CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
IN
SPECIAL EDUCATION
Presented by:
JENNYFER
A.
BULLECER
Challenges of SPED in the Philippines
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Lack of participatory activities
Involvement of parent and community
Accountability
Partnership
Collaboration
Lack of support
Peer Rejection
Labelling
Characteristics of individual pupils
Lack of access to the mainstream
Lack of awareness and attitude
Lack of trained teachers
Large class size
Lack of child-centered and relevant curriculum
Lack of proper infrastructure
Powell et al. , 2019,
p. 321, in Schuelka,
Johnstone, Thomas &
Artiles, The Sage
Handbook
of
Inclusion & Diversity
in
Education.
London: Sage, pp.
321-337
“ Engaging pupil diversity to
enhance learning remains a
challenging
task
for
teachers
in
schools
everywhere,
as
education
for all is extended to
become
universal.
Yet
successfully
supporting
diverse
pupils
in
their
learning
processes
has
always been at the heart of
outstanding pedagogy”
How do we think
about our craft?
“ We have to proceed the way a
good deal of the time, but there
should be moments when we
deliberately try to draw meaning
out of particular incidents and
experiences.”
- Hannah Arendt
Avoid the
risks of
“Automatic
Pilot”
Contemporary Issues in Special Education
Issue 1: Placement Options Dilemmas
Issue 2: Reconciling ‘special” & “inclusive” education
Issue 3:”Bridging” policy & practice
Issue 4: Utilizing SETs to “best effect”
Issue 1: Placement Options Dilemmas
‘Continuum
Provision’
Flexibility-range
alternatives
of
Educational provision for
children with special needs:
1. Special Education Schools
of
2. Special Ed.‘units’/ special
classes attached to
mainstream classes
3. Integrated settings in
mainstream classes
Issue 1: Placement Options Dilemmas
Negotiating issue of (appropriate )placement:
“responsible “inclusion
“pragmatic approach “ rather than
“purist” model of inclusion
-”cautious” forms of inclusion
-
According to Norwich( 2002), inclusion
is
about
mainstream
schools
accommodating a full diversity, and in
doing so leads inevitably to adopting
dedicated
or
specialized
support
systems for some.
Normalization
- Means a philosophical belief in SPED
that every individual, even the most
disabled should have an educational
and living environment as close to
normal as possible
Issue 2: Reconciling ‘special” & “inclusive” education
-Special education
- practice of educating students in a
way that accommodates their
individual differences , disabilities and
special needs
-Inclusive education
-complexities,
challenges, dilemmas,
contradictions/
uncertainties
-Special Educational
Needs(SEN)
-Additional
Educational Needs
●
Inclusive
Educationprovides
educational
services for all
students including
those with special
needs
How
can
special
educators
work
in
support of inclusive
education?
Florian(2019),
On
the
Necessary co-existence of
special
and
inclusive
education
- Inclusive education
has, can and should
replace
special
education
-Special education can work
in
support
of
inclusive
education and the task of
inclusive
education
which
addresses the barriers to
participation
faced
by
members marginalized groups.
From ‘Special’ to Inclusive Pedagogies
●
‘…requires a shift in teaching and learning from an approach
that works for most learners existing alongside something’
additional’ or different for those (some) who experience
difficulties, towards one that involves the development of a
rich
learning
community
characterized
by
learning
opportunities that are sufficiently made available for
everyone, so that all learners are able to participate in
classroom life’
Inclusive
Pedagogy
“focus on extending what is ordinarily available in the
community of the classroom as a way of reducing the need to
mark some learners as different”
(Florian & Black-Hawkins, 2011,p. 814)
“ All children can learn and their capacities can change”
(Norwich, 2013, p.80)
“See difficulties in learning as a challenge to teachers /
teaching ”
(Norwich, 2013, p.80)
Issue 3:”Bridging” policy & practice
Facilitating meaningful inclusion of students in mainstream classes
Differentiation
Collaborative
Problem-solving
activities
Heterogeneous
groupwork
Utilizing station
teaching approaches
Schools are flexible to be innovative in developing new approaches… and in
sharing successful practices.
Inclusive Education
(Finkestein, Sharma & Furlonger,2019)
Common
●
Extending
mainstream
education to all
Individual
Group
● Transformability:
“idea that ability is
not fixed but all
students can develop
and learn
Issue 4: Utilizing SETs to “best effect”
Resource Staffing: Special
Education Teachers
In class support
Ensuring the success of in-class
support endeavours: PracticalitiesQuestions for team teaching partners
-How can we find time to liaise?
‘Team Teaching’
“Collaborative Teaching”
“Co-operativeTeaching”
“Co-teaching”
Hargreaves, A.(2019)
Teacher Collaboration
-How often do we need to meet?
-How can we support each other in
planning and preparation?
-What resources do we need?
-Who will prepare what?
-How will we manage class discipline?
-How will we evaluate our joint
effectiveness?
*Looks bad when teachers always quit
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION: A
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS FROM TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE
By: Fely C. Allam & Matronillo M. Martin
Department of Education, City Division of Ilagan, Philippines
College of Education, Ifugao State University
Received: April 26, 2020
Published : March 4, 2021
Southeast Asia Early Childhood Journal Vol. 10(1), 2021(37-49)
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION: A
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS FROM TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE
●
The purpose of this study is to determine the issues and
challenges of special education (SPED) teachers in
teaching children with learning disabilities in the city
Division of Ilagan, Isabela.
●
15 SPED teachers- participants
CHALLENGES
Five Distinct Themes
1. Choosing Appropriate Strategies
& motivation
2. Identifying individual needs
3. Challenging but fulfilling
4.Acceptance & patience
5. Respect one’s right
●
●
●
●
●
Most teachers
teaching children
learning with
disabilities did
not receive any
special needs
education training
from the school
They feel they are
not qualified
Lack of strategies
Have poor learning
environment
Lack of fund
- Placement of learners with special
needs in an inclusive classroom with
ordinary learners is not with no proper
support
References:
●
Allam, F. & Martin, M.( 2021). Issues and Challenges in
Special Education: A Qualitative Analysis from Teacher’s
Perspective. Southeast Asia Early Childhood Journal.( 3749).
●
Cahil, K. & O’Sullivan, D. (2022) . Contemporary Issues in
Inclusive Education
Norwich, B.(2022). Education, Inclusion and Individual
Differences: recognizing and Resolving and Resolving
Dilemmas. British Journal of Educational Studies.
University of Exeter. Pp 482-502
●
“ A good education
can change anyone.
A good teacher can
change everything”
Thank you
for
listening!