TEACHERS' KNOWLEDGE LEVEL OF EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE AND REGULATION OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS

Abstract

Emotional disturbance and regulation are key elements in special education classes but are still understudied. This study explores the topic of the emotions of students with special educational needs (SEN). The objective of this study is to examine the level of special education teachers' knowledge of (i) emotional disturbance and (ii) emotional regulation in SEN students. This study uses a quantitative approach in the form of survey as research design. A total of 74 primary school special education teachers were involved as respondents through a simple random sampling technique. Instrument used is a questionnaire adapted from the Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire by Mirabile (2014). Cronbach's Alpha validity obtained for the instrument after adaptation and pilot study was .838. Data was collected by distributing online questionnaire to the population of primary special education teachers through social media. Descriptive analysis was conducted on collected data through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software and summarized in table form. The findings of this study show a high level of special education teachers' knowledge of emotional disturbance in SEN students (mean=3.56) while teachers' knowledge of emotional regulation in SEN students recorded a moderate level (mean=2.94). Special education teachers have basic knowledge of emotions in SEN students but yet to reach the optimal level. The planning and implementation of learning in special education classes needs to emphasize the importance of regulating students' emotions and the role of teachers in emotions coregulations with SEN students.