
of a severe type.
Concepts and classifications of mental retardation
in developing countries differ from those in the United
States. As Hilliard (1962) states, the measure of mental
deficiency in a community is related to its predominant
educational and social levels. Telford and Sawrey (1967)
suggest that special education programs framed for the
educable mentally retarded or slow learner^in the United
States result from that nation’s strong emphasis on the
value of education for every child. A child in the United
States who may be classified as "educable mentally re
tarded" or "slow learner." would constitute no problem in
the primitive and probably agricultural economy of a
developing country. In a developing country children
work alongside their illiterate parents on the farms and
are confronted with few demands on their intelligence.
This might be even more true in Pakistan as compared to
Iran due to its great dependence on agriculture. A plan
in developing countries should be guided by the cultural
priorities, social values, economic structure, and educa
tional status of the country.
The cultural attache of Pakistan was also contacted
in February, 1981 at the time of data collection for this
study. Unfortunately, the reply did not provide much
109
information. It was mentioned that the accurate statistic
about the incidence of mental retardation is not avail
able. This is mainly due to the fact that so many of
these casesaare not identified and reported. This in
itself strengthens the fact that education for the mental
ly retarded, which begins with identification, is not
adequate and is poorly served.
Teacher Training
United States of America
As it has been suggested by the Commission on Mental
Retardation, training should be provided for all employees
of special education to acquaint them with the history,
purpose, philosophy and organizational structure of the
educational system for the mentally retarded (1965).
There are four types of training for teachers of
mentally retarded. There is preliminary university train
ing, inservice training, inservice training of ordinary
teachers so that they can better teach a handicap who is
integrated in Ordinary class, and finally training educa
tional aids to work under the direction of professional
personnel (UNESCO, 1976).
The training, appointment and remuneration of
specialized teachers are all under the control of the
state education departments or of the local education
110
boards, on the same ground as their colleagues in regular
education. Teacher training institutions are either at
tached to the universities or independent, and are found
throughout the country. Some are financed by the states,
others by private resources (UNESCO, 19 74) .
Within the area of teacher training, inservice
training is strongly emphasized. It should be made avail
able for all employees (within the school and institution)
requiring extensive technical training and experience..
(Commission on Mental Retardation, 1965). Inservice
training for all instructional staff should be designed
and implemented by a group that includes classroom
teachers, the principal and other school employees. Class-
teachers should constitute the majority of the group. The
training should include a diversity of activities, it
should be regularly scheduled during the year, and the
content should be evaluated and modified on a continuing
basis (Riles, 1980).
The training programs usually include courses in
learning theory and practice teachings, special education
methods and materials, educational diagnosis and remedia
tion, and courses involving interdisciplinary work. Fur
ther, each state determines its own certification require
ments for teachers of the retarded and salaries are de
termined by the local school authorities. In most cases,
111
they are determined according to the level of training and
the experience of the teachers concerned (UNESCO, 1976).
Itkhas been stressed that employees or the teachers
of the handicapped should be free of any characterological
pathology (Commission on Mental Retardation, 1965).
Mackie, Williams and Dunn (1964) indicate that there are
certain personal qualifications that a teacher of a
mentally retarded individual should possess. He/she
should be genuinely interested in the mentally retarded
and have a high level of acceptance of the limited capaci
ties of the mentally retarded children to conform to the
educational and social standards generally set by the
school and the community. Further, the teacher must have
a high degree of appetite, ingenuity and originality in
providing and adapting materials and methods to the
various levels and types of mentally retarded. Curiosity
about the learning characteristics of the mentally retard
ed and knowledge of current literature and research deal
ing with mentally‘retarded should also be considered. An
understanding of the characteristics of the mentally re
tarded and his/her placement in society, development of
a functional curriculum, and application of pedagogical
procedures based on the known learning characteristics
and personal and social needs of mentally retarded are
among the most important qualifications of the teacher
112
of mentally retarded.
Sweden
Special teacher training is only available for those
applicants who have qualified as rggular teachers. Admis
sion also involves the completion of three years of
service as a teacher. The former short courses of train
ing have been replaced, as a result of a decision made in
1962, by long courses provided in teacher training univer
sities. The length of this training varies from one year
to two years according to the courses selected. The last
half-year of the two year course is, in most cases, re
served for teachers intending to work in special schools.
For inservice training, courses of 3 to 8 weeks are usually
provided. The normal training comprises 4 main subject
areas and great stress is laid on their interdependence.
Teachers should be knowledgeable about pedagogical, meth
odological and practical aspects of teaching (UNESCO,
1971) .
The content of training for teachers of the mentally
retarded consists of psychometrics, intelligence testing
practice, theories and classification of mental retarda
tion, contributions of neuro-psychiatry and psycho-analys
is, adapted teaching methods, and psychomotor training
(UNESCO, 1974).
113
Training courses stress that prospective teachers
should be made familiar with and be given the opportunity
to practice such methods of training, approaches and aids
as can be used in promoting learning on the part of the
mentally retarded. They should be able to adapt the
methods and teaching matter to the needs and capacities
of the retarded pupil. The prospective teachers are
also trained to analyze the learning situation of indivi
dual pupils, and set up training and t e a c h i n g.prog rams
suitable to their individual needs. The greatest emphasis
is put on the coordination between pedagogic methods and
practical work. Theories presented under pedagogic are
followed up and made concrete under methods and applied in
practical work (UNESCO, 1974).
Because of desegregation and strong emphasis on
normalization, special education has to be an integral
part of everyday teacher training. As the result of this,
ordinary teachers also have knowledge and background on
handicapping conditions. Through the permanent system of
teacher training, the system encourages the idea of view
ing the child as a subject and not as an object. The
child is recognized as a part of the family and society.
More emphasis is also laid on the child’s strengths rather
than his/her weaknesses. Attempt is made in narrowing
the gap between practice and theory, as the practical
114
validity of the theories would take priority. Such serv
ices in Sweden are given in special institutions which
form part of a university or are linked to the university
in one way or another.
Iran
In some countries, permanent teacher training courses
are provided, and in others, occasional training. Iran
falls into the later category. It was in 1968 that a
teacher training center under the authority of the
Ministry of Education was founded. This training center
was provided mainly for regular teachers (Nadjafian, 1981).
In 1973 the Children Protective Society provided teacher
training courses also for those prospective teachers of
mentally retarded. Teachers in other cities of the
country usually have to go to Tehran for this training,
since such a facility is only available in this city.
(Children Protective Society, 1973). The content of
teacher training usually consists of knowledge about
child development, speech and therapy, sensorimotor devel
opment and training, measurement and testing, adapting
the instructional materials and educational aids, practi
cal teaching approaches for mentally retarded and in the
subject areas of reading and math. As Nadjafian (1981)
elaborates, there is no inservice training for all regular
115
teachers and this is one of the main reasons for main-
streaming failure. There are very few teacher training
courses at the university level leading to a baccalaureate
degree. There have been only two universities in Tehran,
Mottahedin and Tavanbakhshi, which provide courses for
education of handicapped leading to a baccalaureate degree
since 19 76.
The teacher training services overall do not adequate-
lysserve the prospective teachers of mentally retarded.
They are either too short or not broad enough to familiar
ize the applicants with the problem of mental retardation.
Special teacher training centers are so rare and scattered
that not many interested people can get training and ex
perience. Although a high school diploma is required, in
some instances those who do not even have a high school
diploma might enter the training. This is due to insuf
ficient applicants and the great demand for teachers of
exceptional children. These trainees will work as aids
to the teachers of special classrooms. Lack of qualified
personnel, primarily teachers, is one of the most crucial
variables in the education of the mentally retarded.
Until the system can provide enough qualified teachers,
the mentally retarded will not receive proper training.
In fact, having qualified and knowledgeable personnel is
the nucleus of any comprehensive program for the mentally
retarded.
116
Pakistan
It is indicated that the greatest obstacles in the
implementation of a program for the retarded in Pakistan
has been the difficulty of obtaining qualified teachers
and other specialized personnel. Usually the majority of
those working with retarded children have no specialized
training and experience working with the retardates in any
organized program, either within an institution or within
the school setting (Jaffad, 1974).
As Jaffad elaborates further, centers for training
teachers of the handicapped and mentally retarded in
particular are few. There are occasional and short term
training courses mainly provided in a few large cities.
Common to developing countries, others from different
cities have to go to those centers to get the required
training. These training courses are either offered with
in a university or in an institution where these appli
cants have to work. The training usually lasts between
4 to 10 months for special education teachers, agricultur
al workshop teachers, psychologists and school nurses.
The personnel, through training, are provided with an
overview of problems and characteristics unique to mental
ly retarded and also provided with adequate knowledge
about materials and methods to be employed with them.
Further skills in curriculum development and modification,
117
diagnosis and placement are strongly emphasized.
In Pakistan, no training whatsoever is provided for
regular teachers to familiarize them with the problem of
handicapped children. The inservice training is only
provided for teachers of mentally retarded as refresher
courses to acquaint them with up-to-date materials and
methods.
Pakistan is not an exception among the developing
countries that face several serious obstacles in dealing
with retarded individuals. Here the shortage of qualified
personnel also seems the greatest and according to the
available meager information, the teacher training system
is far from adequate.
Educational and Vocational Programming
for Mentally Retarded
United States of America
The Bureau of the Education and Training of the
Handicapped is responsible for the education of the re
tarded individuals. This bureau is a part of the Office
of Education which is a unit of the Federal Department
of Health, Education, and Welfare.
School attendance is governed by the legislature of
each particular state. Handicapped children may be exempt
from the obligation to attend school if, after-medical and
118
psychological tests, it is found that there are noisuit-
able provisions for their special treatment. Educational
programs are provided for the handicapped in different
types of settings according to their individual needs.
Various types of services are shown in the following
chart at the various levels of pre-primary, primary,
secondary (if applicable) and in vocational settings.
Regular classroom with consultation r i
Regular classroom with supplementary teach
ing or treatment
Regular classroom with resource room service
Part time special class
Full time special class
Special day school
Residential school
Hospital school
Hospital and treatment centers
Types of services at various levels of pre-primary,
primary and secondary.
These services at various levels are given to the
handicapped and mentally retarded when it is appropriate.
At pre-primary levels, the service is given within a
nursery or pre-school setting. Primary education in the
case of non-handicapped ends at the age of 12, but for the
119
handicapped continues until the age of 14. Further, the
class size for the more severely mentally retarded at this
level is 8 to 12, and 12 to 15 for the milder types. The
curriculum is adapted to the capacities and needs of the
individual handicapped child, and stress is laid on the
necessary compensation and correction, the use of appro
priate materials and communication. In every case, the
handicapped child requires individual guidance to help
him/her in personal adjustment,(UNESCO, 1971).
Vocational training plays a major role in the educa
tion of the mentally retarded. American society places
great emphasis on each person’s ability to contribute to
the society at large. Even people with conditions like
mental retardation are not exempt from this social re
quirement (Pane and Patton, 1981) . Historically speaking,
from the time of Edward Sequin in the 1850Ts to Richard
Hungerford in the 1960's and finally to the present
concern over career education, workers in the field of
mental retardation have recognized the need to prepare
each mentally retarded person to be a contributing member
of society. In fact, in the 18 50’s, Edward Sequin firmly
stated that occupational preparation should have a place
in educational programs. A century later, Richard Hunger
ford outlined a comprehensive program of vocational edu
cation. His program, entitled "Occupational Education,"
120
was designed to build vocational and competence skills,
the program included occupational education, vocational
training and vocational placement (Hungerford, Deproso
and Rosensweig, 1968).
Career education for all children became a national
priority in 1971, when the United States Commission of
Education’s Sidney P. Marland called attention to the in
sufficient preparation of the nation’s youth for careers
beyond high school. Marland (1971) described career edu
cation as embodying 3 basic points:
1. Career education is needed by all students,
regardless of whether they will eventually
work in a sheltered workshop or local plant
or go to college.
2. Career education should occur throughout the
educational career of the individual, start
ing in kindergarten and continuing into
adulthood.
3. Career education is meant to give the indivi
dual a start in making a living (pp.9-11).
Consequently, these postulations about career educa
tion seem to have implications for the mentally retarded.
Since a person assumes varying roles through life, and
these roles are a function of both the social system and
the person’s experiences, it is imperative that mentally
retarded students have educational opportunities that
allow them to learn to assume different roles in society.
It is essential to view the person as a whole, and it is
only by considering the varied aspects of a person’s
121
present circumstances and his/her probable future circum
stances that effective education can be implemented. Thus
career education for mentally retarded will require a
knowledge of each individual’s career strengths, as well
as weaknesses. Further placement in real vocationalisitua-
tions is a vital part of education for each student. This
situation is no less necessary for the mentally retarded.
After all, the mentally retarded like any other person has
a right to an education suited to his/her needs and capat
bilities (Pane and Patton, 1981) .
So far the most comprehensive career education model
that has been developed to date is described by Brolin
and Kokaska (1979). This is a three dimensional model
consisting of areas of competencies, experiences, and
different stages. In this model, 22 major competencies
are clustered into 3 curriculum areas, such as: daily
living skills, personal-social skills, occupational guid
ance and preparation. Students can develop each competen
cy during the four career education stages such as:
career awareness, career exploration, career preparation,
placement and follow up. As the students pass through
these stages, they should become increasingly able to
assume the many roles that will be required of them at
school, within the family, and in the community. During
the career awareness stage the child is exposed to several
122
occupational areas asffollows:
1 . Construction occupation.
