Chair of Special Pedagogy has been existing at KUL since 1982. Its scientific curator was since the very beginning Prof. dr. hab. Teresa Kukołowicz. Since this time under her direction Dorota Kornas-Biela PhD has started her work in the Chair. For many years Prof. dr hab. Z. Ostrihańska, Joanna Krupska MA, and Romana Konefał MA co-operated with the Chair, lecturing on different subjects of special pedagogy. Later Ewa Domagała-Zyśk PhD and Bożena Sidor PhD joined the team. Since 1998 the chairperson of the Chair of Special Pedagogy dr hab. Kazimiera Krakowiak, Prof. KUL was nominated. During the next years the staff was enlarged and the following persons started their work: Amelia Dziurda-Multan PhD, Renata Kołodziejczyk MA and  Aleksandra Borowicz MA, Piotr Wojda MA (till 2006), Wanda Kostecka PhD and Grażyna Zajączkowska - Każmierczak MA.

The subject of special pedagogy in itself creates specific challenge for pedagogy, especially for Christian pedagogy. The demands placed in front of special pedagogues stem from variety and complexity of the problems that concern people with different dysfunctions of their organisms. Taking into account the immensely dynamical development of phenomena connected with the process of education in new civilisation conditions, it is important to realise the complexity of challenges in this sphere for contemporary Christian pedagogical thought. In order to perform both the practical activity and theoretical reflection and research in special pedagogy, special pedagogues should be equipped with thorough education and vocational preparation based on updated knowledge of the subject area and also of the auxiliary disciplines, such as medicine, psychology, sociology, and applied linguistics). It is also important to involve full and solid knowledge about the problems of handicapped people into the programmes of education of pedagogues, psychologists, teachers and social workers, in order to make social normalisation possible for the handicapped. It is also very important to educate thoroughly specialists in different sub-disciplines of special pedagogy, oriented towards Christian values, so as to provide proper rehabilitation and educational support for people with different disabilities.

The Chair of Special Pedagogy supervises a specialisation Special psychopedagogy with speech therapy. This specialisation, on the basis of elementary knowledge of Polish phonetics and phonology together with rudimentary knowledge of audiology accustoms the students with methods and tools useful in diagnosis of speech disorders and speech therapy, especially in the field of the speech therapy for the hearing impaired. It serves as an introduction into the problems of speech development of people with hearing impairment and methodology of using Cued Speech in communication with them in Polish. It also enables the students to learn Polish Sign Language. This specialisation allows the students also to get accustomed with the issues of prenatal psychology and pedagogy, psychopedagogical problems of procreation, prenatal diagnosis of disability and its consequences, early diagnosis and early intervention for a child endangered with disability, the specificity of functioning of persons with sensory, motor, somatic and intellectual disability and methods of pedagogical work with these groups of disabled people, especially with children with minimal brain damages. Another field of the specialisation consists of the issues of learning disability. The students have the possibility to learn about aims, principles and methods of learning disability diagnosis and therapy, methods of pedagogical therapy, methodology of therapy units, skills of designing, documenting and evaluating the work of school pedagogues. Special attention is devoted to dyslexia and ADHD.

Since 1999 the Chair has supervised Post-graduate Studies on Pedagogy of the Deaf „Communication with the deaf and hard of hearing", that has been preparing specialists for work with this group of students.  Since 2004 there has been operating a special Study of Communication Skills for Contacts with the Deaf and Hard-of-hearing that is a one-year specialisation course for students of different KUL faculties. In 2005 a Centre of Education of Deaf and Hard-of-hearing was established, which co-ordinates work of hearing KUL staff members and students working with deaf university students. Staff members, together with the Rector's Office for Handicapped Students, initiate and organise different forms of support for deaf students at KUL

Work of the staff of the Chair is multi-disciplinary in its nature. They undertake research in the fields of linguistics, speech therapy and pedagogy of people with hearing impairment (dr hab. K. Krakowiak, prof. KUL, A. Borowicz MA, R. Kołodziejczyk MA) prenatal psychopedagogical problems of procreation and psychopedagogical problems of disability (D. Kornas-Biela, PhD), pedagogy of people with intellectual and motor disabilities (B. Sidor, PhD), learning disabilities, surdoglottodidactics and pedagogical problems of disability (E. Domagała - Zysk PhD).

