Maintaining a routine is important for all children, especially when they are in the hospital. Young patients whose lives are marked by illness undergo treatments often characterized by rigorous care protocols, subjecting them to invasive medical procedures, repeated and prolonged hospital stays, and forced separation from familiar environments such as their home or school. Hospitalized children lose the routine that marked their time before the diagnosis and often experience isolation from family and friends for varying, repeated periods. These aspects can become obstacles to the effectiveness of medical treatment or even cause psychological trauma, compromising or worsening the psycho-physical condition of the patient and their family. When children are hospitalized for extended periods, hospital school programs offer educational activities and lessons during inpatient stays. For several years, the presence of schools in hospitals has become no longer an exceptional circumstance but rather an institutional reality in many countries across the world, which have developed hospital school programs aimed at preventing prolonged gaps in the academic education of minors. Hospital schools are no longer conceived as episodic moments within the educational system but as permanent services for sick students, providing specific education in lieu of regular schooling. Awareness of the importance of this social service is growing globally, and numerous initiatives from various local governments aim to further its development and dissemination. In Europe, the Hospital Organization of Pedagogues in Europe, established in 1988, has actively contributed over many years to the international dissemination of best practices for the education of children and adolescents with illnesses. The Hospital Organization of Pedagogues in Europe network is also active in some non-European countries, including the United States, Australia, Brazil, and Israel. However, there are still cultural resistance and operational difficulties in many countries across the world, making the development of hospital school programs challenging. This commentary, prepared by experts affiliated to the European Pediatric Association/Union of National European Pediatric Societies and Associations Social Pediatrics Working Group, briefly emphasizes the importance of expanding school programs in hospital settings. Its purpose is to draw attention to the need to develop stable educational programs that can adapt flexibly to the needs and evolution of different healthcare systems and their hospital structures. The article also underscores the importance of maintaining high-quality education, adhering to the right to education for all, and the concept of special educational needs established in the 1994 UNESCO Salamanca Statement.
Educational Continuity: The Importance of Expanding School Programs in Hospital Settings
Marilena Di PadovaInvestigation
;Massimo Pettoello-Mantovani
;Ida GiardinoInvestigation
;Anna DipaceInvestigation
2024-01-01
Abstract
Maintaining a routine is important for all children, especially when they are in the hospital. Young patients whose lives are marked by illness undergo treatments often characterized by rigorous care protocols, subjecting them to invasive medical procedures, repeated and prolonged hospital stays, and forced separation from familiar environments such as their home or school. Hospitalized children lose the routine that marked their time before the diagnosis and often experience isolation from family and friends for varying, repeated periods. These aspects can become obstacles to the effectiveness of medical treatment or even cause psychological trauma, compromising or worsening the psycho-physical condition of the patient and their family. When children are hospitalized for extended periods, hospital school programs offer educational activities and lessons during inpatient stays. For several years, the presence of schools in hospitals has become no longer an exceptional circumstance but rather an institutional reality in many countries across the world, which have developed hospital school programs aimed at preventing prolonged gaps in the academic education of minors. Hospital schools are no longer conceived as episodic moments within the educational system but as permanent services for sick students, providing specific education in lieu of regular schooling. Awareness of the importance of this social service is growing globally, and numerous initiatives from various local governments aim to further its development and dissemination. In Europe, the Hospital Organization of Pedagogues in Europe, established in 1988, has actively contributed over many years to the international dissemination of best practices for the education of children and adolescents with illnesses. The Hospital Organization of Pedagogues in Europe network is also active in some non-European countries, including the United States, Australia, Brazil, and Israel. However, there are still cultural resistance and operational difficulties in many countries across the world, making the development of hospital school programs challenging. This commentary, prepared by experts affiliated to the European Pediatric Association/Union of National European Pediatric Societies and Associations Social Pediatrics Working Group, briefly emphasizes the importance of expanding school programs in hospital settings. Its purpose is to draw attention to the need to develop stable educational programs that can adapt flexibly to the needs and evolution of different healthcare systems and their hospital structures. The article also underscores the importance of maintaining high-quality education, adhering to the right to education for all, and the concept of special educational needs established in the 1994 UNESCO Salamanca Statement.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.