2 . Manufacturing occupation.
3. Transportation„
4. Agri-business and natural resources occupation
5. Marine science occupation.
6. Environmental occupation
7. Business and office occupation
8. Marketing and distribution occupation
9. Communication and medical occupation
10. Hospitality and recreation occupation
11. Personal services
12. Public services
13. Health occupation
14. Consumer and home-making occupation
15. Fine arts and humanities occupation
Later, in the career exploration stage the child’s inter
ests and skills against the demand of any specific job are
measured. The elementary school years usually encompass
these two stages. In career preparation stage, the child
learns the actual competencies required in the chosen
area of work and finally placement on the actual job will
follow. It is apparent that in the last two stages of the
program much cooperation between the school and the com
munity is needed.
123
As Smith and Payne (1980) suggest, every program in
career education should have objectives, counselling
services and distinct stages where a specific vocational
skill is to be developed. They stress that a first priori
ity for the comprehensive career preparation program is
the development of a set of program objectives which
should be flexible in each program due to individual
characteristics. The vocational education for the educail
ble mentally retarded follows almost the same line. Pre
sented below are the different phases in the special edu
cation-work study program for the mildly retarded within
the school setting (Payne and Patton, 1981):
Follow up
Vocational placement
Vocational training
Vocational evaluation
Vocational exploration
The true goal of education and rehabilitation of the
mentally retarded is to help each one make the most of
his/her potential to work and actively participate in the
affairs of his/her community, no matter how limited his/
her potential may be (Stevens, 1964). According to the
Commission on Mental Retardation (1965), to achieve a
124
smooth transition for retarded adolescents from public
schooling to work training, it is desireable to provide
vocational training while the youngster is still attending
school. The study commission also recommends that the
Department of Education should work with the Department of
Rehabilitation to obtain federal funds to implement work
experience, education and occupational training programs.
Prevocational training should begin in the school years.
Transitional training machinery should be developed so
that, years before the retarded youngster graduates from
special education, the community is aware of his/her
potential and his/her limitations and is preparing to help
him/her move along to the next stage. Therefore, school
and rehabilitation resources must work together. Rehabil
itation counselors and employment specialists should be in
regular consultation. The Department of Employment directs
its local offices to be alert for job opportunities for
retarded workers, and to provide special services as neces
sary, working cooperatively with rehabilitation counselors
to insure that retarded workers are placed in appropriate
jobs and are helped to succeed.
The Commission on Mental Retardation (1965) elaborates
further that the first step in successful counseling and
placement involves determining the vocational potential of
the retarded individual. This may call for a complete
125
diagnostic review, job sampling and specialized tests.
Then, as the individual capabilities become apparent, there
should be a range of community resources to which he/she
might go such as training center, activity center,
sheltered workshops (transitional or terminal) or competi
tive employment with minimal supervision. It has always
been stressed th&t a sound program for developing employ
ment opportunities for the retarded must take into account
the range of their capabilities and limitations. It must
include identifying jobs which could be performed satis
factorily by particular groups of the retarded, identifying
the conditions under which a satisfactory performance can
take place. Training the retarded for employment could
then be closely tailored to help each one prepare for
specific job opportunities that promise satisfactory and
permanent employment in a particular community.
After all, vocational education is a major part of the
education of the mentally retarded, who has a right to live
his/her life in a normal way.
Sweden
The supervision of special education is provided at
the national level by the Ministry of Education (National
Board of Education), at the regional level by the -Regipnal
Board of Education, and at the local level by the local
126
school boards. However, the supervision of arrangement
made for the benefit of the mentally retarded (IQ of 70 or
below) is entrusted to the Ministry of Social Welfare (the
National Board) and to the social welfare boards. Accord
ing to the report of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (1971), the organiza
tion of special education is shown in Figure 2 on page 128.
Retarded individuals are usually placed in regular
schools and given complementary lessons in regular classes
or in special classes within the regular schools. Mentally
retarded are also placed in special schools organized at
different levels of pre-primary schools, primary and
secondary schools and vocational settings.
Pre-primary schools consist of special nursery schools
supplemented by a government financed system of visiting
home teachers. Plans have been made for the systematic
integration of handicapped (all categories) into ordinary
nursery schools where they will be helped by specialized
teachers.
At the primary and secondary educational levels
emphasis is also placed on integration through several
alternatives: 1) individualized instruction in an ordinary
class; 2) combination of ordinary classes with remedial or
special instruction being given for part of the time (re
medial and "clinic*' teaching); 3) special class placement
127
----------
-23 years
-21 years
Optional
19 years
18 years
-17 years
compulsory
schooling
Lyc6e
extended
schooling
vocational
schooling
8-10 8-10
* 7 — 1 0
XU j C u i D
Upper
7-9
/“I U
schooling
13 years
5-7
A H
Middle
4- /
Compulsary
schooling
10 years
4-6
1"" 4
7 years
Elementry
1-3
1-3
1-6
Non-handicapped Deaf Blind Mentally
handicapped
FIGURE 2. Organization of Special Education in Sweden.
128
for mentally retarded; and finally, 4) special schools for
mentally retarded.
The aim of education for the mentally retarded is to
train them for practical life, self-assurance and self
confidence. Psychomotor and special therapy is also pro
vided. The methods prompted by the reform are based on
the,.principles of individualized teaching, respect for the
child1s motivations and interests, an attempt to make
him/her self-reliant, and active study of the environment
to fit the child for his/her place in the community (UNESCO,
1971).
The importance of vocational education is strongly
emphasized in the Swedish system of education for mentally
retarded. Vocational education and training are generally
given in special schools for the blind, deaf and mentally
handicapped (optional for the blind and the deaf, but
compulsory for the mentally retarded up to age 21% ; s and up
to 23 years if considered necessary). The training is
organized by the National Labour Market Board in coopera
tion with the National Board of Education.
Special social workers help the handicapped find work
and an experimental system of vocational guidance (super
vised probationary periods in place of work) has been
introduced in certain schools. It is estimated that one-
third of the mentally retarded can be fitted into normal
129
jobs. The others will work in sheltered workshops run by
the Labour Market Administration or in "individual therapy"
workshops,(UNESCO, 1971).
This vocational training for pupils aged from 17-21/23
gives an individually adapted schooling designed to prepare
the mentally retarded for life as working adults. Training
is designed to provide the student with a general back
ground on his/her career through information on the labor
market and working life. The vocational training is cost-
free for the mentally retarded (UNESCO, 1974) .
Iran
The section of special education is a part of the
Ministry of Education which sponsors the special education
programs at the national level. Special education is not
only under the administration of the Ministry of Education
but also under the Ministry of Health as having jurisdiction
tion over hospital establishments in which handicapped
children receive such instruction as their condition
permits in addition to medical care (UNESCO, 1974).
According to Nadjafian (1981), mentally retarded are
usually in special classes within the regular schools, or
in special schools for mentally retarded. The integration
of the mentally retarded within the regular schools and/or
regular classes has not been successful, because the lack
130
of knowledge on the part of the regular teachers and also
other personnel and children make it hard for the retarded
person to adjust constructively. For more severe types of
mental retardation, institutional settings are considered
which provide more custodial type care rather than educa
tional. This is due to the same reason, lack of specialis
ists to work within such a setting. The instructional
program for the mentally retarded is similar to what is
followed with normal children but at a slower pace. In
other words, the principle of "watered down curriculum"
is still employed. Teacher-made instructional aids and
materials are being used when appropriate and the material
is presented from the easiest to the most difficult.
According to the publication of UNESCO, 1977, the
general program for the mentally retarded emphasizes psy
chomotor education to help them coordinate their body and
manual movement. Sports and recreation to build a healthier
er and stronger body, and coordination are also available.
Through their training the mentally retarded hopefully will
acquire social competence that will prepare them for
further vocational training depending on their individual
ability. The pre-primary education for the retarded is
almost nonexistent and, if it does exist, is sponsored by
private ownership and is very expensive. The elementary
and middle education is mostly emphasized for the mentally
131
retarded, who after acquiring some competencies will move
on to further vocational training.
The Ministry of Education, as mentioned previously,
deals with the administration of education and prevocation-
al education for handicapped at primary and secondary
levels. The Ministry of Social Welfare handles post-school
vocational and professional training and rehabilitation.
Vocational and technical training education is very limited
in a sense that special education is still in its infancy
and few children in the program have yet reached the age
when they would require vocational and technical education.
Until 1976, children involved in vocational and technical
education under the Department of Education numbered 182
visually handicapped, 233 hearing impaired, 190 mentally
retarded, and 42 physically handicapped (in hospital
classes) (UNESCO, 1977).
Prevocational education is aimed basically at expand
ing the general functional abilities and correcting social
and emotional development. Teachers help the deficient
pupil to form realistic vocationajggdals before passing to
a technical school or to one of the occupational centers
run by the Ministry of Social Welfare. Through training,
each handicapped is helped to understand and appraise his/
her personal situation in order to make a realistic plan
for the future. The child is also given a trial in the
132
various crafts until he/she finds the one in which he/she
is most interested and for which he/she is best suited both
mentally and physically. It is worth mentioning that these
centers are mainly available in Tehran or'in a few other
large cities, so such training is not easily accessible to
many of the mentally retarded in Iran.
It is strongly believed that vocational aims are
explicitly formulated in relation to dominant principles,
as work is necessary for mental health of the handicapped
and is an economic necessity for him/her to become semi-
independent if not totally independent. The agricultural
sector usually provides work for retarded as shippers,
manual work, harvesting, and picking seasonal fruits with
out any difficulty. The other sector in processing and
public work offers another main source of employment to
the local retarded through handicrafts (broom making,
basket weaving, sewing, shoemaking for motor defective),
and higher posts for other types of handicaps such as
manual labor, watchmakers, or employment of motor defect
ives in accountancy and administrative services.
In Iran, training is given mainly in arts and crafts
(manufacture of current goods such as brushes, baskets,
dolls, artificial flowers, toys, leather work, rug making,
or in artwork such as sculpture, ceramics and book binding
or in industry such as conditioning of textiles, labor
133
manufacturing and packing) according to the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (1977).
The importance of vocational education and training
has been recognized, but to what extent the mentally re
tarded can be provided with such services depends on
existing resources that are not adequately available in
Iran.
Pakistan
The educational programing fortthe mentally retarded
revolves around the training of the moderate to moderately
severe group of mentally retarded. Jaffad (1974) indicates
that there are four day programs for moderate to severely
retarded persons. No educational services as such are
provided for the mildly retarded. This seems one of the
most serious shortcomings of the education for the mentally
retarded in Pakistan. The establishment of the provision
for the mildly or educable retarded is very necessary in
the special education system in Pakistan.
Two research projects dealing with mental retardation
have been sponsored by the United States (U.S. Department
of Health, Education and Welfare, Social and Rehabilitation
Services, 1970). The objectives of such programs are-:
1. Jinnah postgraduate medical center, Karachi,
W. Pakistan, investigating the medical, psycho
logical, social and cultural aspects of
134
mental retardation.
2. Jinnah postgraduate medical center, established
a vocational training center for the mentally
retarded in Karachi as a means of exploring
new job opportunities and placement techniques.
Such projects were initiated to promote a better under
standing of mental retardation and its causes in the
developing countries. Further vocational training has been
emphasized, since the importance of such training is under
stood for the education of mentally retarded.
So far there is no pre-primary education for the re
tarded, and if there is any care for the more severely
mentally retarded youngster, it is a custodial type of care
within an institution. At primary levels, mentally re
tarded are usually placed in special schools or in an
institution. Integration of the mentally retarded in the
regular school has not been successful because of the lack
of knowledge on the part of the regular school personnel.
The instructional program for the mentally retarded is the
same as that for the normal population with only minor
adjustments. Even within the special schools, neither the
educational programing nor the personnel can provide the
retarded with the best and the most appropriate education
that is supposed to be given in special schools.
Jaffad (1974) elaborates further and indicates that
135
within the educational provisions for the retarded the
importance of vocational training has been recognized the
most. Despite the importance of such training, these
centers are very scarse and located mainly in large cities.
These centers are either private or public (government
sponsored) which are not even adequately equipped to accom
modate a large number of mentally retarded individuals.
For the assessment of the mentally retarded vocational
skills, there has not been any appropriate vocational test.
Only recently an attempt is being made to construct such a
test appropriate for the cultural aspects and the skills
needed for mentally retarded in this country.
Unfortunately, due to the attitude and lack of know
ledge of the capabilities of the mentally retarded, it
seems that the majority of these individuals will not be
able to gain employment within the community. An attempt
was made in the area of public relations to inform the
general population about the working potential of these
mentally retarded individuals. In other words, effort has
been made and is being made to assist the community to al
lay fears about hiring the handicapped in general.
The existing training centers are usually run along
agricultural and horticultural lines. The mentally retarded
are assigned to one of these centers at the age of 13-15 to
acquire the required skills to work mainly within an
136
agricultural setting. This placement permits a learning
experience in the care and growth of plants, preservation
and canning of fruit and vegetables, and poultry farming.
Attention is also being paid to the mastery of handicraft
skills Such as woodwork, carving, pottery, weaving, basket
making, and locksmithing.
