Conductive education: implications for educational policies in New Zealand

Abstract

Conductive education is a system of education for children with motor disorders. This thesis considers the phenomenon of conductive education and the effects the introduction of the practice of conductive education may have on educational policies for special education in New Zealand today. The system of conductive education is defined, and its development explored through a review of the literature and interviews with individuals of key overseas organisations and observations of conductive education programmes. Its development in Hungary, the country of origin, is explored contextually, and a study made of the transference of conductive education from Hungary to the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and New Zealand. An examination is made of the development of special education policies in New Zealand as they affect the education of children with motor disorders, and an assessment made of how conductive education may be accommodated within these policies. A particular concern of the study is the exploration of conductive education as a complex pedagogic and developmental process which has orthofunction as its main goal. An examination is made of the expectations for motor disordered children placed in mainstream education after they have achieved orthofunctioning, compared with the limited expectations for motor disordered children in present mainstreaming practices. Consideration is given to the present state of the development of conductive education in New Zealand, and areas for further research and development suggested.