Special Education Curriculum Research Articles

Analysis of Perceptions and Requirements for Creative Experiential Activity Curriculum for the Revision of Special Education in South Korea

This study investigates the perspectives of key stakeholders—teachers, principals, and parents of students with disabilities—regarding the 2022 Revised Curriculum, which integrates sustainability and climate change education into the Creative Experiential Activity (CEA) curriculum in special education. It focuses on their perceptions and needs for improving CEA to reflect hands-on learning and sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly in areas like ICT integration and social inclusion. Through a focus group interview (FGI) and the KJ method of analysis, key themes were derived and organized into six levels to structure the transcripts. The teacher group identified 69 perceptions and 73 needs, with main themes related to ‘extracurricular operation status’, ‘evaluation of extracurricular activities’, and ‘experience activities’. Their needs highlighted ‘suggestions for the revised curriculum’ and ‘expectations for new activities’. The school expert group recognized 37 issues and expressed 74 needs, focusing on incorporating ICT and SDGs, particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) into the revised curriculum. The parent group, with 58 recognitions and 56 needs, expressed perceptions of extracurricular activities in terms of ‘related knowledge’, ‘negative emotions’, ‘school status’, and ‘positive attitude toward their child’s participation’. Their primary needs included ‘request for student guidance’, ‘expectation for successful social integration of children (SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being)’, and ‘opportunities for participation in education’. Furthermore, this study addresses gaps previously unexamined in the field of special education by analyzing the distinctive needs of special education settings and proposing concrete solutions to address these unmet needs. The findings underscore the necessity of tailoring educational content to the diverse needs of students with disabilities, promoting inclusive practices that align with SDGs and reflect the evolving educational landscape in special education.

Issues and Challenges of Implementing Special Education (SPED) Curriculum in the Philippines: A Systematic Literature Review

This systematic literature review examines the issues and challenges in implementing the Special Education (SPED) curriculum in the Philippines. Despite legislative efforts, numerous obstacles hinder effective implementation, including inadequate funding, insufficient teacher training, curriculum inflexibility, social stigma, and infrastructural barriers. This review synthesizes findings from various academic articles, government reports, and organizational publications to comprehensively understand these challenges. It recommends policy enhancements, resource allocation, teacher training, curriculum adaptation, and stakeholder involvement to improve SPED implementation in the Philippines. The research uses Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to determine and choose the articles used in this systematic literature review. From over a thousand related articles, the researchers narrowed it down to fifteen (15) related articles following inclusion and exclusion criteria. The report offers evidence-based recommendations to address these difficulties, with the goal of policy reforms and improving their efficacy.

A Review of Changes and Issues in ‘Special Education Kindergarten Curriculum’ Documents through Diachronic Analysis: Focusing on the「2022 Revised Special Education Curriculum」

A Review of Changes and Issues in ‘Special Education Kindergarten Curriculum’ Documents through Diachronic Analysis: Focusing on the「2022 Revised Special Education Curriculum」

An Analysis of Achievement Standards for Economic·Financial education in the 2015 Special Education Curriculum

An Analysis of Achievement Standards for Economic·Financial education in the 2015 Special Education Curriculum

The power of digital story in early mathematics education: Innovative approaches for children with intellectual disabilities.

This study explored the effectiveness of digital story interventions in improving early math skills in kindergarten children with mild intellectual disabilities. Digital stories are multimedia narratives that combine text, images, and audio to enhance learning experience. This experimental study used a pretest-posttest control group design. The intervention group consisted of 15 children who participated in an 8-week digital story intervention targeting early math skills. A matched control group was used to control for sex differences. Data were collected through the TEMA-3 test scores and teacher and child feedback. Post-intervention, the experimental group showed significant improvements in TEMA-3 test scores compared to the control group. Teachers and children reported a positive perception of the intervention's social validity, highlighting enhanced engagement and understanding of math concepts. This study demonstrated that digital story-based education is a promising approach for improving early math skills in children with mild intellectual disabilities. These findings suggest potential implications for integrating digital storytelling into special education curricula and highlight avenues for future research in this field.