As the result of reviewing existing literature on
special education for handicapped in general and mentally
retarded in particular, related to the four variables of
philosophy, identification and admission procedures,
teacher training, and finally educational-vocational pro
graming in selected countries, it is apparent that such
services for mentally retarded individuals in Iran and
Pakistan are way behind those services available in the
United States and Sweden. The main reason for such condi
tions in developing countries has been described as their
poor economy. However, an appropriate educational system
even at a skeletal level should exist in any underdeveloped
country and future planning should be considered. Attempts
should be made to provide appropriate and proper training
and habilitation for the mentally retarded no matter how
minimal. To ignore the significance of the existing
problems in mental retardation simply because of the lack
of financial resources and/or the priority of the education
for normal children is a breach of the rights of the men
tally retarded.
137
According to the literature, the philosophy of such
programs for mentally retarded individuals in developing
countries similar to those in developed countries is that
they all have a humanitarian and democratic view toward
this matter. A few provisions have been made based exactly
on the same ground and philosophy. This in no way is in
appropriate if one can learn from the achievements and mis
takes that other countries have made in this regard. How
ever, to copy the exact model or to follow the exact
philosophy at the cost of ignoring the cultural character
istics and available resources is a big and unforgiveable
mistake. As it has been mentioned earlier, mainstreaming
of the handicapped in general was not successful in both
Iran and Pakistan. Although the importance of "integra
tion” has been stressed throughout the literature, follow
ing the same line in countries where there are still other
primary problems is not justified. There are other major
steps that should be resolved and taken care of before the
mainstreaming of such children would succeed. The attitude
of the general population, inadequate training and lack of
knowledge on the part of both regular and special teachers,
accompanied by the shortage of facilities are among the
major variables that should have priorities. The attitud-
inal change and adequate teacher training will come through
active and strong public relation programs throughout the
138
country and permanent and extensive pre-service and in-
service teacher training courses for regular and special
teachers, respectively.
The comparison of the existing data was meant to
represent the general ongoing theme in educational pro
graming and training of the mentally retarded rather than
any specific provision. Specific provisions are usually
linked with each country’s cultural characteristics that
should be developed individually. There are numerous
important points that all the comprehensive educational
programs for the mentally retarded share, as the object
ives for education and training of mentally retarded per
sons seemed similar. It is the means of accomplishing
these objectives that should be specific to each country.
Unfortunately there were occasions where the exact
principles have been followed in developing countries, in
this case Iran and Pakistan. This is believed to be due
to the fact that the several special programs for the nu
handicapped in general have been implemented under the
supervision of a committee of well-versed individuals from
foreign countries, mainly the United States, through some
kind of international communications. It is obvious that
those specialists are not adequately familiar with the
cultural characteristics and background in underdeveloped
countries. Therefore, they will end up developing an
139
educational model which is the exact copy of existing
programs in their own countries. The situation is not
drastically different even in cases where a native commits
tee cooperates for such purposes. This is due to the fact
that the highly professional educators in Iran have also
gained their knowledge and education in foreign countries
where the special education system is different from that
which exists in Iran. It is suitable arid appropriate only
if these educators take their own cultural characteristics
and limited resources into consideration when developing a
plan for the education of handicapped in general and mental
ly retarded in particular. Any plan, no matter how com
prehensive it may be, will not be appropriate and will not
work for the betterment of the mentally retarded, if it is
not based on the cultural values of that society. Un
fortunately this was seen to be the case in most under
developed countries.
So far, the situations in the United States and
Sweden seem very similar. On the other hand, Pakistan and
Iran appear to be similar in most of the cases and at times
Pakistan even seems to be behind compared to the existing
situation of special education in Iran. It is quite obvi
ous that such conditions are the result of their poor and
agricultural economy, plus the high percentage of illiter
acy that has led to a great ignorance on the part of the
140
general population in this regard.
Screening the "at risk" children and identification
of the mentally retarded, especially educable mentally re
tarded, and their placement seem to be among the serious
problems that both Iran and Pakistan face. According to
the existing information and data, there is no early
diagnosis and schooling whatsoever, and the Compulsory Edu
cation Act for mentally retarded has not been applied re-
strictively as it has been for normal children. This is
mainly due to limited and inappropriate facilities for
such children. Further, the matter of teacher training
seems crucial as it is the core of any proper program for
mentally retarded. The inservice training for the regular
teachers has not been stressed as it has been in the United
States and Sweden. The pre-service and inservice training
for special teachers has also not been adequate and broad
enough to prepare them to deal with the problem of mental
retardation in an adequate and proper form. The facilities
for special teacher training are so scarse that few inter
ested candidates can go through such a program even in its
inadequate form.
There has not been any legislative action exclusively
for the mentally retarded whatsoever. It is apparent that
not only is such an action taken at the national level,
mentally retarded persons sill not enjoy normal life
141
despite their mental and/or physical limitations.
The comparability of a few provisions that have been
set forth in the United States and Sweden are presented
in Figures 3, 4, and 5 on the following pages. Further,
the availability of services and provisions taken for the
mentally retarded in the countries of the United States,
Sweden, Iran, and Pakistan are presented in Figure 6
for better understanding.
142
Categories of handicaped
. V.H. H.H. M.H. ed. M.H.tr. PH.H. EMO. L.D. SP. MULTIP DEL. .
E/H.S. E/H.S. E/H.S. E/H.S. E/H.S. E/H.S. E/H.S. E/H.S. E/H.S.
E E E/H E/H E/H E E E
<
t/}
•
D
S
w
Q
w
£
V.H. = visually handicapped
H.H. = hearing handicapped
M.H. = mentally handicapped
M.H.ed. = mentally handicapped/educable
M.H.tr. = mentally handicapped/trainable
PH.H. = physically handicapped
EMO. = emotionally disturbed
DEL. = delinquents and pre-delinquents
L.D. = learning difficulties.
SP. = children suffering from speech
defects
MULTIP = children suffering from multi
pie handicaps
E - Ministry of Education
H = Ministry of Health
S = Ministry of Social Welfare
FIGURE 3. Ministries Responsible for Special Education in the United States
and Sweden.
1 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 18 20 21 22 23
Exemptions in 47 States
Variable from State to State
Up to 17 years for children
with impaired sight
Up to 23 years for mentally
handicapped
| | Duration of compulsory education for non-handicapped children.
^1 Duration of compulsory education for handicapped children.
FIGURE 4. Compulsory Education for the Handicapped in the United States and Sweden.
Categories Types of
Training
Duration Observations
VH HH MH PhH Others BT ST TS
+ + + + + + + + R Variable, generally
university credit
+ + + + + + 1-2
years
R Specialized university
establishment
R = regular training
BT = basic teacher training
ST = specialized training for experienced teachers
TS = training for students
VH = visually handicapped
HH = hearing handicapped
MH = mentally handicapped
PhH = physically handicapped
FIGURE 5. Various Types of Teacher Training in the United States and Sweden.
I VARIABLES UNITED STATES SWEDEN IRAN PAKISTAN
Human Right/Respect X X X X
a -
Normalization X XX
i
Integratian/Jfainstreaming X X Not Successful Not Successful
£
Consulsory Education X
Longer for Mentally
Retarded to 21/23
XX
Mainly for
Normal Children
Mainly, for
Normal Children
z
o
Miltidisciplinary Approach X X
Not in a True
Sense
Not in a True
Sense
%
Early Diagnosis/Screening X XX
s
%
Systematic Referral X X
u .
Miltiple Assessment/Testing X X IQ IQ
2
Placement/Followup
Regular Setting plus
Special Services
Regular Setting plus
Special Services
Special Schools
and Institutions
Special Schools
and Institutions
o
5
Curriculum
Developmental
Approach Based an
Mental Age
Developmental
Approach Based an
Mental Age
Watered Down
Curriculum with
Minor Adjustment
I
Preparation for Independence X X X X
Early Education/Pre-Primary X X
Extended Education X XX X X
Permanent Special
Teacher Training
X X
g
1
Occasional/Short Tens
Training
X X
Admission Requirements
Experience
High School Diploma
Experience
High School Diploma
With or Without
Experience/High
School Diploma
I
z
£
£
University Establishment X
Specialized Teacher
Training
X
a *
C 3
u
o
M
>
A
Regular Teacher X X
g
w
w
i
z
t - t
Special Teacher X X
Occasional
X
Occasional
X
FIGURE 6. Available Services for Mentally Retarded in the United States, Sweden, Iran, and Pakistan.
146
CHAPTER V
PROPOSED MODEL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
FOR MENTALLY RETARDED IN IRAN
The available information indicates that generally the
educational services for exceptional children in Iran are
not sufficient. The present study is conducted in order
to establish a guideline for developing a comprehensive
program for mentally retarded in Iran based on the existing
needs of this country. Therefore, a comprehensive program
for the mentally retarded will be developed for the coun
try of Iran based on its cultural characteristics and
available resources. The program will take into considera
tion the points and provisions that have been made mainly
in the United States only to the extent which is appropri
ate. This is done because the system of special education
in the United States and Sweden seemed quite similar.
Effort is taken mainly to develop and implement a program
which is more economical as far as financial and manpower
resources are concerned. Since the educational resources
for mentally retarded did not seem sufficient and appropri
ate in Iran, it is believed that the present plan should
be established from the very beginning.
For the purposes of developing a comprehensive program
147
in Iran, a multidisciplinary approach is necessary for
adequate solution of the numerous problems which accompany
mental retardation. Ihe professional groups most closely
involved with these problems would include those in the
fields of medicine, psychology, social work, education,
vocational habilitation, recreation, nursing, speech and
physical therapy. Since all the various aspects of a
comprehensive program cannot be developed at the same time
in a country like Iran, consideration must be given to the
question of priority for services developed. As Connor
(1966) states, "careful balancing of local factors such as
enrollment, size, transportation facilities, financial sup
port, community interest, and supervisory ability will
provide the basis for effective emphasis in the program"
(p.74).
The program as presently conceived for the country of
Iran will include the following components:
I. Service aspects:
a. Provision for identification and diagnostic
evaluation and placement.
b. Program for training and education of the
mentally retarded.
c. Program for vocational habilitation and place
ment .
148
II. Supportive aspect:
a. Training of personnel through pre-service
and inservice training.
b. Public relations and dissemination.
c. Research and contributions of higher educa
tional institutions in this regard.
To develop such a comprehensive program in Iran, the
government should be the main responsible agent. Special
education should be considered as part of the general edu
cation and its office is one of the offices within the
Ministry of Education (see Figure 7 at the end of this
chapter). The Department of Special Education practices
all the leadership and administrative authority in special
education. The system of education is centralized so that
the education of exceptional children is under the juris
diction of the government. Although there has been much
criticism about the centralized system of education, it is
imperative to note that at this time it is more suitable
to have a centralized system of education in Iran, where
qualified personnel and financial resources for such
purposes are seriously lacking.
The General Director of Special Education is the head
of this department and is appointed by the Deputy of the
Ministry of Education. The policy and procedures and the
contribution of different disciplines is established at
149
this level. In addition to educational and vocational
training, provisions for social and psychological services
provided for mentally retarded are set forth by this
department. Since mental retardation is usually accompa
nied by some medical complications, the medical services
that could be given to mentally retarded persons cannot be
ignored. The importance of such services for the better
ment and training of the mentally retarded is emphasized
in this program, but the actual services will be provided
through the government medical establishments under the
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health.
The central office of special education would become
a policy making, planning, budgeting, central information
and evaluative agency representing special education at the
national level. This department is responsible for seeing
that training and education of exceptional children, in
this case mentally retarded, is efficiently provided
throughout the nation. To do this, the main responsibili
ties should be: 1) administrative and leadership function;
2) providing information to all government agencies and to
citizens regarding the status of the mentally retarded and
required services for treatment, training and education;
3) allocation of necessary funds; and 4) initiation in
development and evaluation of the best and most appropriate
educational innovations and approaches through careful
150
planning and assessment of the mentally retarded.
Different regional offices of special education, each
headed by a director, would be established throughout the
country. These directors are appointed by the General
Director of Special Education.with the approval of the
Ministry of Education. Based on the present plan, the
whole country would be divided into five regions that each
would cover the northern, eastern, southern, western and
central parts of Iran. Several provinces with a number of
villages that are in geographical proximity would form a
region. The regional staff appointed at this level is
responsible for the leadership, adjustment and adaptation
of the original comprehensive program according to the
regional needs, population characteristics and cultural
values. In fact, these offices are primarily responsible
for supervising the activities within the so-called "com
prehensive plan” in order to assure the best interests of
the entire region!. This is justified, since Iran is a
multi or heterogeneous ethno-linguistic culture and the
cultural characteristics of a given region should be con
sidered in order for the program to succeed. This calls
for flexibility in this program so it can meet the needs of
the people. As an example, the standard of living and the
way of life’in Iran at some point drastically changes so
that the same subject matter and/or vocational training for
151
one who resides in rural communities could not be the same
as the training programs for those who live in larger and
more industrialized areas. Farming and related functions
are among those competencies that should be stressed in
programs where agricultural and farming activities are
among the main occupations as opposed to the programs where
other skills for survival in more industrial cities are
needed. The Central Office of Special Education would thus
be relieved of direct operation of special education in
different regions by giving some responsibilities for such
operation to the regional offices of special education
(see Figure 8 at the end of this chapter). This in no way
means that these regional offices would operate independently -
ly. The flexibility of such programs would require some
accountability on the part of these regional offices.
