‘Sana All’ Inclusive Education amid COVID-19: Challenges, Strategies, and Prospects of Special Education Teachers

Cathy Mae Dabi Toquero

doi:10.17583/rimcis.2020.6316

Abstract

People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are confronted with diverse challenges as COVID-19 caused tremendous disruption in face-to-face educational settings. Apart from this situation, teachers are also facing difficulties in making their lessons adaptive and responsive to the educational learning needs of people with SEND. This article explores the challenges, strategies, and prospects of teachers for inclusive education during the pandemic. Using a qualitative approach, the researcher gathered data through Messenger chatbot and emails with five special education teachers in the Philippines. Findings revealed that the teachers’ experience educational apprehensions, intermittent virtual socialization, and psychological crisis. However, the teachers assisted the parents in supervising their children with disabilities' through online communication, homeschooling, parental engagement, psychological safety, and empathetic language strategies. The special education teachers also look forward to inclusivity in school policies and government-driven emergency interventions for people with developmental disabilities.

Highlights

People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are confronted with diverse challenges as COVID-19 caused tremendous disruption in face-to-face educational settings
They were asked regarding the challenges they face to support the children with special educational needs and developmental disabilities during the pandemic, the strategies that they have applied in assisting the parents as home educators, and their prospects relative to the educational support that they need to help the children with developmental disabilities
Educators need to maximize the learning of people with special educational needs and disabilities despite the pandemic

Summary

Introduction

People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are confronted with diverse challenges as COVID-19 caused tremendous disruption in face-to-face educational settings. Apart from this situation, teachers are facing difficulties in making their lessons adaptive and responsive to the educational learning needs of people with SEND. The special education teachers look forward to inclusivity in school policies and government-driven emergency interventions for people with developmental disabilities. Educación Inclusiva "Sana All" en medio de COVID-19: Desafíos, Estrategias y Perspectivas de los Maestros de Educación Especial. Los maestros de educación especial también esperan la inclusión en las políticas escolares y las intervenciones de emergencia impulsadas por el gobierno para las personas con discapacidades del desarrollo. Students with educational needs and disabilities suffer the most educational consequences, apart from the deprivation of their health essentials during the pandemic (Jalali et al, 2020; Safta-Zecheria, 2020)

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