Learning Delivery Readiness of Special Education Teachers in Secondary Schools in Camarines Norte, Philippines

This study aimed to determine the learning delivery readiness of special education teachers in secondary schools in Camarines Norte. The study tested the hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between the profile of the special education teachers and receiving teachers, and the level of readiness in the learning delivery of special education teachers in secondary school in Camarines Norte. The study covered 324 respondents composed of special education teachers and receiving teachers. Descriptive research method was used in the gathering and treatment of data. Frequency count and percentage were employed to determine the number of respondents characterized by each of the items in the profile. Weighted mean and adjectival ratings were utilized in marking the level of readiness of special education teachers in secondary schools in Camarines Norte and the challenges faced by the teachers in the implementation of the special education curriculum program for students with special educational needs. Somer’s Delta using the SPSS software was used in determining the significant relationship between two variables which is the respondent’s profile and the level of readiness in the learning delivery of special education teachers in secondary schools in Camarines Norte. The findings of the study are summarized as follows: 1) Majority of the teachers are female with a total of 244 or 75 percent, and 195 or 60 percent are married. Among the 324 respondents 310 or 95 percent of them are receiving teachers, and most of them are 5 years and below in their position with the frequency of 60 or 49 percent, 213 or 65 percent of the respondents have attended 1-3 relevant trainings and most of them with units in Master’s Program with a frequency of 169 or 52 percent. 2) Level of readiness of special education teachers in secondary schools in Camarines Norte in terms of learning delivery got an overall weighted mean of 3.23 and interpreted as moderately ready, while in terms of learning resources the overall weighted mean of 2.82 and interpreted as moderately ready, and in terms of facilities and equipment a overall weighted mean score of 2.89 or interpreted as moderately ready. 3) The p-values of .003 and .002 respectively indicate that the relationships are statistically significant. The null hypothesis is not rejected. 4) The research revealed that challenges faced by the teachers in the implementation of the special education curriculum program for students with special educational needs in terms of facilities and equipment are considered significant challenge with a total weighted mean score of 3.71, while in terms of training a total weighted mean score of 3.81 or interpreted as significant challenge. Furthermore, in terms of the learning resources a total weighted mean score of 3.83 or interpreted as significant challenge and in terms of the learning strategies a total weighted mean of 3.64 or interpreted also as significant challenge. 5) The research also revealed that the common problems encountered by the learners with special educational needs in terms of the facilities and equipment got a total weighted mean of 3.64 interpreted as major problem, while in terms of the mode of instruction a total weighted mean of 3.71 or interpreted as major problem, while in terms of the learning materials a total weighted mean of 3.91 or interpreted as major problem.

개인중심접근 기반 개별화교육계획 수립을 위한 2022 개정 특수교육 기본교육과정 성취기준 분석

Objectives This study is a study that analyzes the achievement standards of all subjects of the 2022 revised spe-cial education curriculum based on the curriculum area of the COACH program to establish an individualized edu-cation plan through an person-centered approach.
 Methods To this end, keyword analysis was conducted based on the curriculum area of the COACH program, and the analysis subjects were selected from all grades from elementary to high school, including integrated curricu-lum (right life, wise life, fun life), Korean, math, science, practical course, career and job, physical, music, art, and information and communication, health.
 Results As a result of the analysis, first, when looking at the analysis results of each curriculum area of the COACH program, it was analyzed that academic preparation skills had the most achievement standards and jobs had the least achievement standards. Second, looking at the results of the analysis by school level, all elementary, middle, and high school levels included the highest achievement standards for academic preparation skills. On the other hand, elementary and middle school levels had the least job-related achievement standards, and high school lev-els had the least community-related achievement standards. Third, according to the results of the analysis of subjects by curriculum area, the communication area was the highest, and the social area was analyzed as society, personal management as science, leisure as science, academic preparation skills as science, functional learning skills as math, community as well as career.
 Conclusions Based on the results of this study, the implications for establishing an individualized education plan based on an person-centered approach and follow-up research are as follows. First, in order to design an in-dividualized education plan based on an person-centered approach, special teachers' high curriculum literacy and curriculum reconstruction capabilities are required. Second, in order to design an individualized education plan based on an person-centered approach, it is necessary to establish an individualized education plan so that the learned content can be linked to real life.

