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Education and employment of visually impaired physiotherapists in socialist Serbia


Co-author(s):Jelena Seferović (mod.)
Leto:05. 11. 2025 - 06. 11. 2025
Publisher(s):Inštitut za novejšo zgodovino, Ljubljana
Language(s):angleščina
Type(s) of material:moving image
Rights:
CC license

This work by Nataša Milićević, Dragana Gundogan is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Files (1)
Description

The professional training and employment of persons with visual impairments in socialist Serbia underwent significant changes after World War II. Efforts were made to develop educational models that would expand the range of traditional occupations (such as brush making, basket weaving, spinning, and weaving), that had historically dominated employment opportunities for visually impaired individuals. These efforts aimed to better prepare them for participation in the labor market shaped by socialist industrial modernization. Drawing on international experiences, it became evident that visually impaired individuals could be successfully trained and employed in therapeutic professions such as massage therapy and physiotherapy. Beginning in the early 1950s, visually impaired individuals were given the opportunity to study at educational institutions on the secondary and tertiary level such as High Medical School and Medical College in Belgrade. For this group of students, this represented a development that continues to have lasting effects today. This paper aims to analyze the processes of education and employment for visually impaired physiotherapists in socialist Serbia. The key research questions include: What were the experiences and organizational structures of professional training in the field of physiotherapy? How did the employment process and professional engagement undergo? What were the major challenges, obstacles, and struggles faced, and how were they addressed by individuals and institutions? The research is based on an analysis of archival documents, written memoirs, and secondary literature.

Metadata (12)
  • identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/11686/71564
    • title
      • Education and employment of visually impaired physiotherapists in socialist Serbia
    • creator
      • Nataša Milićević
      • Dragana Gundogan
    • contributor
      • Jelena Seferović (mod.)
    • subject
      • slepi in slabovidni
      • izobraževanje
      • zaposlovanje
      • socializem
      • Srbija
    • description
      • The professional training and employment of persons with visual impairments in socialist Serbia underwent significant changes after World War II. Efforts were made to develop educational models that would expand the range of traditional occupations (such as brush making, basket weaving, spinning, and weaving), that had historically dominated employment opportunities for visually impaired individuals. These efforts aimed to better prepare them for participation in the labor market shaped by socialist industrial modernization. Drawing on international experiences, it became evident that visually impaired individuals could be successfully trained and employed in therapeutic professions such as massage therapy and physiotherapy. Beginning in the early 1950s, visually impaired individuals were given the opportunity to study at educational institutions on the secondary and tertiary level such as High Medical School and Medical College in Belgrade. For this group of students, this represented a development that continues to have lasting effects today. This paper aims to analyze the processes of education and employment for visually impaired physiotherapists in socialist Serbia. The key research questions include: What were the experiences and organizational structures of professional training in the field of physiotherapy? How did the employment process and professional engagement undergo? What were the major challenges, obstacles, and struggles faced, and how were they addressed by individuals and institutions? The research is based on an analysis of archival documents, written memoirs, and secondary literature.
    • publisher
      • Inštitut za novejšo zgodovino
    • date
      • 05. 11. 2025 - 06. 11. 2025
    • type
      • video
    • language
      • Angleščina
    • isPartOf
    • rights
      • license: ccByNcSa