Since the beginning of the Chair existence the staff members have organised organised several dozens of scientific sessions and conferences, about 30 sessions in the framework of Section of Prenatal Psychology of Polish Psychological Association (1985 - 1995), co-operated in organisation of the XVIII Family Congress in Warsaw in 1994 and organised several annual conferences in co-operation with Inter-Faculty Postgraduate Family Studies and many workshops both with Polish experts like prof. M. Kościelska, dr Z. Kułakowska, O. K. Meissner, T. Król, J. Cieszyńska, E. Stecko, and with foreign quests, e.g. J. Vanier, O. Gans, dr van der Does. The person engaged immensely in organisation or co-organisation of the above-mentioned events has been D. Kornas-Biela PhD.

During the recent years, under the leadership of prof. Kazimiera Krakowiak, three all-Poland conferences on pedagogy of the deaf and hard-of-hearing have been organised:

  • Scientific Conference „Nie głos, ale słowo...". Przekraczanie barier w edukacji niesłyszących i słabo słyszących (Not voice, but word... Crossing the barriers in education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing),  Lublin, 19-21 listopada 2004.

  • Scientific Conference Rola rodziców w wychowywaniu dzieci z uszkodzeniami słuchu (The role of parents in upbringing and education of children with hearing impairement),  Lublin, 9 kwietnia 2005.

  • All-Poland Scientific Conference Edukacja osób z głębokimi uszkodzeniami słuchu - nowe wyzwania dla logopedów i pedagogów (Education of people with severe hearing impairments - new challenges for speech therapists and pedagogues), Lublin, 18-19 listopada 2006.

The staff of the Chair of Special Pedagogy is engaged in many scientific associations in Poland and abroad. Professor Kazimiera Krakowiak in 2006 was nominated a member of Academic Advisory Council of National Cued Speech Association in USA. Among other associations there should be mentioned: The Association for Pre- and Perinatal Psychology and Health, USA, Polish Fulbright Alumni Association, Komisja Rozwoju i Zaburzeń Mowy Komitetu Językoznawstwa PAN (Commission of Speech Development and Disorders of the Linguistisc Committee of Polish Academy of Science), Polski Komitet Audiofonologii (Polish Audiophonology Committee) Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL (Scientific Association of KUL), Polskie Towarzystwo Logopedyczne (Polish Speech Therapists Association), Polskie Stowarzyszenie Metody Fonogestów (Polish Cued Speech Association), Polskie Towarzystwo Psychologiczne (Polish Psychological Association), Polskie Towarzystwo Pedagogiczne (Polish Pedagogical Association), Zespół Pedagogiki Chrześcijańskiej przy Komitecie Nauk Pedagogicznych PAN (Committee of Christian Pedagogy of the Committee of Pedagogical Science of Polish Academy of Science), Stowarzyszenie Nauczycieli Naturalnego Planowania Rodziny (Association of the Teachers of Natural Family Planning) and others.

Beside the researches and didactics involvement, the staff of the Chair of Special Pedagogy is actively engaged in social and scientific life of our University and local community. The staff members performed or have been performing different university functions: Vice-dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences (dr hab. K. Krakowiak), Director of Inter-Faculty Postgraduate Family Studies (D. Kornas-Biela, PhD), curator of the Pedagogues Circle (D. Kornas-Biela, PhD), member of the Senate Commission on Adolescents (D. Kornas-Biela, PhD), Institute co-ordinator of Erasmus programmes and co-ordinator of Spring Academy 2008 and Autumn Seminars 2008 programmes (E. Domagała-Zyśk PhD). They also perform functions of experts for didactic equipment in the field of pedagogy of the deaf (dr hab. K. Krakowiak) and health education (D. Kornas-Biela, PhD), co-operate with Centralna Komisja Egzaminacyjna (Central Exam Commission) on school exams for the intellectually handicapped (E. Domagała-Zyśk PhD, D. Kornas-Biela PhD, B.Sidor PhD) and the deaf (E. Domagała-Zyśk) and with Ministry of Education (Opinion and Advisory Committee for the subject "Knowledge on man's sexual life", D. Kornas-Biela PhD)

 

Main publications:

Monographs:

  • Domagała - Zyśk E.: Autonomia czy odłączenie? O roli osób znaczących w życiu młodzieży z trudnościami w nauce (Autonomy or detachement? About the role of significant others in the life of adolescents with school failure). Lublin 2004, TN KUL.

  • Kornas-Biela D.: Jak powstałem (How I was created). Gdańsk, 1998, Wyd. HLI - Europa.

