Updating the orientation and follow-up process in the Diagnosis and Orientation Centers, a necessity in the face of the demands of the III Improvement of the National Education System in Cuba

Abstract

The Diagnosis and Orientation Centers are multidisciplinary teams, in which specialists in psychopedagogy, speech therapy, pedagogy, psychology and social work. In the Cuban educational context, they assume the responsibility of the comprehensive psychopedagogical diagnosis, as a way to contribute to providing better quality educational responses through the process of orientation and monitoring of students with special educational needs at each of the educational levels. This process is considered the guiding activity of these institutions and is preventive, participatory and multidisciplinary in nature. Through it, specialists advise educational agents at each of the levels, as well as the family and the community. In recent times, the work of the teams has essentially focused on the care of children with learning difficulties, but considering the concept of diversity and the demands of the Third Improvement of the National Education System, which requires educational standards in correspondence with the challenges of the 21st century, it is necessary to update the process model, considering the potential of the teams to contribute to equity and equal opportunities for all students.