Abstract
The basis of the study is the findings of scientific research dealing with experiential reflections of university students studying in the special education Bachelor degree study program in Lithuania. The special educator is a teacher of children with special educational needs, an educational assistance specialist who is able to recognize, assess, and meet children’s special educational needs arising due to disabilities, disorders, or learning difficulties, and to professionally provide special pedagogical assistance in the conditions of inclusive and special education. In order to analyze the experience of prospective special educators who study at the university for four years, first year students were chosen. At the start of their studies at the university, in the first month of their studies, students do their practice in the institutions of the educational system: Pre-school, general, and/or special education institutions. The aim of the practice is to get familiar with the subtleties of the future professional activity. It is maintained that students’ initial experience outlived at the start of studies is important and significant for further studies at the university. The article deals with the results of written reflections of students who have returned from practice. The phenomenological hermeneutics method enabled to disclose students’ experiences in their practical activities during their observational practice, providing deeper understanding of the study area, as a precondition for reflective learning in further university studies, and by interacting with participants of the (self) education process, the article presents future special educators’ practical experiences and perceptions of their roles in the profession. The results disclosed that self-reflection provides students with deeper perception of themselves as people with special educators’ needs and problems, personal strengths and competence limitations that enable them to identify sources and means for solving existing and future professional activity problems. It further reveals that cooperation with family members, university teachers, social pedagogues, teachers, children with special educational needs, sharing experiences with student colleagues could lead to greater self-confidence in oneself as a future specialist. Curiosity and personal initiative enabled students to identify positive and difficult moments of the professional activity and future professional role while learning from experience.
Highlights
The goal of education for sustainable development is to develop competencies relevant for professional and social activities and a person’s self-expression in the rapidly changing world, distinguishing itself by manifold relationships [1,2]
Students shared acquired experiences with other students “... we found out with group mates, shared impressions and it was already much clearer what I had to do...”, enabling them to plan their further activities with children and better understand aims of their activity
The mutual assistance process enables to create the environment empowering the improvement of reflection abilities that are needed when students become experienced professionals in their professional field
Summary
The goal of education for sustainable development is to develop competencies relevant for professional and social activities and a person’s self-expression in the rapidly changing world, distinguishing itself by manifold relationships [1,2]. Sustainable development in education is related to the development of transformational competencies [3,4] In this respect, a special role falls on higher education institutions educating teachers. Higher education institutions seek to educate independent students and professionals in their study areas. Successful implementation of this aim requires acknowledgment of the fact that becoming independent primarily relates to development of self-assessment abilities in order to know and reflect on future professional activities [5,6,7,8,9,10]. The step is for them to know how to apply their knowledge in various problem situations in order to broaden their understanding
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