An Innovative Educational Digital Game Design for Primary School Children with Autism

The aim of this study is to teach the acquisitions in the special education curriculum for primary school students with autism spectrum disorder through educational digital games. For this purpose, an educational digital game named "Together with Autism" was developed. In the designed game, there are numbers, geometric shapes, concepts of size and smallness, colours and emotions taken from the MEB's curriculum for students with autism. The designed educational digital game was applied to 5 students with autism in the presence of a special education teacher, and data on the subject were collected from 5 special education teachers with a semi-structured interview form consisting of 9 qualitative questions. The collected data were subjected to descriptive analysis and the findings were interpreted and conclusions were reached. When the findings are examined, it is emphasised that educational digital games have positive effects on students with autism and the number of such contents should be increased. During the implementation phase of the educational software, students with autism had fun and reacted to audio and visual stimuli with laughter. Teachers mentioned the lack of digital materials created academically for this field. In this context, it was concluded that educational digital games to be created for achievements in the field of special education should be included. Teachers stated that educational digital games developed for students with autism increase motivation, support faster and permanent learning, provide learning by having fun, mobilise multiple sensory organs and reduce the burden of the teacher.

Pre-service Teachers' Views on Multiple Disabilities and Visual Impairment

Introduction: The study aims to determine whether there are any changes in the perceptions of final year pre-service special education teachers towards students with Multiple Disabilities and Visual Impairment (MDVI) and their education as a result of their teaching practice with these students. Method: The study conducted through semi-structured interviews under qualitative research methods involved four female and two male pre-service teachers who were purposively selected according to the criterion sampling method and who were studying in the Visual Impairments Teaching Programme and continue their teaching practice with MDVI students. The data of the study were collected through semi-structured interviews. The data were collected before and after the teaching practice and analysed using the content analysis method. Findings: In the light of the findings obtained, it is observed that the teaching practice with students with MDVI has a positive impact on the pre-service teachers' perceptions of students with MDVI and their education. After the practice, all participants had positive experiences with students with MDVI. The pre-service teachers have critically examined the physical structure of the school and the classroom after the practice; therefore, in the theme of the educational environment, while initially, two participants found the physical structure of the classroom positive, in the final interview all participants stated that it was not suitable. In the theme of pre-service teacher education, it was expressed that theoretical courses were useful but needed to be supported by practice. Participants stated that teaching practice with students with MDVI was beneficial in terms of gaining experience and that they would be able to work with students with all types of disabilities after graduation. Discussion: This study examines the pre-service teachers’ views towards students with MDVI and their education and shows that they change positively during the year of teaching practice. The pre-service teachers stated that their feelings and views about the educational environment changed positively as they gained experience. Participants emphasised the need to enrich special education curriculum by increasing the focus on practice and experience in course content. In addition, it was noted that in-service training and digital materials could help teachers to provide quality education.

2015와 2022 개정 특수교육 기본교육과정 내 디지털 시민성관련 성취기준 비교분석

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore educational implications by comparing and analyzingachievement standards related to digital citizenship in the 2015 and 2022 special education curriculumand to present directions for digital citizenship education for special need students in the future. Methods: In this study, digital citizenship-related subjects of the 2015 and 2022 revised specialeducation curriculum were selected and analyzed using the analysis framework of previous studiesrelated to digital citizenship. In addition, in order to confirm the reliability and validity of the analysisresults, reliability between analysts and expert content validity were executed. Results: It was found that the achievement standards related to digital citizenship increased in the2022 revised basic special education curriculum compared to the 2015 revised special educationcurriculum. According to the analysis results by subject, the Korean language department was themost frequent in the 2015 revised special education curriculum, but the information and communicationutilization department was the most frequent in the 2022 revised special education curriculum. Asfor the results of the analysis by school level, the high school level was the highest in both the 2015and 2022 revised basic curriculum of special education. The results of the analysis by digital citizenshiparea showed a high proportion of functional areas in both the 2015 and 2022 special educationcurriculum, and the results of the analysis by subtype showed the highest rational digital communicationability in the functional area. Conclusion: First, special teachers should recognize the digital society, be interested in preventingpeople with developmental disabilities from being alienated from the digital world, and develop theireducational capabilities. Second, in special education, it is necessary to conduct basic research ondigital citizenship by life cycle, such as a study on selecting digital citizenship education contentssuitable for the characteristics of special education subjects from elementary school level to adults. Third, special teachers should design classes so that they can become holistic digital civic education.