From the administrative point of view, this plan is more
flexible than the current practices in Iran, as the adapta
tion and adjustment of the original plan is mandatory. To
have a more flexible program regarding the population
characteristics and community needs, similar offices should
be established at other and different levels such as
individual provinces, counties and/or districts. To have
such an extensive operation would require an enormous
budget and trained personnel, so the present plan would
start functioning with regional offices for special
152
education as the first step in this regard. Expansion of
such responsibilities to other levels of administration
would occur over a long period of time when sufficient
personnel and budget would allow for such establishments.
Through delegation of some responsibilities to regional
offices of special education, channels would be set for a
system which is less centralized and more flexible toward
the needs of the population that it serves.
To develop a comprehensive program for mentally re
tarded, the government has to provide educational, psycho
logical, medical and personnel services for identification,
placement and also the evaluation of the program itself.
In addition, the program has to provide for career and
vocational education for those who would benefit from such
services. Inservice and pre-service training for regular
and special teachers cannot be ignored. It is imperative
to note that due to the underdeveloped conditions in a
country like Iran the availability of all the disciplines
might not be feasible at the same time. Great care has to
be taken to use the available resources properly, while
stating the long term objectives of the program for the
future. Moving to such planning and establishment should
be on a steady step-by-step basis with provision for
training of the personnel involved. Steps should be taken
to establish a central structure to take care of the
153
problem of cost and manpower. A committee will be assigned
at the central office of special education to take over the
responsibilities of policy making, administration and
leadership functions and finally the evaluation of the
whole program. This committee will consist of several
professionals from theeidivisions of psychology, social
services, vocational and educational training. Several
members from other offices of the Ministry of Education
and/or government agencies such as public relations
teacher training and medicine provide supportive provisions
for this comprehensive program for mentally retarded. The
philosophy of this program will be discussed next and will
be followed by a detail discussion of the roles and re
sponsibilities of the so-called committee in making the
program%and provisions for the mentally retarded.
Philosophy of the Program
The philosophy of special education programs for
handicapped in countries involved in the present study
seem similar as all have humanitarian and democratic views
toward retarded persons. As Goldbert and Webster (1969)
state, "implicit in the philosophy and practice of special
education in various countries are certain principles and
assumptions which become important variables in comparative
studies"'(p.38 7) . These principles and assumptions include::
154
the value of a human being, his/her membership in society,
his/her assets and comprehensive treatment and finally
responsibility of the society. The authors ^emphasized the
inevitability of human values as a commonality for special
education in all countries. They remarked that the ex
pression of this basic tenet may vary from country to
country or even region to region; that the reasoning be
hind it may differ widely. However, comparative education
researches out the differences and similarities, and views
them in the light of their cultural perspective.
As the result of the comparison, it became apparent
that the ultimate goal of special education, as with all
education, is to prepare children through appropriately
planned programs for successful and satisfying living.
From the basic philosophies cited earlier, it seems clear
that special education is based on the democratic principle
of the worth of the individual, the recognition of indivi- .
dual differences, the belief that every child has the
potential to learn, and the difference is in degree of how
and what the person learns. Additionally, the difference
is also more human than anything else, and like any other
human being, the mentally retarded has basic human needs
that have to be met.
Based on these humanitarian approaches to special edu
cation, it appears that the basic principles for satisfying
155
human needs seem the same in all countries, though the
techniques of arriving at the goal may differ. This plan
in Iran is also based on the same principle that education
is for all children, regardless of differences in abilities.
It should be based on the principle that no child shall be
denied educational opportunity appropriate to his/her
ability. To do this, numerous approaches should be
considered in order to reach the philosophy that might be
different from other places that have different resources
and characteristics. Philosophy serves as a blueprint :for
any educational planning for the handicapped in all
cultures. It could be argued that if the basic philosophy
for special education is the same in several countries,
those interested in the education of the handicapped should
be aware of this sameness, in which case there should be no
need for repetition. If this argument is granted, it fol
lows that it would be needless stating the philosophy when
a program is being planned for the handicapped. Arguing
against such assumption, Kidd (1970) wrote:
An educator who is committed to the welfare
of exceptional children may habitually leave
untreated certain philosophical principles
in dialogue with colleagues assuming that
such principles have universal acceptance.
However, the sometimes harsh realities of
the ’’firing line” serve as a reminder that
this assumption is not necessarily a safe
one. The appearance in print of such prin
ciples as related to a program may symbolize
lip service rather than commitment, window
156
dressing rather than substance, or the
dedication of a few professionals rather
than the profession (p.91).
For this plan to be established, the philosophy should
be stated and communicated. The government should have
the main responsibility to extend educational opportunities
to all individuals with exceptional needs so that these
individuals may realize the full potential of their abil
ities. It should be believed that there is much to gain
from effective and comprehensive programs in special educa
tion. If an adequate program is provided to the mentally
retarded at an early age, it would be possible to reduce
significantly the full impact of their disabilities and,
consequently, to increase their potential for independence.
It is obvious that early investment in the lives of mental
ly retarded can result in further economic and social bene
fits for the rest of the society. Through providing a
comprehensive service for mentally retarded such an assump
tion would be communicated to the society. Stating the
philosophy of this program is a matter of must that cannot
be avoided if it is to succeed. It is due to the fact that
such programs cannot be at the service of the mentally re
tarded unless the goals and objectives are established.
Further portions of this chapter will focus on consid
erations involved in the implementation of an educational
program for the mentally retarded based on the general
157
ground of humanitarian and democratic philosophy as was
mentioned previously. As the goals and the specific
objectives of any program also form the philosophy of that
program, the specific objectives will be stated functional
ly as follows:
1. The government has to make appropriate services
(medical, educational, vocational) available to every mental
ly retarded individual as early as possible, since it has
the main responsibility in providing education for retarded
individuals at this time.
2. The program has to be flexible enough to meet the
unique needs of the geographical, regional and local
districts and environment. Cultural and situational
characteristics should be given a prime priority.
3. To provide coordination between special and regul
ar education and also between other government agencies in
order to provide better and more comprehensive services to
mentally retarded persons.
4. Coordinate the pertinent information from all
sources, including a comprehensive educational, psycho
logical, and health evaluation for better diagnosis and
proper placement.
5. Provide pre-service and inservice training mainly
for teachers as the program will not succeed without quali
fied and knowledgeable teachers.
158
6. Provide a strong public relations program in
order to bring attitudinal changes regarding mental re
tardation on the part of the general population and better
understanding of the problems that are involved.
Organization of the Program
As it was shown in Figure 8, the central office of
special education practices all the leadership and adminis
trative functions regarding the education and training of
exceptional children at the national level. The present
program is mainly set forth within this department.
I. Service aspects of this program consist of those
services that are given to the mentally retarded in direct
forms. The provisions for psychological, vocational and
educational services are determined at this level.
II. Supportive aspects of this program consist of
those services that facilitate the delivery of the direct
services to the mentally retarded. Teacher training,
public relations and research all form the supportive
aspects of the present plan.
The main purpose of the implementation of such a pro
gram is to provide appropriate services to the mentally re
tarded as is culturally fitting. The problem of expense
and manpower is taken care of through a system which is
centralized and usually needs less money and less qualified
159
personnel. The two main aspects of the program (service
and supportive) will be described in following sections.
Suggestions and recommendations will follow as the expan
sion and long term objectives of such plans depend on
constructive and rational suggestions and recommendations.
I. Service Aspects
A. Psychological and Social Services
1. Identification and placement of the mentally
retarded.
The problem of identification and placement seems the
most crucial step in education of the mentally retarded.
According to the existing data in Iran, screening and
proper individual evaluation is seriously lacking. To
develop a comprehensive program for the mentally retarded
in this country, a proper framework for this kind of
service is required. Steps should be taken to identify
and place the mentally retarded at an early age with the
available resources while procedures for the long term
objectives are being set forth.
The division for psychological and social services re
quires several highly trained professionals who have a
broad and extensive knowledge of the psychological aspects
of mental retardation in general, identification and
evaluation in particular. Through the cooperation of
160
disciplines such vocational, educational and medical,
the status of a mentally retarded person is determined.
As Clements (1970) states, the diagnostic and evalua
tive facility should be planned for coordinated medical,
psychological and social services, speech and hearing
evaluation, vocational rehabilitation and counseling.
Diagnosis and evaluation should take place before admis
sion and a program for the retarded person is developed and
made available at the time of admission. Since a diagnos
tic evaluation must be based on the medical and develop
mental history of the child and on evaluation of the
family and social situation, a multidisciplinary team
should be involved (Grossman, 1965; WHO, 1968).
Medical diagnosis should include a complete evaluation
of the mental and physical condition of the retarded, his/
her gene*ral and mental development, and the various de- ; .
fects, handicaps or diseases that might be associated with
his/her mental retardation. The medical evaluation of the
retarded is the responsibility of the numerous government
medical establishments under the jurisdiction of the
Ministry of Health. According to AAMD (1964) the minimal
professional team responsible for making the comprehensive
evaluation in each case should include a qualified physi
cian, psychologist, social worker and audiologist, teacher
and the superintendent. The importance of a multidiscipli
nary approach has been stressed throughout the literature,
161
but the matter of priority has to be given great concern
as the country of Iran cannot provide services from all
the disciplines at this stage of development. It is a
step-by-step movement that could be accomplished over a
long period of time.
For purposes of identification and placement,
measures of physical and motor growth; intellectual
growth; social growth and language ability should be in
cluded. The primary purpose of administering such tests
is to ascertain the student's eligibility for placement
in the program and to assess his gross information proces
sing and motor abilities. In fact, diagnosis is basically
made to answer the following questions such as:
a. What is the degree of mental retardation?
b. What is the cause or causes?
c. What additional handicaps he/she has (i.e.,
health, sensory, language, motor, behavioral,
and emotional)?^:.;
d. What is the relationship of the handicap to other
aspects of physical, social and psychological
development of the child?
WHO (1968) recommends that, "emphasis needs to be
placed on delineating the strengths as well as the weak
nesses of the child. This type of analysis is much more
valuable than the use of overall 'blanket'1 categories
162
(p.21). This should have a functional implication in
training and education of the handicapped in a country
like Iran where emphasis has always been put on what the
handicapped could not do.
The diagnostic data will identify physical, emotional,
intellectual and social needs of the person and also pro
vide information as to the relative intensity or importance
of these needs. On the basis of these findings, programs
for treatment and education are indicated both for needs
requiring immediate attention and for those requiring long
term consideration.
Since there is a shortage of qualified psychologists,
it will be difficult to place severalfpsychologists in
each center or even in a combination of facilities dealing
with handicapped. On occasions where a psychologist is not
available locally, psychologists residing in facilities
within a close geographic vicinity should provide such
services. In other instances where such communication is
difficult to accomplish, the teacher is assigned to take
over such responsibility. Tests will be sent to the divi
sion of psychological services for evaluation of the re
sults. The results will be communicated to the original
establishment through the regional offices of special
education. Useful suggestions and recommendations will
also be made by the professional team at the department of
163
special education regarding the appropriate services and
placement of the mentally retarded person. Such a pro
cedure would momentarily take care of this matter until the
time when numerous qualified psychologists are available.
This is justified because the present program has to com
mence with minimal resources while providing channels ac
complishing the long term objectives.
2. Selection and evaluation of testing
materials.
As one of the main responsibilities of this division
is to set provisions for identification and placement of
the mentally retarded, the importance of selecting appro
priate measures and materials cannot be ignored. It is
the responsibility of these professionals to determine the
significance of numerous skills that are associated with
the degree of mental retardation. In cooperation with the
institute of testing and measurement affiliated with the
higher education institutions and also research institu
tions, steps would be taken in the construction of several
tests that are appropriate for the Iranian population. Un
til that time great care must be taken in using those tests
that are less discriminatory. The majority of those tests
in use are only a translated version of the available tests
in the United States. Therefore, this unit is responsible
to make suggestions and recommendations regarding the
164
selection of existing testing materials. Attempts should
be taken to use mainly the available nonverbal tests from
the United States to avoid discrimination. It is obvious
that to construct and/or standardize such tests much ef
fort is required. This is a very comprehensive project
on its own and is out of the discussion of the present pro
ject. To realize only that such problems exist and to
provide constructive suggestions and recommendations would
be appropriate at this time. For example, it should be
realized that motor ability is a kind of skill that mental
ly retarded persons, especially those residing in rural
communities, should gain. Some degree of motor ability is
required in all the operations related to farming activi
ties. According to some authorities, all intelligence
develops primarily from motor functions. If intelligence
has not developed fully, it is necessary to return to the
training of motor functions (Bush and Giles, 1969). Phy
sical growth and motor development progress from the gener
al to the specific, from the gross to refined control.
Motor patterns are the foundation for more complex learning
process because the motor patterns provide the basis for
measurement of orientation (Bush and Giles, 1969). Many
authorities believe that a child’s difficulty with fine
motor movement is the outgrowth of a lack of ability in
gross motor movement (Kephart, 1960). This establishes the
165
importance of motor ability. The test of motor ability
will, therefore, be the primary concern of the diagnostic
and evaluation team.
