As part of the “Studying Dis/ability” project, a field trip was held from October 17–19, 2017, at the Pecka Vacation Camp (Czech Republic) for first-year students in the “Special Education” degree programme (TU Liberec) and “Special Needs Education/Inclusion Studies” (HSZG). This joint initiative was made possible because the bachelor’s program in “Speciální Pedagogiky”—in addition to the existing part-time study programme designed for working professionals—has also been accredited as a full-time programme since the 2017–18 winter semester. A total of 49 first-semester students (24 from Liberec, 25 from Görlitz) participated.
The excursion was organized by the Czech university instructors Dr. Hana Joklíková, Dr. Zuzana Palounková, and Jan Jihlavec, along with third-semester Görlitz students Sonja Jähnig, Ronja Beyer, Veronika Manitz, Anna Höppner, and Jana Nittmann, as well as Prof. Dr. Petra Fuchs and Prof. Dr. Ingolf Prosetzky. During the stay, icebreaker games and a series of self-awareness workshops were held to foster a good understanding of various impairments and “disability,” along with short presentations on the topics of dis/ability and inclusion. In addition, informational sessions were held on the respective academic programs.
Over the course of the field trip, participants gained a deeper understanding of accessibility as a prerequisite for the participation of people with various impairments. At the same time, it became clear that the linguistic and cultural barriers among the students were greater than initially assumed. In the joint evaluation of the field trip, participants expressed a desire to overcome these barriers in the future. To this end, an exchange program was agreed upon for the coming months. The instructors will each teach a class / course at the partner university, and at the student level, an invitation is planned to visit the Görlitz Christmas market, followed by private accommodations in student shared apartments.
The excursion was financially supported by the German-Czech Future Fund (www.fondbudoucnosti.cz/de).
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Ingolf Prosetzky
Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences
Faculty of Social Sciences
Chair of Special Needs Education/Inclusion Studies
Furtstr. 2
D-02826 Görlitz
Tel: +49(0)3581 374 4287
ingolf.prosetzky@hszg.de