특수교육 초등 수학과의 교과서 삽화 분석 연구

Objectives It is to systematically analyze the mathematics textbook’s illustrations of special education elementary schools and present basic data on textbook’s illustrations related to future textbook development.
 Methods The subject of analysis is six books of special education elementary mathematics textbooks developed according to the 2015 special education curriculum. A total of 1,586 pages were analyzed using an analysis tool. The analysis tool is an analysis framework consisting of formal parts (number of illustrations, type, size, arrangement, clarity) and content parts (illustration role, suitability, and content consistency) of textbook illustrations.
 Results First, the average number of illustrations was 1.65 per page, and paintings were the most common type. As for the size, “2/3” was the most common in the 1st-2nd grades, and “1/2” was the most common in the 3rd-4th and 5-6th grades. By placement, “center” was the most common in the 1st-2nd graders, while “above” was the most common in the 3rd-4th graders and 5-6th graders. The clarity was very high. Second, as for the role of illustration, “activity guidance” was the most common in the 1st-2nd graders, and “data provision” was the most common in the 3rd-4th and 5-6th graders. Illustration suitability had the most essential functions. Content consistency was very high.
 Conclusions This study can be used as useful basic data for mathematics textbook’s illustrations being developed in accordance with the 2022 special education curriculum. In this study, it was suggested to increase the budget related to illustrations, present various illustration types, improve clarity, and provide training.

Optimasi Penerapan Teknologi Tepat Guna Mesin Peniris Bawang Untuk Meningkatkan Wirausaha Di SLB Purwosari Kudus

SLB Purwosari, Kudus district has levels for children with special needs with various disorders ranging from elementary school to high school. The special education curriculum for students with disabilities contains general programs, special programs and self-reliance programs which are developed to strengthen students with special needs for the provision of living economically independently, not depending on others. The problems faced by partners include (1) There are still many students with special needs who have completed their studies at SLB and have not been able to live independently, both independently in taking care of themselves and economically independent, (2) There is a need for additional variations / types of entrepreneurial skills which does not require a lot of thought and high concentration with minimal risk so that it can be followed by all students, (3) Inadequate infrastructure supporting entrepreneurial skills. The implementation method of this activity is the application of appropriate technology for onion chopper machines and cooking oil draining machines. Implementation of activities includes making tools, implementing tools, socializing activities by giving lectures on pre and post use of technological tools, procedures for making use of tools, mentoring, training and operating tools, as well as procedures for maintaining appropriate technology tools. The existence of this PKM activity has an impact on increasing knowledge and skills, as well as increasing the production of products produced by partners, namely students of SLB Purwosari Kudus.

An Investigation into the Attitude Toward Special Education Curriculum and Teaching of Special Education Teachers: The Data from China’s Guangdong Province

To further understand the curriculum and teaching attitude of teachers in special education schools in Guangdong Province, this study adopted a stratified whole-group unequal probability sampling method and selected 768 teachers from special education schools in Guangdong Province’s 21 cities for a questionnaire survey. The data on special education teachers’ attitudes towards special education curriculum and teaching were selected. Descriptive statistics, one-sample t-test, independent sample t-test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data and compared with the data of special education teachers’ attitudes towards special education curriculum and teaching in the National Survey of Special Education Teacher Professional Development (NSETPDS). The results indicated that the cognitive response of special education teachers in Guangdong Province to the special education curriculum and teaching attitude is positive (M=1.81, SD=0.51), significantly higher than that of the national special education teachers. The emotional response and general attitude were positive but significantly lower than that of the national special education teachers. The attitude of male special education teachers toward the special education curriculum and teaching was significantly higher than that of female special education teachers. Special education teachers with more than 20 years of teaching experience had a more positive attitude towards special education curriculum and teaching than those with 1-5 years of teaching experience. Based on the analysis of the research results, some suggestions are put forward to provide a basis for the professional development of teachers in Guangdong Province.