  • Kornas-Biela D.: Psychologiczne problemy poradnictwa genetycznego i diagnostyki prenatalne (Psychological problems of genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis) . Lublin, 1996.

  • Kornas-Biela D.: Rozwój psychofizyczny dziecka przed narodzeniem (Psycho-physical development of a child before the birth). Lublin, 1988, 1991, 1993.

  • Kornas-Biela D.: Wokół początku życia ludzkiego (Around the beginnings of human life). Warszawa, 1993, Nasza Księgarnia, II edition, 2002, Instytut Wydawniczy PAX.

  • Krakowiak K., M. Panasiuk: Umiejętności komunikacyjne dziecka z uszkodzonym słuchem.  Komunikacja językowa i jej zaburzenia (Communicative skills of a hearing impaired child. Language communication and its disorders). Vol. 3. Lublin 1992, Wyd. Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej Zakład Logopedii i Językoznawstwa Stosowanego.

  • Krakowiak K.:  Studia i szkice o wychowaniu dzieci z uszkodzeniami słuchu (Studies and sketches about the education of deaf children). Lublin 2006. Wydawnictwo KUL.

  • Krakowiak K.: Fonogesty jako narzędzie formowania języka dzieci z uszkodzonym słuchem. Komunikacja językowa i jej zaburzenia (Cued Speech as a tool for forming the language of children with hearing impairment. Language communication and its disorders. Vol. 9, Lublin 1995, Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej.

  • Krakowiak K.: Kim jest moje niesłyszące dziecko? Rozważania o ukrytych założeniach antropologicznych współczesnych koncepcji surdopedagogiki i audiofonologii (Who is my deaf child? Reflections about hidden anthropological principles of contemporary conceptions of pedagogy of the deaf and audiophonology) Lublin 2003,  Wydawnictwo Towarzystwa Naukowego KUL,  Lublin.

  • Krakowiak K.: Mówimy z fonogestami. Przewodnik dla rodziców i przyjaciół dzieci i młodzieży z uszkodzonym słuchem (We cue. A guide for parents and friends of children and adolescents with hearing impairment). /with Jadwiga Sękowska/, Warszawa 1996, WSiP.

  • Krakowiak K.: O wsparcie studentów niesłyszących w społeczności akademickiej Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego (Support for deaf students in the community of KUL).  Lublin, 2003, Wydawnictwo KUL.

  • Krakowiak K.: W sprawie kształcenia języka dzieci i młodzieży z uszkodzonym słuchem. Dla rodziców, lekarzy, logopedów, psychologów i nauczycieli. Komunikacja językowa i jej zaburzenia. (About the language education for children and adolescents with hearing impairment. For parents, doctors, speech therapists, psychologists and teachers. Language communication and its disorders.  Vol. 14, Lublin 1998, Wyd. UMCS.

  • Sidor B.: Psychospołeczne funkcjonowanie rodzeństwa osób z niepełnosprawnością intelektualną (Psychosocial functioning of the siblings of people with intellectual disability).  Lublin 2005, TN KUL

Publications edited by the staff members:

  • Kornas-Biela D. (ed.):  Oblicza macierzyństwa (Faces of motherhood). Lublin, 1999.

  • Kornas-Biela D. (ed.):  Rodzina: źródło życia i szkoła miłości (Family: a source of life and love). Lublin, 2000, ss. 520.

  • Kornas-Biela D. (ed.): Oblicza dzieciństwa (Faces of childhood). Lublin, 2001, Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL, ss. 600.

  • Kornas-Biela D. (ed.): Oblicza ojcostwa (Faces of fatherhood). Lublin, 2001, Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL, ss. 623.

  • Kornas-Biela D. (ed.): Osoba niepełnosprawna i jej miejsce w społeczeństwie (A handicapped person and his place in a society). Lublin, 1988.

  • Kornas-Biela D., Bielawska-Bartosiewicz E. (ed.): Z zagadnień psychologii prokreacyjnej (Selected issues from procreation psychology). Lublin, 1992.

  • Krakowiak K., Dziurda-Multan A.(ed.): Nie głos, ale słowo. Przekraczanie barier w wychowaniu osób z uszkodzeniami słuchu (Not voice, but word... Crossing the barriers in education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing) . Lublin, 2005, Wyd. KUL, ss. 456.

 

                                          (Tłumaczenie Ewa Domagała-Zyśk)