Hospital School Program: The Right to Education for Long-Term Care Children

Abstract

Education and health are two inseparable aspects of a single dynamic which aims to support and increase the physical and mental well-being of children and young people. Children must be guaranteed two rights: the right to study and the right to health. Schools capable of reconciling these two fundamental needs are represented by school in hospital and home schooling. Thanks to this flexible teaching method, it is possible to support the child and his or her family during hospitalization, and to prevent consequences such as school failure and dropout. Hospitalization is always a traumatic event for children, in which white coats are unknown figures, perceived all the more threatening the younger the child: a threat to one’s integrity, loss of autonomy, distorted perception of time, loss of confidence, and a sense of abandonment. Therefore, it is important to create a communicative basis that facilitates the child’s adaptation to the new hospital environment and establishes continuity during this period of time. Teachers play a significant role within the context of such difficulties. They need to understand patients’ emotions and act as a bridge between the small inpatient room of the child and the outside world. In this article we examined: (1) the School in Hospital and the reasons why it is a valid resource for the psychophysical rehabilitation of the student in a hospital; (2) the role of the teacher in hospital and the difficult context in which the teacher has to work; and (3) how the school in hospital was challenged by the SARS-CoV2 pandemic.

Education and Social Exclusion of Children with Chronic Diseases: The School Reintegration

“…Benigno et al (2018), after a systematic review of the existing literature, point out the great importance of technologies in terms of connecting students with their school during their hospitalization and a possible extension at home. The relation between the original school and the hospital one can be supported by an electronic register and through the creation of a personal portfolio with recorded activities of the student (Caggiano et al, 2021). However, the integration of the technology tool into the teaching of this particular population of students proves to be quite complex for several reasons, including the skills required by teachers for their effective use.…”

An Exploratory Study of Educators’ Perspectives Towards Hospital School Program Support for Children with Special Health Care Needs After Hospitalization

“…“[H]ospitals are increasingly recognizing the importance of an H[B]SP as a core component of each child’s hospitalization” ( Steinke et al, 2016, p. 31 ). Additionally, access to a teacher and continuing with school, even while hospitalized, provides children with a sense of routine ( Magalhães et al, 2018 ; Ratnapalan et al, 2009 ) and attempts to offer hospitalized children the same educational opportunities as their typically developing peers ( Caggiano et al, 2021 ). HBSP teachers differ considerably from “traditional” school-based teachers in that they are often teaching students one-on-one, across multiple grade levels over the course of an entire day ( Steinke et al, 2016 ).…”

“…HBSP services are meant to mirror, to the extent possible, the instruction students would receive if they were in the “typical” classroom and should commence as soon as possible for the hospitalized patient ( Committee on School Health, 2000 ; Magalhães et al, 2018 ). With parental consent obtained, communication with the student’s school of record is an important role of the HBSP teacher in order to acquire information about the child’s skills and current educational programming ( Caggiano et al, 2021 ). HBSP teachers may communicate with general education teachers, school nurses, school-based mental health personnel (e.g., school psychologists, school counselors), administrators, and parents regarding the most appropriate educational programming for the child ( Committee on School Health, 2000 ).…”

Italian Hospital Teachers’ Perceptions of Technological and Methodological Innovations after the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…It is widely recognized that this situation had a significant impact on students’ learning and well-being and that prompted an unexpectedly massive use of technologies to ensure continuity of education via remote lessons ( Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2021a , 2021b ). The need to shift from a traditional face-to-face educational paradigm to emergency remote teaching and learning (ERTL) represented a challenge for educational systems, schools, teachers, and families ( Chifari et al, 2021 ), and also affected School in Hospital (SiHo) services – the services that provide educational continuity for hospitalized students – in countries where these are available ( Benigno et al, 2020 ; Caggiano et al, 2021 ; Gajda et al, 2021 ).…”

“…These ministerial provisions, as well as changes in hospital organization and operation, had a significant impact on SiHo services and how they functioned. In fact, during the first months of the COVID emergency (spring 2020), hospitals underwent significant changes at the organizational level: wards were rearranged and (non-COVID) admissions were reduced in terms of numbers and duration ( Caggiano et al, 2021 ; Sainati & Biffi, 2020 ). Further, teachers were prevented from entering hospitals and hospital school sections.…”