Early Childhood Special Education Curriculum for Individuals with Special Education (0-36 months): Examination of Parents' Experiences with the Program and Process

Erken çocukluk dönemi, çocukların öğrenmeye özellikle yatkın oldukları ve yüksek duyarlılık gösterdikleri kritik dönemlerden biri olmakla birlikte erken müdahale uygulamalarının da temelini oluşturmaktadır. Ülkemizde erken müdahale hizmetlerinin verilmesine yönelik çalışmalar son yıllarda artış gösterse de yeterli olmadığı bilinmektedir. Bu araştırmanın amacı; 2018 yılında MEB tarafından geliştirilen ve 0-36 aylık özel eğitime ihtiyacı olan çocuklara yönelik hazırlanan erken çocukluk özel eğitim öğretim programından faydalanan ebeveynlerin görüşlerini belirlemek, deneyimlerini ortaya çıkarmaktır. Olgubilim olarak desenlenen bu araştırmada; halen programdan yararlanan üç ebeveyn ile programdan ayrılmak zorunda kalan üç ebeveyn olmak üzere toplam altı ebeveynle yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiş ve görüşmeler olgubilim analizi ile analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda ebeveynlerin erken müdahalenin önemi hakkında bilgi sahibi olmalarına rağmen ülkemizdeki erken müdahale programları hakkında çok fazla bilgi sahibi olmadıkları görülmektedir. Ebeveynler yararlanmış oldukları Erken Çocukluk Özel Öğretim programının olumlu yönleri olarak çocuklarının gelişim alanlarını desteklediklerini, gelişimi takip ettiklerini, ebeveyn- çocuk etkileşimini arttırarak evde kaliteli vakit geçirdiklerini belirtmiştir. Ancak bazı ebeveynler, pandemi koşulları, programın faydalı olmadıklarını düşünme gibi çeşitli sebeplerle programdan ayrılmıştır. Programın geliştirilmesi gereken yönleri ise verilen eğitim süresinin az olması, sürekliliğinin olmaması, materyal desteğinin olmaması ve eğitim sürecinde farklı disiplinlerden uzmanların yer almaması şeklinde belirtmiştir. Buradan yola çıkarak erken müdahale hizmetlerine yönelik çeşitli öneriler sunulmuştur.

특수교육 교과용도서의 내·외적 체제 및 전자저작물 활용에 대한 문헌 분석

Purpose: This study examined how the internal and external structure of special education curriculum textbooks are organized and how electronic resources are utilized. Method: For this study, journal articles and books related to curriculum, research forum data, and special education curriculum-related policies and government reports were included in the scope of the literature review. Results: The themes of the literature review included the legality of special education curriculum textbooks, the format of special education curriculum textbooks, development of special education curriculum textbooks according to the revision of special education curriculum, internal and external structure, electronic resources of special education curriculum, and development of special education curriculum reflecting on future education. Conclusion: It is required to develop curriculum textbooks that could be flexibly modified based on the characteristics of each subject area to promote students’ self-directed learning.

일본 특별지원학교 교육과정 자립활동의 특징 및 의의

This study focuses on the Activities to Promote Independence, a specialized field in the curriculum of special needs schools in Japan. It aims to propose suggestions for the curriculum of special education in Korea through exploring the characteristics and significance of Activities to Promote Independence. Activities to Promote Indepencende is instruction for children with disabilities for them to improve and overcome their difficulties in learning and life, independently. The contents of the Activities to Promote Independence are comprised of the six elements: health maintenance, psychological stability, relationships, acclimatization in the environment, physical movement, and communication. The following are the characteristics and significance of Activities to Promote Independence. First, Activities to Promote Independence makes it possible to understand actual condition of each child with disabilities based on the ICF, and to design individual teaching goals. Second, it is mutually complementary relationships with their academic subjects. Third, it is a specialized field of special needs schools curriculum that can respond to the educational needs of each child with disabilities regardless of the type or degree of disability. It is also applicable to children with disabilities enrolled in elementary, lower secondary and high schools. We considered that these three points are important in enhancing the special education curriculum in Korea.