In order to develop a mental test in Iran, it should
be done in the light of the cultural values, availability
of a technical staff, and the guidelines of the methods
adopted by designers in other countries.
Through life, human beings engage in a variety of
mental activities. The test makers, with objectives in
mind, should discover that system of acts which are re
presentative of all mental behavior. They should select
those problems which are common to the culture of Iran and
to the practice of the population to be tested. It is
important to know how to express these problems in symbols,
such as words or pictures common to all the groups to be
tested. Iran is a multi - cultural country which makes the
development of an appropriate test for the whole .population
very difficult. There are children living in very remote
rural areas who have never been even to the nearest small
town next to their village. They have no concept whatso
ever of the way of life in a city, let alone a large and
industrialized one. Further, some of the people talk in
different languages, such as Turks, Kurds and Lurs. Due
to these conditions, the accomplishment of such a goal re
quires a work force of numerous dedicated individuals with
166
broad and extensive knowledge. This task does not seem
like a task that could be accomplished in a short period
of time. Until the accomplishment of this goal, great care
should be taken to use a few measures of mental ability
that are less discriminatory. Even the standardized per
formance (non-verbal) tests available in other developed
countries such as the United States should be studied and
evaluated in the light of Iranian culture. It is impera
tive to note that the quality of thinking cannot be
divorced from the content area in which the thinking takes
place.
Although the construction of these tests is not the
responsibility of this division, the effort in this regard
is greatly needed. The importance of other abilities and
their relationship to the measure of intelligence in the
case of mental retardation should be recognized through the
effort of such a team.
3. Social services and counseling.
For proper evaluation of mentally retarded, other
information should also be collected by the social workers
and presented to the team for evaluation. This will sup
plement the test results by the psychologists or teachers
who will also provide a test behavior report with specific
reference to the subject's rapport, motivation, persistence,
attention, self confidence, and other factors such as his/
167
her obvious state of health and physical features (vallett,
1963).
The importance of social services and counseling
should be greatly emphasized in the present program.
Proper information about the mentally retardedTs family
background, child rearing practices, health and physical
condition of the whole family and finally the social
atmosphere existing within the family would be useful in
evaluation of the present status of the retarded individual
as one can be only culturally retarded rather than being
truly retarded. Parental counseling should provide the
parents with ample information about their important role
in the treatment and training of their children. Through
such services, parents and other members of the family
should gain knowledge about what mental retardation really
is. Further, the cause or causes of retardation should be
communicated >'on an understable level to the parents.
Parents should be supported, encouraged and be given inform
ation so as to guide them toward a realistic and workable
resolution to their concern over their handicapped child.
The importance of social behavior of the retarded in
his/her surroundings is also greatly emphasized. Such
measures play an important part in providing educational
programs and training for the mentally retarded.
Evaluation of communication skills consisting of
168
hearing, speech and language evaluation should also be
done when it is necessary, since retardation more often
accompanies other handicaps. The importance of the re
lationship of speech and language to intelligence has
been stressed frequently. As early as 1956, Hurlock
stated the importance of such a relationship. He indi
cated that:
The relationship between intelligence and
speech has been found to be so marked that
it is frequently claimed that the child1s
speech is the best single indicator of his
intellectual level. This holds true not
only for the onset of speech and* intelli
gibility at early ages, but also for the
size of vocabulary at different ages through
out childhood (p. 11).
It frequently happens that children who have not de
veloped language properly appropriate to their age, are
considered shy or withdrawn. The author once happened to
be visiting a care center for normal children in Shiraz
in the south of Iran. Children aged 4 to 5 could only say
a few words and this was taken as a sign of being bashful
and withdrawn! The present program should also stress on
such matters and provide services such as speech therapy
programs when required in order to enable the child to
communicate at a functional level according to the
standards of his/her community.
A specialist in the field of communication, language
development, and audiometry should coordinate and/or
169
instruct training personnel in this specialized area. A
part of the specialist’s responsibility is to instruct the
teachers of mentally retarded in communication development.
The present program may not be able to afford hiring such
specialists in the first place, due to non-availability of
such specialists in Iran at the present time. But some
responsibilities should be assigned to the special educa
tion teacher in teaching functional language. The instruc
tional program will thus foster the development of whatever
skills or aptitudes the pupil is capable of so that he may
communicate with others. This should be concerned with the
pupil’s everyday communication needs in the home and in the
school. As Ahy (1977) states, there is a great shortage
of specialists in this area, as the number does not even
reach five. Such a major contribution from this field can
not be ignored for the betterment of the handicapped in
general and mentally retarded in particular.
4. Placement of the mentally, retarded.
Following the identification and evaluation of the
mentally retarded, the next important consideration is
determination as to where the child will function best.
Questions such as can he/she function in the regular class
room with certain adaptation?; should he/she be placed in
a special class, or is his/her problem so severe that even
special classes will be ineffective? In relation to the
170
above questions, there are different possibilities for the
placement of the handicapped child, such as regular class
room; regular classroom placement with outside consulting
services; regular class plus resource room, part-time
special class, full-time special class, special day school,
and finally segregated service in non-school settings. The
hierarchy of services for special education for these
individuals is shown in Figure 9 on page 172 taken from
Reynolds (1962) .
The implications of the placement services listed in
Figure 9 seem to point in the direction that efforts should
be made to keep each child in a successful learning situa
tion in the regular classroom, making whatever modifica
tions necessary to achieve success. For those children
who cannot function profitably in the regular classroom,
special classes are suggested. These classes should be
staffed with adequate teachers and with suitable curriculum
available on a full or part-time basis, according to the
need of the individual child. To meet the needs of the
individual child for such placement, a team approach in
cluding teachers, psychologists, social workers, health
personnel and finally parents should be used whenever ap
plicable for proper placement and planning.
As was mentioned earlier, the concept of mild retarda
tion and/or slow learner is not fully recognized in Iran.
171
Hospital and school
Residential school
Special day school
Full time special class
Part time special class
Regular class plus resource room
1) Regular classroom
Regular classroom with
consultant
FIGURE 9. Different Possibilities for the Placement
of the Handicapped Child.
172
Through an accurate and proper evaluation and assessment,
these children should be recognized and placed where the
adaptation and modifications of the program would help
them to succeed. Placing these children in regular class
rooms without the recognition of their strengths and weak
nesses will lead to the same situation as was practiced
before. Without providing special services these children
would fail or would drop out of school just because they
may be considered lazy. Such situations would happen more
often among high socio-economic status segment of society
where high academic standards are emphasized. Hopefully,
through informal education and public relation programs,
parents, teachers and those in close contact with these
children will be more knowledgeable and informed regarding
the characteristics of this category of mentally retarded
individuals. As the result of this, the mildly retarded
would be referred, identified and. placed at an appropriate
time. Now that it is a transitional state especially for
the mildly retarded persons, all the personnel, especially
the teachers, should be very careful and attentive so that
these children are provided with special services.
To elaborate further, the unskilled occupations in
rural and low socio-economic status place more premium on
physical fitness than on intelligence required to achieve
high academic standards. Individuals whose intellectual
173
development is mildly retarded seem to be assimilated by
the rural communities in Iran to the mainstream of the
traditional society, but not into more complex community.
For instance, the old agricultural and handicrafts proces
ses in use will allow the mildly handicapped to make their
contributions in labor and service to the community with
out realization of their shortcomings in quality. The
least defective will not be noticeably different from the
normal persons because both have not gone to any school and
literacy and ability to deal with complex technology are
not needed. The mentally retarded population in rural and
poor areas would probably fall in the range of moderate
to severe retardation, accompanied by physical, sensory,
neurological and emotional handicaps. The case is differ
ent in urban and industrialized communities and among those
from higher socio-economic status. This is the case be
cause in such communities more emphasis is put on the
academic skills and adjustment in more complex technologic
al environment. Despite the fact that mild retardation
in rural and poor communities does not create any serious
problems as such, attempts should be taken to identify and
place them properly, to prevent further complications.
In cases of severe retardation, individuals will be
placed within a residential institution. Presently there
are only a few institutional settings for mentally retarded
174
in Iran sponsored by the government. As it was indicated
in the Children’s Protective Society publication (1973),
the majority of these institutions provide custodial rather
than any educational care and treatment. Emphasis should
be made in bringing the institutional life close to normal
conditions. The mentally retarded residing in an institu
tion has the right to get proper and adequate training.
* .
As the present budget and available personnel in Iran
do not allow the government to employ permanent and full
time staff, such as social workers, psychologists and
medical specialists within the facility, part-time employ
ment of such personnel, based on occasional visits, seems
more reasonable. In fact, an itinerant service of differ
ent specialists could be provided for several facilities
in close proximity. In case of medical complications,
retarded persons should be sent to one of the government
medical establishments that are available.
The professional personnel in the division of
psychological and social services therefore set the
provision for identification and placement of the mentally
retarded at local levels.
B. Educational-Vocational Services/Curriculum
Development
For the purpose of appropriate education for the
175
mentally retarded, the basic principles, the character
istics, and the objectives of the education and training
of the mentally retarded in Iran should be considered at
the time of curriculum development. The methods and
the techniques have to be adapted according to the indiviJ
dual needs, the resources, the equipment available, the
cultural background, the position of finance, the competence
level of the staff, and maybe the occasional and proper
aid from international organizations like UNESCO or WHO.
This is quite justified, if one only takes a brief observa
tion of life in remote villages and other large and indus
trialized cities in Iran, where, the great differences
between the standards of living are highly visible. The
present program calls for flexibility, placing less
emphasis on uniformity, and stresses the variation of
materials, methodology and subject matters according to
the cultural characteristics of the population. Adaptation
and modification of the curriculum seem to have a stronger
case than attempting to have uniformity in curriculum in
this program. The Department of Special Education provides
some general and basic guidelines in terms of a total
pattern of training and education for the mentally retarded
and their goals. It should also provide enough flexibility
in content and methodology to the restricted or enriched
environment in which those retardates reside. In fact,
176
this curriculum development and/or revision group at the
Department of Special Education would act as a catalyst,
since the actual curriculum has to be applied within the
field throughout the country. The team considers some
concepts and procedures and integrates those that seem
more economical and feasible at this time into the cur
riculum.
The wide range of problems of the mentally retarded
dictate a curriculum that is necessarily flexible with the
heavy emphasis on:
1. The child will develop a positive self-concept
that will carry over into all areas of living;
2. Mentally retarded will develop independence with
in the limits of his/her physical and mental capacity; and
finally,
3. He/she should be trained in a vocational skill.
The central office of special education would maintain the
operation as an ongoing program of reviewing and revising
the curriculum to fit the needs of an Iranian child.
It is important to note that the systematically de
signed curriculum for mentally retarded calls for careful
appraisal of each pupil's actual potentials, strengths and
weaknesses of his/her mental, physical, personal, social
and vocational competencies. It is because of this reason
that all the divisions housed within the Department of
177
Special Education should work in cooperation with each
other in order to provide the mentally retarded with ap
propriate training.
Economic usefulness should be regarded as one of the
major objectives of curricular development for the mentally
retarded, especially in Iran as an under-developed country.
Further, great care should be taken to match curricular
activities to the physical as well as the mental capacities
of each individual. For example, all individuals will not
be able to do manual field work in agricultural operations.
Special programs should be designed to train employment of
the upper extremities if the lower extremities are involved
in the handicap, and vice versa. The curriculum, therefore,
will be planned so as to provide numerous opportunities
to learn and practice the various skills required of a
worker on a farm and in a rural and urban community in
Iran.
The basic and common objectives of the curriculum for
mentally retarded, therefore, are established at the central
office of special education. The strategies for delivering
of such curriculum will be determined later in the field
according to the existing needs and characteristics of the
population that must be served. The staff members of
special education at different regional offices would con
tribute to a great extent in providing information
178
regarding the characteristics of the population to be
served. The organization of the curriculum should be est
ablished in terms of the salient life situation of the men
tally retarded. These situations have to be identified
because they are present throughout the lives of the re
tarded as they function as members of their community. Si
tuational and cultural variables should be used as a frame
of reference for the selection of curricular content. The
main feature would be learning to earn a living in a soci
ety where agriculture should play a very important role.
The curriculum should be based on the belief that the
mentally retarded individuals in Iran can profit from a
systematic instructional program emphasizing social and
economic usefulness within the community. Based on such
a premise, when the educational plan is made, some basic
yet important adjustment and adaptation will need to be
considered according to the cultural variability.
At this time the author does not intend to list areas
that should be included in the curriculum, since such
information is available in extensive volumes that can be
used. The specific goals and provisions were only meant
to be emphasized. It is crucial to realize that the men
tally retarded do not need to acquire mastery over the same
content areas that are included in the curriculum for
normal children. It is required for some mentally retarded
179
individuals to acquire some competency in reading and
writing or communication skills, although they are effect
ive only when they are functional. To have a different
expectation not only is nonconstructive, but leads to much
frustration on the part of the individuals involved and the
mentally retarded him/herself.
