The kind of citizens that children grow to become depends on the foundation given to them during their early days. The future of a child can be made or broken right at the age of one or two years (Bonn, 2011). This is the reason why the Federal government of Germany has treated early childhood care as one of the key pillars in transforming children into responsible and fruitful citizens (Bonn, 2011).
The government spends a substantial amount of resources in giving children the foundation needed to put them in a better position to seize opportunities that life presents to them. In addition to early childhood care, Bonn (2011) observes that the Federal government of Germany has identified education for disabled children as another area that needs strengthening.
Measures have been put in place to ensure that no child misses life opportunities due to physical or any other form of disability (Bonn, 2011). This paper discusses some of the initiatives put in place by the Federal government of Germany to deliver better early childhood development and cater to the educational needs of disabled children.
In the past, German children below the age of three years were majorly taken care of in Kinderkrippens (Bonn, 2011). After attaining the age of three years and before joining regular schools, Kindergartens take care of them (Bonn, 2011). In this regard, Bonn (2011) notes that access to daycare services has been a constitutional right to all children at the age of three years and above.
The Federal government, in collaboration with local authorities and Lander, have recently sought to expand the facilities that offer day care services to children below the age of three years. As a result, some centers that initially offered day care services to children above this age started accepting children from lower age brackets. This move substantially increased the number of children attending day care centers (Bonn, 2011).
Constitutionally, children day care services are protected by the Child and Youth Welfare Act of 1990. This Act mandates day care centers to ensure that children grow to become responsible members of society (Bonn, 2011). The centers were charged with the responsibilities to provide professional care services to supplement parents’ efforts. This is particularly important at the time when most parents are held up in other activities such as employment or education.
Employees at these centers are expected to take care of the social, emotional, physical, and mental needs of children (Bonn, 2011). Bonn (2000) cautions that the outcomes of day care services are influenced by the age, developmental stage, and ability of the child.
These centers’ staff should, therefore, pay attention to specific characteristics of children at the individual level to deliver maximum outcomes. Bonn (2000) also notes that good care puts children in a better position to handle future challenges, harness opportunities, and remain positive about life.
The Federal government of Germany has shown commitment to enhancing early childhood development by progressively adjusting legal frameworks to take care of as many children as possible. In 2004, the Day Care Expansion Act was enacted to avail day care services to more children in the deserving age brackets.
Also, the 2005 Law on the Further Development of Child and Youth Welfare came into being to ensure that day care services reach the largest number of children with maximum outcomes. The right of children to day care services was further enhanced in 2008 when the Children Promotion Act was put into practice. According to this document, all German children aged one year and above should enjoy undisputable access to daycare services starting from August 2013.
From the information discussed above, it is clear that early child care programs are under expansion in Germany, especially for children below the age of three years.
More space is always being created in public and private daycare centers. Although the normal school calendar can be used in these centers, children who cannot receive parental care should have alternative arrangements when their centers are out of session (Bonn, 2011). Bonn (2011) says that arrangements may also depend on the needs of the families that are served by such centers.
Kindergartens may have no fixed curriculum, but the earlier discussed objectives have to be met. In this regard, the situational approach has mostly been used by many kindergartens (Bonn, 2011). This is the approach in which children are handled depending on their individual needs.
Although there is no assessment of outcomes, daycare staff should monitor the progress of children and report back to their parents. Bonn (2011) observes that parents can also use childminders to take care of their children below the age of six years. To further enhance outcomes in the future, the Federal government should initiate direct supervision to monitor performance in daycare centers.
German does not have a uniform approach to taking care of the educational needs of disabled children (Holly, 2010). Different states have developed their mechanisms to take care of such needs. In this regard, most of the states have designed schools to offer special education to children with special needs (Holly, 2010).
Holly (2010) claims that designing separate schools for disabled children undermines equality in the education system. According to Holly (2010), designing separate schools for disabled children amounts to discrimination based on disability. As a result, the Federal government has tried to encourage the integration of disabled children in mainstream educational facilities.
Disabilities do not affect children in the same way (Kock, 2011). Some of them may cause more serious learning problems than others. There should be a reliable diagnostic approach to be used in assessing the seriousness of disabilities in children (Holly, 2010). This will advise the best approach to help the victims. Holy (2010) observes that diagnosis can be done by a parent or at school, but it has to be confirmed by the education department.
Children diagnosed with a disability can be integrated into normal schools or be taken to special schools depending on the extent of their disability. Unfortunately, in Germany, the integration of disabled children in normal schools has remained poor at 15% (Holly, 2010).
With the ratification of the UN convention on the rights of disabled people, this country is expected to double its efforts in integrating disabled children in regular schools (Holly, 2010). In the cases where disabilities are too serious about allowing integration, there should be maximum interactions between schools for disabled children and regular schools.
In conclusion, the German government has substantially supported early childhood education. The supportive legal framework developed over time has given protection to children’s rights to day care services. The on-going expansion program will ensure that all German children get access to daycare centers.
On the other hand, there is a lot to be done in terms of taking care of the educational needs of disabled children. Although special schools can take care of the disabled children’s needs, integrating such children into regular schools would give them more confidence. Therefore, special schools should only be used in cases where it is impossible to integrate the affected child into regular schools.
References
Bonn, K. M. (2011). The Education System in the Federal Republic of Germany 2010/2011. Berlin, Germany: Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder.
Child and Youth Welfare Act (Kinderund Jugendhilfegesetz – R60). (1990).
Day-Care Expansion Act (Tagesbetreuungsausbaugesetz –TAG – R61). (2004).
Holly Fox. (2010). Integrating students with disabilities in German schools still a battle. Special Education Journal. 4(1): 2-7.
Kock, M. (2011). Disability law in Germany: An overview of employment, education and access rights. German Law Journal. 5(11): 3-7.