Abstract
The present study examined Bhutanese teachers’ general perceptions, challenges towards special educational needs (SEN) students, and professional development (PD) and training attended by teachers with their levels of stress. A total of 53 teachers of two SEN schools in western Bhutan participated in this study. The data were collected using the online survey. The findings of this study suggest that although, 55% of teachers felt that teaching students with or without disabilities together is a good thing, however, one of the challenges certainly was the inadequate numbers of trained and specialised teachers. The findings also indicated that teachers learnt skills in SEN mostly through personal initiatives such a doing further research and reading. Similarly, the results of the study showed that the female teachers were said to have experienced more stress compared to their male counterparts. Further, the study also revealed that some of the challenges identified by teachers while teaching students with SEN were the lack of teacher collaboration within the school, lack of resources, overcrowded classrooms and the lack of professional development and training. Alternatively, the correlation and the prediction analyses further revealed that an estimated of 52% variability of stress can be predicted by the PD/trainings attended by the teachers.
Highlights
Bhutan, like many other developing countries, is committed to developing an inclusive approach to schooling (Schuelka, 2012; Schuelka, 2014; Subba et al, 2018)
The need for inclusive education policy in Bhutan was started in 2002, in the Ninth Five-Year Plan (Royal Government of Bhutan, 2002), a Special Education Unit was established under the Department of School Education of the Ministry of Education
While the study revealed that some of the challenges faced by teachers while teaching students with special educational needs (SEN) are the lack of teacher collaboration within the school, lack of resources, overcrowded classrooms and the lack of professional development and training, which were found in studies by (Chhetri, 2015; Schuelka, 2014; Subbha et al, 2018)
Summary
Like many other developing countries, is committed to developing an inclusive approach to schooling (Schuelka, 2012; Schuelka, 2014; Subba et al, 2018). The claim is validated through the successive five-year policies and plans of the Royal Government of Bhutan (Gross National Happiness Commission, 2019), the Bhutan Education Blueprint (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2014) and the policies of the Ministry of Education (2017). The national standards for inclusive education policy for instance emphasise that “the special educational needs of all students shall be catered to, to enhance both participation in education and the quality of learning” (MoE, 2017, p.4). The need for inclusive education policy in Bhutan was started in 2002, in the Ninth Five-Year Plan (Royal Government of Bhutan, 2002), a Special Education Unit was established under the Department of School Education of the Ministry of Education. As of 2019, there are 797 students (492 male and 305 female) enrolled in 19 schools with SEN program (MoE, 2019).
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