As economic usefulness forms the major philosophy of
any educational program for the mentally retarded, voca
tional. training and rehabilitation are significantly
emphasized. Vocational habilitation for mentally retarded
can succeed only if it is part of a continuing activity
beginning in the early stages of the program. Eventually
the success of any habilitation program is reflected in
the total number of persons gainfully employed. Vocational
readiness should be considered an important factor in as
signing the mentally retarded to various levels within the
educational structure. Assignment of pupils to occupation
al training programs or practical work experience to pre
pare them for economic usefulness either within the home
or on a farm, should be carried out under the supervision
of an understanding and accepting employer who utilizes the
retardate’s labor. This should be a major objective during
the terminal phase of the special programs for the mentally
retarded persons in Iran. Additionally, the grouping of
the mentally retarded according to their ability and also
180
their cultural characteristics is very important if they
should gain employment.
It is apparent that such a program can lose much of
its effectiveness if there are limited provisions at the
community level for job finding and initial supervision
and follow-up when the person is returned to the community.
Special habilitation programs therefore emphasize the
special and extra effort on the personnel involved to
assist the community members in hiring the mentally re
tarded. For example, the government as a model can hire
those retarded persons who can function within the several
government agencies. This initiative action on the part of
the government would set an example for other members of
the community to provide employment for these individuals.
As was stated earlier, although the importance of
vocational training was recognized in the education of the
mentally retarded in Iran, the availability of such serv1 -
ices does not allow the majority of mentally retarded to
use such facilities. The present program emphasizes that
pre-vocational and vocational training should be provided
in special schools, residential facilities and also within
the regular schools where the mentally retarded are inte
grated. Those persons who do not have any access to such
services should be sent to other facilities that provide
such training. When such services cannot be provided
181
within the facilities themselves, the government has to
provide a vocational center located in an area which is
convenient to the population it serves and readily accessi
ble to other community facilities and services for the
mentally retarded. Easy access by public transportation
will also facilitate unaccompanied travel by retardates.
It would encourage visits by families and use of the
facility for training and other purposes by members of the
community. The availability of such separate facilities in
the above form may not be feasible at first due to the lack
of sufficient funds and personnel. Presently, it may be
more appropriate if such services be provided within the
schools or residential centers for mentally retarded.
This will be less costly and more convenient personnel-
wise. To provide separate vocational training centers at
this time is only reasonable where several facilities
within close geographic area lack such services. To have
numerous separate centers for vocational training should be
a priority long term objective of this unit.
The content of the vocational training should also be
stated according to the cultural characteristics and the
community needs of the mentally retarded. In regions with
numerous rural communities or places where there is much
farming activity, skills for occupations such as poultry,
sheep breeding, horticulture, harvesting, picking up
182
fruits, growing vegetables and canning fruits and vege
tables should have a primary training emphasis. Handwork
skills such as woodwork, pottery, weaving, basket making,
rope making, rug making, and maybe minor repairs of agri
cultural equipment is also emphasized. In other words,
in rural communities, services mainly should be run along
the agricultural, horticultural line which can provide
greater chance of employment for the mentally retarded. In
areas where there is more industry and/or technical employ
ment, mentally retarded have to be provided with such
training that would equip them with necessary skills for
such employment. The regional offices of special education
at this point can provide useful information regarding the
job market in different regions which would provide a
framework as to the necessary skills that a mentally re
tarded should acquire in order to have a better chance of
employment! The vocational training program emphasizes
the concepts of economic usefulness and work morality which
is common in all the vocational training programs. Neces
sary skills and competencies should only vary according
to the individual needs and ability and the community that
the mentally retarded lives in.
It is evident that vocational and rehabilitational
services will not be successful if the mentally retarded
does not have a chance for employment. In a country like
183
Iran where the problem of mental retardation has not been
fully recognized and the attitude and understanding is
generally not favorable, to gain employment is difficult.
Through an extensive public relations program throughout
the nation, the potential of mentally retarded has to be
communicated to the general population on an understand
able level. Only when the general population changes its
attitudes toward-the mentally retarded, can such services
be successful.
So, this professional team set the philosophy, policy,
objectives for educational and vocational training for the
mentally retarded nationwide. The regional offices for
special education take over the responsibility of adjusting
and adapting the original form of the program to the
specific characteristics and needs of the regions. In
making any program, the fact that the mentally retarded
individual has a limited time in that program should be
considered. It is necessary to be concerned about:
a. What is of most importance for mentally retarded
to learn. If it is not learned in this program,
when will it be learned... and,
b. What are the most important skills that they
should know which later learning can be built
upon.
The curriculum will be developed based with the above
184
premises in mind. Curriculum development and revision is .
therefore largely a central.special education office opera
tion. Evidence was not apparent that extensive knowledge
of the expertise be used in making the educational program
for the mentally retarded. So, the central office of
special education should have a group of persons well
versed in the curricular expectations for which several
services are needed.
C. Evaluation
As an evaluation system should be an integral part of
any special education program, such responsibility for
evaluation is given to the central office of special educa
tion in this plan. Sims (1970) states that as a planning
tool, evaluation enhances the likelihood of making accurate
decisions regarding the continuation, expansion, or
limiting of services. It provides the primary method of
quality control in the system and, as it progresses, evalu
ation can reveal discrepancies, which once corrected would
result in better service to the mentally retarded. There
fore, the professional team at the central office of
special education should establish a system for periodic
evaluation of all administrative procedures consistent with
new knowledge and development in management practices
suitable to the ongoing situation in Iran with limited re
sources at hand.
185
As Sims (1970) states, evaluation is based on the
process of: a) first agreeing upon standards, b) determin
ing whether a discrepancy exists between aspects of the
actual program and the governing standard, and c) using
the discrepancy information to identify the weaknesses of
the programs. In addition to that, the evaluation of the
programs must concern itself with the four following
facets:
1) Achievement of the retardates in the programs.
2) Attitude of personnel and responsible persons
toward the services that are being provided.
3) The appropriateness of the curriculum objectives.
4) The competencies of the teachers to reach the
objectives of the whole program.
Student achievement data for the evaluation should be
acquired through the use of achievement measures that are
directly related to the objectives of the curriculum pro
gram being completed. The teachers of the mentally retard
ed play an important part in this regard in providing
the information concerning the achievement of the pupils.
The regional offices of special education are also
responsible to supervise the operation of such matter in
their own regions. Thereafter, the available data and in
formation will be sent to the central office of special
education through the five regional offices. This
186
information will be utilized by the staff professional
team at this department for identification of problems
which necessitate immediate changes in the program. As
was stated earlier, the teacher will be required to main
tain a close watch over all curriculum objectives to see
if they are successfully achieved.
Erdman (1961) states that successful special education
programs have recognized the many inherent advantages of
keeping a cumulative record on each child as important
clues to the retarded child's learning difficulties that
can be identified through a study of this record. Informa
tion about his/her strengths and weaknesses, his/her
aspirations and fears, his/her likes and dislikes all aid
in improving the quality of service to the retarded child.
The guideline for evaluation should be.established
as the major part of the present program at the central
office of special education. Personnel involved in opera
tion of special education program for the mentally retarded
at administrative levels and those who are actually work
ing within the field will be required to participate in
evaluation, as the accumulation of information regarding
the various aspects of the program make such evaluation
possible.
187
II. Supportive Aspect
A. Training of the Personnel
The evidence is apparent that one of the greatest
obstacles in implementation of a program for the mentally
retarded in Iran is difficulty in obtaining qualified
teachers and other specialized erpsonnel. The administra
tion must do more than just wait until qualified individu
als become available; it will have to try to get the best
available if the program for mentally retarded is to start
functioning in proper form. It is quite obvious that the
need for teachers with a minimum of preparation might be
great in the beginning. The majority of the persons
employed would have no extensive specialized training and
experience in working with retardates. It is essential
that the heads of the programs at the central office of
special education should be specialized and well versed
in the field of special education; in this case mental
retardation.
In Iran, there are not enough institutions preparing
special teachers with adequate qualifications. In fact,
this country is facing a dual problem in supplying adequate
and qualified special teachers. To provide the field with
qualified teachers is difficult, as Iran still does not
have a sufficient number of persons with the academic and
professional education preparation to staff the special
188
teacher education department needed in universities. Pri
mary effort should be also devoted to build such facul
ties .
The Ministry of Education is responsible to arrange
establishments for supplying the field of special educa
tion with sufficient number of teachers. Four-year special
teacher education colleges should be provided in each
province with facilities and faculties to provide several
■ f
types and levels of teacher preparation programs.' There
after, these centers will also be the center for inservice
special teacher education of that province. This would
be a primary goal that would be accomplished in a few
years.
1. Pre-service program.
The regular teacher training has been provided
through: a) two-year teacher training institutions; b)
few universities and colleges; c) two-year rural teacher
training centers (to supply teachers for rural areas).
At present, colleges for the training of special edu
cation teachers in sufficient numbers is not possible. To
use the best available resources and facilities, the pro
gram would combine the special teacher education into
regular teacher training and take care of the problem of
insufficient manpower momentarily. By adding a number of
189
extra courses, the trainees will also be credited to work
with the mentally retarded as they choose. At the begin
ning of the program, those who have already been in train
ing programs will be required to take those extra courses
related to the education of exceptional children, if they
decide to work with mentally retarded individuals. This
will be more economical, as the regular teachers will also
acquire sufficient knowledge about exceptional children
by taking a few extra courses during -their regular train
ing .
The admission of applicants into the training program
is done on the local basis, as they will be assigned to
teach within the local vicinity after they graduate. This
would have several advantages as the prospective teachers
are familiar with the salient situational and the cultural
variables, and it would be less expensive since they
would not have to travel. The efficiency of this approach
would be greater when the teachers are assigned on a local
basis.
The rural teacher training centers also provide spe
cial teachers that will be assigned later to teach in
rural areas. These candidates will be more eager to work
in such areas as they usually come from the same background
and are quite familiar with the way of life. As the conse
quence of this approach, the teachers will be in a better
190
position to communicate and understand the retarded child
and his/her family.
Through the pre-service training:
1) The teachers should be provided with an overview
of the so-called comprehensive program and curriculum
activities and procedures, and finally the administrative
process at the national and regional levels essential to
provision of effective special education services.
2) They should be provided with an introduction to
special education and training of mentally retarded.
3) The teachers should be familiarized with problems
and characteristics unique to the mentally retarded.
4) They should be provided with ample information re
garding the causative factors of mental retardation in
general and particularly in Iran.
5) Candidates in rural teacher training programs have
to be provided with adequate knowledge about the importance
of nutrition and sanitary conditions related to mental re
tardation .
6) Teacher trainees should be provided with adequate
knowledge about materials and methods to be employed with
the mentally retarded. The importance of teacher made
materials should be emphasized as the financial limitations
do not allow the purchase of all materials and equipment
at once at the beginning of the program.
191
7) Teachers should receive instruction as to their
respective individual roles in acquiring and processing the
data required for the student diagnosis, placement, program
monitoring, curriculum development and modification, and
evaluation of the program effectiveness. This is essential
as the teachers should gain some knowledge about the major
roles of other disciplines in education and training of
the mentally retarded.
8) Training should be provided in the observation and
evaluation and/or measurement of student performance in
terms of criteria referred to in the objectives of the
curriculum.
9) The importance of interdisciplinary approach
should be stressed throughout the training program.
10) Teachers should also be provided with adequate
knowledge about learning theories, theories of behavioral
management and cognitive development in relation to learn
ing.
11) They should be informed about the contributions
parents can make to the total educational process of their
retarded children, something essential that was not
practiced before.
In addition to some basic and major areas that have
to be covered in all teacher training programs, there are
other areas that have to be stressed in one but not the
192
other program. This is due to the present plan that would
put a great emphasis on the salient situational factors
existing in each area. For example, in a largely rural
region, the program preparing the teachers should also pro
vide some knowledge about agriculture and farming activi
ties relative to their functional use in education and
training for the mentally retarded. In another program,
where the region is quite industrialized, the teachers
should be trained to help prepare the mentally retarded
youth for employment in local industries.
In summary, since the lack of other specialized
personnel is evident, the teacher training programs at
various levels should train such teachers to have a broad
knowledge, if not a detailed one this time, in order to
provide appropriate services from the different disciplines
for the mentally retarded.
2. Inservice training.
Continuing inservice training and staff development
programs are necessary to assure that maximum contributions
are being made by each staff member (personnel) to the
care, training, and treatment of the mentally retarded.
Inservice training provides the special teachers with
knowledge pertaining to the techniques and methodology
that are in use with the mentally retarded. This inservice
training is needed for those regular teachers who are not
193
quite familiar with the extent of the problems that are
involved in training and treatment of the mentally re
tarded.
At the starting point of the present program suffi
cient numbers of teachers should be supplied in the short
est and most efficient period of time. Inservice training
would compensate to provide more extended and detailed
training in a specific area.
Opportunities should be provided for teachers and
others working with mentally retarded to participate in
seminars and specialized short term courses as part of the
manpower development of the program. Those courses should
be given at universities and/or teacher training centers
in the form of lectures, or perhaps guest speakers in
schools or institutions that are equipped for the mentally
retarded.
Although professional literature, including journals
and reference materials are not easily accessible, attempts
should be devoted to provide them as much as is feasible.
Pamphlets and printed notes regarding the different aspects
of the comprehensive program should also be available as
needed. Books and articles can be translated and edited
for the utilization of teachers. In addition, the use of
pictures, films, demonstration of instructional aids is
also recommended when it is appropriate.
