Universidad Católica Boliviana "San Pablo"

5 ABSTRACT DESIGN OF EDUCATIONAL CENTER AND LABOR TRAINING FOR PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES FROM 3 TO 25 YEARS OLD IN SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA Andrés Marcelo Ortiz Navarro Research tutor: Dra. Irma Miriam Chugar Zubieta The objective of this work is to design an educational and job training center for people from 3 to 25 years old with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities, for special humanistic and technical education. The fundamental purpose of the center is to insert them into society and into the labor market of the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The methodology used was a review of primary and secondary sources. Among the primary sources, we quote: report on “Discapacidad intelectual” of the Special Education Resource Center of Navarra; data from “Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas” (INE) on 2012 census; and the book “Educación especial en Bolivia” from the Ministry of Education of Bolivia. In the secondary sources we quote: the article on “Tipos de discapacidades” from the ARQHYS journal; interview with the school director "PREEFA-A"; and Internet blogs about "Special Education Centers". Additionally, they conducted field surveys, observation visits, photographic records, physical surveys and interviews with people we consider relevant. The study shows that in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra there are currently 9 special education centers for people with intellectual disabilities. These spaces serve approximately 1,836 of the 7,083 people with intellectual disabilities in the city, meaning that 5,247 people do not receive an education or training of any kind. Most of these spaces were not designed and built as special education centers, but were modified for that purpose, thus, not counting with the necessary spaces for their optimal performance, arriving at the conclusion that it is necessary to implement a new special education center in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Keywords: Special education, job training, intellectual disability.