Prototype Curriculum: Opportunities and Challenges of Inclusive Schools in Implementing Education for All in the Metaverse Era

During the COVID-19 pandemic, both special and inclusive schools can implement the 2013 curriculum, the emergency curriculum, and the prototype curriculum. The prototype curriculum is a new opportunity because it focuses on developing students’ soft skills and character. However, it also challenges developing metaverse technology in its accessibility for students with special needs. This study uses a qualitative method with a literature study approach and content analysis techniques. The results were analyzed using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social practice. The research results show that the prototype curriculum in special schools or special education focuses on developing soft skills and students’ character. There is an opportunity for inclusive schools to be a fair arena for all students. If the development of metaverse technology increases the accessibility of students with special needs then the implementation of inclusive education will be achieved because in cyberspace everyone has the same equality and accessibility. The challenges faced by inclusive schools are government policies that have not implemented inclusive education thoroughly and evenly; the inclusive education curriculum which now has to adapt to the prototype curriculum; lack of facilities and infrastructure; teacher training that has not been maximized; lack of community understanding; and technical problems in the implementation of inclusive education.

Analysis of research on Korea’s 2015 revised special – Education curriculum

The purpose of this study was to analyze contents of Korea’s 2015 revised special education curriculum, focusing on papers published in Korean journals and candidate journals from 2016 (i.e., after December 2015 when the 2015 revised special education curriculum was established) to 2022 (present). Future research directions regarding the curriculum are also presented. To this end, this study analyzed 29 academic papers related to the 2015 revised special education curriculum, in line with the purpose of this study. These studies on the 2015 revised special education curriculum were analyzed as follows. First, trends of study purpose had seven subcategories: analysis of curriculum fitness (one paper), curriculum implementation (six papers), exploration of meanings (four papers), analysis of interest (two papers), identification of contents and characteristics (8 papers), development of curriculum elements (one paper), and reconstitution of curriculum (one paper). Second, based on themes, studies were categorized into studies on general guidelines (seven papers) and studies on subject curriculum (20 papers). Based on study results, future curriculum revision and research directions are discussed.

Curriculum Setting Method for Special Education Specialty Integrating Projective Geometry

In recent years, education has been paid more and more attention by the society, and the concept of “education without discrimination” has gradually taken root in the hearts of the people. Special education is a form of education for special groups, which embody the fairness of education. Different from the conventional education model, special education often pays more attention to the physical and mental development of special populations, so the curriculum setting method of special education major is also different from the general method. Under this circumstance, how to carry out reasonable curriculum setting has become the core problem that needs to be solved in the reform of special education curriculum. Projective geometry is one of the methods of studying graph transformation, and its core is the principle of projective transformation invariance. Under the guidance of this theory, curriculum reform also presents many invariable characteristics. Based on this, this paper proposed a special education professional curriculum setting method integrating projective geometry, aiming to reform the special education professional curriculum setting strategy by using the invariant theory. In the evaluation of curriculum setting, the article analyzed the effect of new curriculum setting methods on special groups from different dimensions, and preliminarily formulated the initial special education curriculum. It can be concluded from the article in the evaluation grades that with the blessing of the new curriculum setting method, the student's health evaluation reached 2.7, a year-on-year increase of 42.1%. This fully shows that in the course of special education curriculum setting, projective geometry can provide novel ideas and directions for new curriculum setting methods.

2015 특수교육 기본교육과정 내 환경교육 관련 성취기준 분석

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze the achievement standards related to environmental education in the 2015 Special education curriculum to understand the current status of achievement standards related to environmental education and to understand implications for future curriculum revisions and follow-up studies. Methods For this purpose a framework for analyzing environmental education related content elements was selected based on previous studies, and integrated subjects, social studies, science, practical studies, career and occupations related to the environment were selected and analyzed in the 2015 special education curriculum. Results As a result of the analysis, when identified based on the subject, the integrated subject included the most achievement standards, and elementary schools included the most achievement standards by school level. Finally, when analyzed focusing on the environmental education area, environmental knowledge had the most achievement standards and when analyzed focusing on the sub-area of environmental education, the global ecosystem of environmental knowledge included the most achievement standards. Conclusions Based on the results of the study, it was found that in the 2015 Special Education Curriculum, achievement standards related to environmental education were not evenly implemented in various subjects and school levels, and the area of environmental education was also biased toward environmental knowledge. Based on these results, implications for future curriculum revisions and follow-up studies were derived.