194
The minimum academic requirement for those entering
the teacher training programs at the university level
and/or two year teacher training institutions would be
considered as high school diplomas. For those entering
the rural teacher training centers, the certificate of the
first cycle of high school would be sufficient. Training
in rural teacher education centers would lead to a degree
equivalent to the high school diploma.
At this time the best and perhaps the most expedient
way to provide sufficient teachers for the field of special
education is to combine the regular and special teacher
training programs together to have a more efficient and
economical training program. Inservice training provides
the teachers and other personnel involved with more up-to-
date knowledge in this regard.
As was mentioned earlier, not only do the programs
suffer from the shortage and lack of qualified teachers,
but well versed psychologists, social workers, education
programmers and evaluators are also lacking. Provisions
for training such specialists should also be set forth at
university levels. Meanwhile, until adequate numbers of
specialists from these fields are available, teachers will
have great and major responsibilities to fulfill the
necessary expectations that are held from such disciplines.
195
In selecting the applicants for teaching the mentally
retarded, the personal qualifications and characteristics
should also be given a high priority. Motivation, inter
est and patience are among the major personal characteris
tics that would put the knowledge of the teachers at the
service of the retarded individuals.
Consequently, whenever teacher incompetencies and in
adequacies exist, the potential advancement of students
is also reduced, and so is the amount and quality of human
output. Great devotion should be given to this aspect of
supplying adequate and well versed teachers at different
levels in order to protect and preserve the rights of the
mentally retarded individuals.
B. Public Relations ~ ;
The success of this program for the mentally retarded
in Iran depends on the public relations carried out by all
the persons involved in this program, especially when the
program is in an early stage’ of development. Its import
ance, feasibility, and compatibility have to be recognized
by the public, the real market, to buy this program. Pre
judice against mental deficiency is a principal obstacle
on the road to success and is basically due to ignorance
of the people. To move this obstacle is the main objective
of public relations. Surely a well-planned program of
public relations will help to achieve this goal. It is
196
crucial that the various staff members involved in such
programming become public relations agents with ready
answers to explain the matters regarding mental retarda
tion and their program, or appeal to interested persons to
donate their services and money to the upkeep and expansion
of the special education programs (Connor, 1966).
In this program prominent members of each town or
city, newspaper editors, members of other organizations
and parents of children, should be approached on a personal
basis. Further, delegations may be organized to see
legislators and public officials in Iran, as there is no
legislation exclusively for mentally retarded. Addition
ally, Connor (1966) states that the naming of a building
has been utilized at times to receive aid from key
political and other influential people. This approach
could be used quite successfully in Iran, where popularity
and the seeking of prestige are part of the cultural
characteristics.
The main feature of this proposed public relations
program is considered to be as follows:
1) All forms of communication media should be
utilized.
2) A series of newspaper articles can be written
describing the need for and'the philosophy behind such
services to the mentally retarded.
- • 197
3) Salient feature of the available services to
mentally retarded can be presented over the radio.
4) Displays in public libraries of schools, colleges
and universities, in store windows, in city halls of the
community, in mosques and other holy places (especially in
villages), to increase public awareness and understanding.
5) Lecture tours should be arranged by the profession
al team involved, to public schools, presenting the service
objectives, materials and methods being employed to meet
those objectives, "and showing slides and movies about the
mentally retarded and their activities whenever it is
possible.
6) Community and country fairs and exhibitions would
also provide occasion to present exhibits about the re
tarded individuals and the available services to them.
7) A cordial welcome should be extended to the in
formative and broadcasting division of the government,
health, education and welfare authorities, religious
leaders and social organizations, independent businesses,
parents and child welfare societies in Iran.
8) Organizing children’s fairs and providing competi
tive games for mentally retarded for better publicity.
9) Wide advertisement of products made by the mental
ly retarded such as canned fruit and vegetables, jams and
jellies, pieces of arts and crafts (rugs, baskets,
198
painting, carrying labels Mby mentally retarded" will
also help public relations.
10) Mentally retarded residing in boarding schools or
institutions occasionally should be taken on tours to the
surrounding community, visits to other public places such
as the zoo, parks, and funfairs. This will provide an
opportunity to introduce the mentally retarded to the
public.
Another important factor involved in the present
program as a supportive service to the mentally retarded is
providing reliable information. Institutions, special
schools, regular schools and above all the central office
of special education within the Ministry of Education
should be a major source of information. Therefore, the
dissemination of pertinent information derived from the
program for mentally retarded should be accomplished by the
following method:
1) The dissemination will be made through bulletins
and group visitations.
2) Workshops, conventions and other professional
meetings on local, district, and regional levels should be
used to represent the activities of the program and the
services it provides.
3) At times, workshop procedures should include slide
presentations from an overall view of the total program,
199
highlighting specific teaching techniques and other pro
cedures demonstrating the typical activities.
4) An open door policy for institutions and schools
for mentally retarded should be established to provide the
opportunity for the public to view everything closely.
5) Well-informed, authentic information should be
given out upon request.
6) Information should be given to radio, newspaper
and other news media as and when sought.
Further, as one major part of the public relations
program for the betterment of the mentally retarded the
role of the parents should be emphasized. Parents of re
tarded children should be informed that they can play a
very important role in the development of special programs.
The effectiveness with which the parents assume their role
will be dependent upon the adequacy of communication be
tween the family and the school or institution. Evidence
was not apparent that the parents would play an important
role in the education of their retarded children in Iran.
This is mainly due to the lack of knowledge on the part of
the parents and other personnel involved with the training
and education of the mentally retarded. As Steward (1978)
states, methods of communication should take place at an
appropriate level of understanding for the parents and must
begin even before a child is placed in a special program.
200
This requires great effort on the part of the responsible
individuals and mainly the government to educate and inform
the parents of their crucial role in the education of their
retarded children.
Such communication can be done through the following
channels:
1) Effort should be made by the parents and other
members of the family to feel a responsibility to their
retarded child.
2) Effort should also be made to make information
about the services for the mentally retarded available to
the family and to provide for coordination of services
to the retarded child and his/her family.
3) It is obvious that the family, especially the
mother, posses the strongest motivation for securing
care, if sufficient and pertinent information can be given.
But is is also important to realize that the family cannot
be expected to face the complexities of a retarded child,
particularly one who is severely retarded, without some
help and support. As James (1970) suggests, one of the
trained staff may be designated to teach the mother (and
any other persons involved in the care of the child) all of
the special techniques to be used at home. In that case,
the teacher of the mentally retarded person is in the
better position to instruct the parents regarding such
201
matters in Iran.
4) Parents need counseling-, guidance and education
about their mentally retarded child. This service should
be provided through parents' organizations by trained
personnel involved in the program (Renzaglia and Shafter,
1968) . Such service in Iran could be provided through
several channels at the special education office. The
Ministry of Social Welfare and its offices throughout the
country can provide similar services based on an organized
programming.
5) Sustained professional help to families regarding
disturbances of behavior, questions of care and nurture,
and assistance in immediate and long-range planning should
also be provided.
On the same ground, attempts should be taken to
create a supportive climate and understanding and accept
ance about the necessity of such services for the mentally
retarded. Clement (1970) emphasizes that community educa
tion is an important part of the special education program.
This is especially true for a special education system
trying to establish itself. Public support, and more
basically public acceptance, understanding, and empathy
for the mentally retarded come .only through public educa
tion and knowledge, from the earliest stage of planning.
Through the.entire operation of this program every channel
202
of communication should be established to improve under
standing. Following such an opinion, therefore, the gap
between the world of the mentally retarded and the communi
ty should be bridged by the following steps:
1) The responsible agents (especially those at the
central and regional offices of education) should strive
to create in the public’s mind a more realistic understand
ing of the causes of mental retardation especially in poor
and rural areas, and of the possibilities of prevention,
treatment, training and care in Iran.
2) Professionals should offer consultation to public
schools, private schools, parents and others in communities.
3) Greater emphasis should be placed on the role of
the parents in their child’s education.
4) The schools and institutions should maintain a
perpetual contact with the members of the community in
order to stimulate them to provide services to the retard
ates (Renzaglia and Shafter, 1968).
5) Additionally, the schools and institutions should
take the initiative actions in establishing a two-way ex
change of manpower, facilities, leadership and services
with the surrounding communities (AAMD, 1964). This is an
appropriate line along which the program for the mentally
retarded in Iran can be established. Due to the shortage
of qualified staff and adequate number of facilities, such
203
a two-way communication should exist in order for the pro
gram to succeed.
6) The system should make maximum use of community
resources, such as educational, social, cultural, recrea
tional, religious, medical, paramedical, and volunteers.
This will not happen until the rest of the community re
alizes that how great and constructive their contribution
would be in education and training of the mentally retarded
individuals.
7) Consultative services should be provided to the
personnel of the institutions and/or schools by specialists
in the hospitals and the universities whose expertise will
be valuable in producing quality services in schools and
institutions for the mentally retarded.
8). Volunteers should be invited at various levels.
Since Iran is facing the acute shortage of qualified and
interested personnel, the volunteers' contribution should
be welcomed. There should be a proper use of volunteers,
and this kind of service should always be regarded as an
additional service and not as replacement of the paid
staff. Standards for volunteers should be printed and
distributed to all volunteers. They should be given ori
entation and training relative to their specific assign
ment .
The author strongly believes that public relations is
204
one of the most important components of the present pro
gram. Until there is an understanding and positive atti
tude and dedication for the mentally retarded, the program
and the initiative efforts will fail. Every single person
involved in this program can play as a public agent to in
form the people in general about the state of mental re
tardation and the type of services that should be provided
for the betterment of these individuals. The evidence has
shown that authentic initiative action is needed to change
the status of the mentally retarded in Iran; only talking
about such matters will not change the situation.
C. Relationship with Colleges and Universities
To accomplish the goal of the program in expanding the
knowledge about mental retardation in general and of pro
fessional personnel in particular, the institutions of
higher education should contribute to a great extent.
There should be a continuing relationship with colleges
and universities for mutual professional and post-profes
sional training, and to promote dissemination of new know
ledge gained through joint functional research activities,
seminars or other activities.
Internship and traineeships for students of pshcho-
logy, social work, special education, in areas such as
speech and communication and paramedical areas would
constitute a major contribution for the training of
205
professional persons about to enter into work with mental
ly retarded persons.
Scope of Research
It is apparent that future progress in providing
training programs to the mentally retarded in a developing
country like Iran is dependent on the effective and
appropriate adaptation and application of the present
scientific knowledge acquired in the developed countries
and on the discovery of new knowledge applicable to speci
fic needs of the mentally retarded in Iran. Research and
observation can provide information that would improve the
functioning of individuals and other agencies involved in
the education of mentally retarded in this country. The
salient situational factors can be studied in order to
base the program on an appropriate foundation which is
more culturally fitted.
At the beginning of the establishment of the program,
due to the lack of sufficient financial resources and per
sonnel, the program might not be able to provide ways for
biomedical or behavioral science research. But other types
of studies can be designed relating to the methods of
teaching, curriculum (educational-vocational), instruction
al materials, diagnostic tools (tests), recreation, physic
al education, and behavioral management for the mentally
206
retarded population in Iran. Major causes of mental re
tardation and the importance of nutrition and the conse
quences of having bad and inadequate nutrition, especially
in poor and rural areas, can be one of the major areas to
be researched. In fact, to this author, developing coun
tries, because of their ecological conditions and their
socio-economic structure, provide unique opportunities for
research on the problems and characteristics of the mental
ly retarded and on design of materials and methods that
should be specifically employed with them.
Therefore, in collaboration with several universities
and research institutions in Iran, and also through proper
and accurate international relations with other countries,
important research and studies can be done.
Summary and Conclusions
This study was organized based on the comparability of
special education programs for mentally retarded in the
United States, Sweden, Iran, and Pakistan. As it has been
evidenced, the amazingly large and great problem of mental
retardation demanded the implementation of the program from
the very beginning. Although the most severe educational
problem facing the country of Iran is illiteracy, gloom can
not be tolerated over the heads of many mentally retarded
in Iran, as it could effect the economy, happiness, and the
207
efficiency of those families connected with these children.
Therefore, this study was undertaken to derive benefits
from the progressive programs of educating the mentally re
tarded in other developed countries, mainly the United
States, and to study the systems there. The feasibility of
their adaptation for Iran was taken into consideration in
reference to the nature of the situation existing in this
country.
History of the educational approach to the mentally
retarded is relatively new in the western world. It was in
the middle of the 20th Century that the realization of the
problem by the government and by the public and by the
educators provided a strong foundation for the structure
of special education programs for mentally retarded indivi
duals. Otherwise, in primitive societies such individuals,
unable to withstand the hazards of nature and the cruel
attitudes of the society, were eliminated early in life
and if they survived, they were linked with mysticism, bad
spirits and insanity. Still such an undermined and false
attitude exists in Iran, especially among the illiterate
and poor families. There, a mentally retarded person is
considered as a low-grade individual who is not capable of
doing anything, or he/she is considered as an innocent
child free from the corruption of the world. The ignorance
about facts, prejudice against scientific knowledge,
208
probably at this specific time, and lack of faith in modern
techniques due to the clinging with the old customs,
traditions and taboos, need a crusade in the form of public
relations to wash out all the false opinions and negative
attitudes.
No survey accurately enumerating the different cate
gories of the mentally retarded has been conducted in Iran
or even in other under-developed countries. Therefore, it
is impossible to judge the true status of any plan or pro
gram for the handicapped at this time. But there is no
doubt that there are still thousands of people in Iran who
are facing life with different degrees of mental limita
tions that prevent them from happiness and self-sufficien
cy. As it has been mentioned earlier in previous chapters,
the top ten childhood ailments in developing .countries
such as malnutrition, diarrheal disease, pneumonia, tuber
culosis, malaria, certain infectious fevers of childhood
(measles and whooping cough), intestinal worms, accidents
and infections of the newborn are among the causative
factors of mental retardation. These are quite prevalent
among the poor families and those living in rural areas
in Iran, as the malnutrition and unsanitary conditions
would lead to further complications.
The nature of special education and habilitation pro
grams provided in developing nations varies widely from
209
country to country depending on the level of social,
cultural and economic development, awareness of needs, and
the administrative and personnel resources available. Ac
cording to the available data in Pakistan and Iran, the
special education for the mentally retarded in Pakistan
appear to be in an even underdeveloped stage compared to
Iran. But, overall, the factor of economic resources and
the percentage of illiteracy in both countries appear to
be the first and the most major blocks in the development
of special education programs. As was mentioned earlier,
Iran has an illiteracy rate of 82% and has established
only a few and inadequate scattered programs in larger
cities.
In this plan an effort has been made to modify the
administrative and training procedures used in other de
veloped countries (United States and Sweden), so that the
specific needs of the country of Iran and the mentally re
tarded living even in its villages can also be met. The
multidisciplinary program in this plan will eventually
cover extensive and intensive services in areas of psycho
logical testing, medical services, social services, and
further in the future, speech and physical therapy. It
will also include development of special classes, curricu
lum guides, agricultural workshops in rural areas, and
guidance and services to the parents and other community
210
members. Great emphasis will be placed on improving gross
and fine motor abilities, since almost all agricultural
operations and arts and crafts in the rural community tax
heavily on these abilities.
This plan also calls for the establishment of con
structive tests and/or adaptation of several tests measur
ing different abilities and skills associated with mental
retardation. It is hoped that through such effort, means
will be provided to'differentiate between mentally retarded
children who may be truly handicapped from those who are
culturally handicapped and those who are illiterate but can
be gainfully employed on the farms without any special pro
grams. Further, through this establishment, those who are
identified as mentally retarded will be placed appropriate
ly where they can get adequate and proper training. Those
individuals will be provided with special education,
training and rehabilitation programs formulated according
to their potential, and to the workstandards of the communi
ty they live in.
The Ministry of Education should perceive and accept .
the responsibility for assisting in the training of future
teachers and workers in the field of the mentally retarded.
University students from such fields as education, psycho
logy? speech and hearing (when established), will be
offered an opportunity to get training and experience.
211
Through this plan therefore, pre-service and inservice
training programs provide the teachers with adequate capa
bility to increase their awareness and utilization of the
available instructional materials for mentally retarded
children. This program will also provide opportunities
for the training of teachers from rural areas in Iran so
that they can translate their knowledge and experience
in providing educational programs that are adapted accord
ing to the needs of the population to be served.
An outstanding feature of the present plan is the
emphasis on public relations and involvement of all the
staff members in such programs.
Research activities cannot be as significant as the
operating program, but they nevertheless form a vital and
integral part of the overall plan. Continued research is
necessary to develop and improve practices related to the
cause and treatment of the mentally retarded in Iran. The
plan suggests guidelines for the establishment of research
activities through the collaborative efforts of university
facilities, medical sectors, and special education person
nel in Iran and probably other developed countries.
Before presenting constructive recommendations it is
first important to touch upon some of the more general and
immediate problems which have hindered and will probably
continue to hinder program development for the mentally
212
retarded in Iran. Next, suggestions and recommendations
will be made to lessen the effects of such problems, there
fore, facilitate the implementation of the comprehensive
program for the mentally retarded.
1. Costly venture of education and of training of
mentally retarded children in particular.
2. The government of Iran may postpone the implement
ation of any program to educate the mentally retarded on
the plea that the majority of the normal children are with
out educational facilities, therefore, priority should be
given to fight against illiteracy.
3. Lack of awareness of the problem in the popula
tion and the unavailability of facilities for diagnosis and
for providing training programs.
4. Reluctance of the society to recognize starting of
any program for the mentally retarded children due to the
high rate of illiteracy, absence of public relations,
ignorance about the problem, void of any hopes for the
betterment of mentally retarded, and finally, fatalistic
attitudes toward the problem.
5. The great difficulty imbedded in educating an il
literate population in health and nutritional matters.
6. To determine whether or not an individual should
be classified as mentally retarded presents a great dif
ficulty because mental retardation is a stigma and people
213
would prefer to derive the benefit of the doubt rather than
be labeled and looked down upon in society.
7. To acquire accurate statistics about the incidence
of mentally retarded individuals is also difficult, since
many of these children are still hidden because of the
stigma and negative aspects of being retarded.
8. The heterogeneity and diversity of needs among
the mentally retarded is another variable. So far, the
depth of special education in Iran has recognized those
individuals who were seriously retarded in a true sense.
Mildly retarded individuals were hardly recognized'and
provided with appropriate special education.
9. Lack of standards for programming and the unavail
ability of certain services for particular levels of re
tardation and age grouping such as mild retardation and
pre-primary education respectively.
10. The problem of staffing is particularly difficult
in developing countries because of a shortage of trained
personnel (WHO, 1968). Difficulties to be experienced in
recruitment, training, retention and utilization of staff
in Iran.
11. At the present time due to the internal conditions
of Iran, such as poor economy, the problem of malnutrition
stands out and leads to cause more retardation.
12. Lack of trained professional staff and high level
214
of unemployment and underdevelopment at this time are the
main obstacles preventing satisfactory settlement of this
program for the mentally retarded in Iran. Placement of
the mentally retarded individuals in a normal working
environment faces many problems, partly due to few employ
ment opportunities for the able-bodied people.
13. With increasing socio-economic complexities the
mildly retarded which escaped notice, will emerge as a
problem (WHO, 1968) . So, the authorities within the field
will have to recognize those individuals whose mental ca
pacity is below the norm because they are unable to keep
pace with those of average ability in the more competitive
setting. Thus in the future, the presence of educable
mentally retarded in the schools will be felt by teachers
especially in urban areas.
Suggestions and Recommendations
The following suggestions are made for the better
operation of the present comprehensive program for the
mentally retarded in Iran.
1. The Ministry of Education (Department of Special
Education) should have the main responsibility for the
overall planning, leadership, administrative and develop
ment of the necessary facilities for the mentally retarded
in Iran.
215
2. Effective public relations programs and involve
ment of all the staff and other authoritative figures in
the community should be greatly emphasized.
3. The problem of staffing is particularly difficult
in Iran, because of the shortage of trained personnel.
This calls for a comprehensive training program for
physicians, psychologists, teachers, counselors, speech
therapists and social workers within the years to come.
4. To provide good benefits and adequate salary as
incentive for those working with the mentally retarded and
those entering the field.
5. Assign the trained teachers on the local basis in
order to take advantage of their familiarity with the
characteristics of the region and also the cost of travel
ing.
6. The importance of multi-disciplinary approach in
teacher training programs should be emphasized.
7. A comprehensive health education program should be
launched as a step toward prevention. Every agency for
the welfare of mankind at the national level should be in
volved .
8. To provide appropriate medical services to screen
the newborn babies for ailments such as metabolic disorders
which may cause mental retardation is mandatory.
9. Services aimed at preventing mental retardation
216
especially in high risk groups of the population should be
provided nationwide under the authorization of the Ministry
of Health.
10. Causes of mental retardation especially in rural
and poor segments of the society should be recognized and
communicated.
11. The importance of hygiene and sanitary condi
tions should be stressed as a step toward the prevention
of retardation.
12. The existing hazardous variables especially in
rural areas, such as malnutrition, untreated water, fly
transmitted disease, use of poison producing metal for
kitchenware (aluminum, copper), and unsanitary human waste
disposal which could lead to retardation should be recog
nized .
13. The consequences of complications during pregnan
cy and the importance of the health condition of the
expectant mother should be pointed out.
14. The creation of itinerant services (mobil unit)
would be of particular importance in rural areas (WHO,
1968).
15. The mobil units through their occasional visits
to rural areas should take over the responsibility of the
health conditions of the inhabitants in that area.
16. The mobil unit team through their visit would
217
stimulate and also train those interested and qualified
individuals in working with mentally retarded.
17. For the better judgment of the nature of the
present program, a national movement should be started for
identification of the mentally retarded. Not until an ac
curate statistic regarding the number and different cate
gories of retardation is available, will the true status of
this program be determined.
18. Provisions should be made for identification of
educationally subnormal children to prevent problems caused
as the result of dropout.
19. The use of multiple assessment measures should be
emphasized and the negative aspects of the- single measure
pointed out.
20. The government should encourage the cooperation
of different businesses and agricultural schemes to hire
the mentally retarded as part of their manual labor force.
In addition, government can provide employment for the re
tardates in its own establishment as a model.
21. The international agencies might be able to make
available proper contributions by assisting the development
of programs with financial and personnel support with the
primary aim of training talented professionals at the
administrative and planning level.
22. The help of international organizations should
218
not be welcomed if the cultural characteristics of the
country is not given a prime priority. This is to avoid
the previous mistakes, as to copy the exact model to the
cost of ignoring the cultural characteristics and the
available resources at hand.
23. Steps must be taken immediately to insure that
the mistakes of the past are not repeated.
24. The increased use of several agencies working
with the retarded for field experience of students in psy
chology, social work, and other disciplines is recommended.
25. Due to the shortage of personnel, the increased
utilization of the volunteers is also recommended.
26. Parent education and their contribution is great
ly needed and valued in the training of the mentally re
tarded.
27. Since mentally retarded individuals need longer
and more closely supervised experience in training and
socialization, early schooling (pre-primary)y and extended
schooling in the form of vocational education is strongly
emphasized.
28. Kenmore (1970) states, ”It is far easier to
establish special education services than it is to maintain
them” (p.274). Therefore, it is suggested that steps should
be taken to insure the continuation of the program through
continuous evaluation and revision.
219
29. Importance of physical education and recreation
in training programs of the mentally retarded has to be
recognized.
30. Institutions for higher education should provide
training courses for several specialists that their contri
butions are greatly needed in the training and treatment
of the mentally retarded.
31. Through a strong nationwide public relations pro
gram a favorable ground should be initiated for legislative
powers to declare equal rights for the mentally retarded.
32. To enforce compulsory education for the mentally
retarded, even as far as fining the negligent parents or
guardian who do not refer the mentally retarded child to
an appropriate service.
220
High Council
of Education
Organization for
Renovation, Expansion anti
Equipment of Schools
Educational Innovation
and Reconstruction
Bureau of
Public Relations
Bureau of
International Relations
Bureau of
Ministry
Popnty Minister for
AdminisI ration ? < Finance
Affairs
Depts. for:
Program Coordination
Radge t
Organi zation
and Methods
—(Inservlce Training |
Personnel
Administration
F inance
Deputy Minister for
Parliamentary & Regional
Council Affairs
Deputy Minister for
Social & Welfare
Affairs
Depts. for:
Legal and General Health
Parliamentary and Feeding
Coordination of
Regional Councils
-
Cooperatives and
Welfare of
Personnel
Follow-up arid
Supervision Out— of-School
Education Affairs
Secretariat High
Council of Education General Physical
Education
Depts. for:
Deputy Minister for
Instructional
Affairs
Deputy Minister for
Vocational & Technical
Education
Depts. for:
Teacher Training
Education Publi
cations (non-text-
book)___________ __
Provincial Units I
— 1— r ~ i — i— ----------------- t— i— i— i— i — I
-{Examinations j
Literacy Campaign (
-jAdujt Education
Depts. for:
Industrial
Education
Cervices
Education
Rural Vocations
Higher Schools and
Institutes of
Technology_________
Deputy Minister for
General
Education
Depts. for:
General. Education
Kindergarten and
Elementary
-| Guidance Courses
—( Secondary Education |
-(Literacy Corps |
-( Exceptional Children |
—( Tribal Education |
-| Moment Social Services )
DO
DO
FIGURE 7. Organization Chart, for Ministry of Education in Iran-,
General Director
Leadership
Administration
Policy Making and
Planning
Coordination
Budgeting
Evaluation
Director Director Director Director Di rector
Central Office of
Special Education
Eastern Regional
Office of Specia
Educat ion
Central Regional
Office of Special
P.ducati on
Northern Regional
Office of Special
Education
Western Regional
Office of Specia
Education
Southern Regional
Office of Special
Education
Division for Educational and
Vocational Rehabilitation
Program
Division for Psychological and
Social Services
Adaptation and Adjustment of the Program According to Each Regional Characteristics
FIGURE 8. Organization Chart for the Proposed Model of Special Education for the Mentally
Retarded in Iran.
co
to
to
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Creator Abedi, Maryam (author)

Core Title A cross-cultural study of considerations involved in the establishment of a special education program for mentally retarded as a possible model for Iran

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, special,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c26-504368

Unique identifier UC11246675

Identifier usctheses-c26-504368 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier DP24852.pdf

Dmrecord 504368

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Abedi, Maryam

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA