Special Educational Needs Students Research Articles

Facilitating inclusive education: Assessing faculty awareness and attitudes towards students with special educational needs at Qatar university

IntroductionAn increasing number of students with special educational needs (SEN) are attending higher education institutions. Faculty members are key players in the implementation of inclusive policies, the success of which depends on their attitudes and awareness to help students with SEN. PurposeThe aim of this study was to assess faculty attitudes toward SEN students and awareness of the support provided by the university for SEN students. MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study of Qatar University (QU) faculty conducted via an online survey. Demographic data such as gender, years of experience, and academic discipline were collected and associated with previous exposure to SEN students and survey responses using SPSS. ResultsThree hundred and thirty-one QU faculty responded out of 1107 registered faculty in 2022, a 30 % response rate. About a third of respondents did not know about available support services for SEN students, and only half of those with awareness of the services attended. After controlling for sociodemographic variables, previous contact with SEN students had a significant effect on attitudes, such that faculty with no previous contact with SEN students (M = 1.47, SD = 0.62) had higher positive attitudes towards SEN students relative to faculty with previous contact with SEN students (M = 1.31, SD = 0.47). However, faculty with contact with SEN students were more likely to report awareness of the availability of workshops and were more likely to be aware of assistive technology compared to being unsure, while those with no previous contact with SEN students were more uncertain about the availability of workshops and assistive technology. ConclusionThe findings suggest a need for targeted interventions to improve faculty awareness of support services and attitudes towards students with SEN in higher education, highlighting the importance of professional development and training initiatives to promote inclusivity in the classroom. Faculty members need to be aware of existing support services for SEN students.

Examining the complex connections between teacher attitudes, intentions, behaviors, and competencies of SEN students in inclusive education

Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, we explored the impact of 498 primary school teachers in Hong Kong on the competences of students with special educational needs (SEN). We found that their attitudes, control beliefs, and subjective norms about inclusive education (IE) significantly influenced their IE intentions, and subsequently their behaviors. Intentions and behaviors mediated the effect on the social and academic competencies of SEN students. Our findings, consistent across nine different SEN types, have highlighted the role of fostering positive teacher dispositions and reinforcing IE intentions and behaviors through training and peer support networks, facilitating effective IE implementation.

Improving the Ability of Teachers to Address the Special Educational Needs of Students through Capacity-Building Program

Formal educational institutions are now accommodating students with special educational needs (SEN), necessitating teachers to be adequately prepared to support these students. This study sought to evaluate teachers’ proficiency and familiarity in educating students with SEN both prior to and following their participation in a capacity-building program. The study employed purposive sampling, involving ten teachers responsible for SEN students. The findings unveiled that these teachers possessed limited knowledge and experience in dealing with SEN students before the initiation of the capacity-building program. Following its implementation, the teachers exhibited a substantial enhancement in their knowledge and experience. A comparative analysis indicated a notable contrast between the two sets of data, implying the effectiveness of the capacity-building program. As a result, the researchers recommended the integration of capacity-building programs to ensure teachers are adequately prepared and equipped for their roles.

Teachers’ Experiences of Inclusion in Classroom Settings

Inclusion, as a general term, touches upon the most important social aspects of human life—the experience of being valuable and the sense of belonging. The aim of the study was to examine the assessments of teachers at dyslexia-friendly schools (DFS) on how their students are being included and accepted by other students in class, and if these experiences differ between teachers that work in primary schools, secondary schools, and upper secondary schools. A questionnaire was administered to 433 teachers in Norway working at ordinary schools that were certified as DFS. A main finding was that almost all of the teachers reported a high, or very high, acceptance of differences regarding social and intellectual skills among students with special educational needs (SEN). Our findings about the high levels of social inclusion among students with SEN in DFS point towards the importance of including students with SEN in ordinary classes, not in special schools. Another main result was that teachers from primary schools reported a higher level of inclusion among SEN students than teachers from secondary schools. We argue that an explanation of this finding is that teachers working in primary schools have a relatively greater focus on inclusion in their teacher education. Other explanations may be a lower number of SEN students at primary schools, and that students at secondary schools experience environmental and biological changes that may affect their inclusion. In accordance with previous research, we find that in terms of inclusion in the classroom, the teacher’s role and behavior are of critical importance.

To Separate or to Include: A Qualitative Study of Placement Decisions for Students With Special Education Needs in China

Purpose This study aimed to explore the perspectives of students with special education needs (SEN) and of relevant stakeholders on how they make decisions when choosing educational placements. Design/Approach/Methods Eight students with SEN (four with intellectual disabilities and four with physical disabilities) who had transferred between special and regular education schools and their stakeholders, including parents, school principals, classroom teachers, and students without SEN, participated in the interviews. Findings Findings revealed that students with SEN were torn between the two forms of conflict placement. Different educational placements implied different educational methods and effects, and educational effects contributed to placement choices in return. Placement decisions largely relied on SEN students’ abilities, stakeholders’ attitudes, and school policies, with SEN students’ abilities being the most dominant factor, implying a model based on personal ability instead of rights and support. Originality/Value The Chinese government should formulate and implement policies to bring about more systematic changes in the education system and ensure adequate resources and professional support for students with SEN.

Social skills critical for success in elementary school: teachers and special educators’ perspective

Introduction Students with more advanced social skills are more likely to meet teacher expectations in terms of classroom behaviour and participation in the teaching and learning process. On the other hand, students with special educational needs (SEN) often have difficulties in developing these skills. Insight into social skills that teachers consider critical for the success of students in their classes enables better preparation of SEN students for inclusion in a mainstream environment. The purpose of this study is to determine which social skills are considered critical for classroom success by regular teachers who teach students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in inclusive classrooms and special educators in special schools. Method The sample consists of 33 regular teachers and 57 special educators. The Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) Teaching Form was used for data collection. Results Both participant groups attributed the highest value to Cooperation skills, however skills related to Responsibility and Self-Control were also highly valued. Ratings of teachers and special educators differ significantly only for Empathy skills, with significantly lower values attributed by special educators. Significant differences between participants who teach in lower and upper elementary grades were found only for special educators, with a higher value for Assertion attributed by special educators in upper grades. Conclusion Teachers and special educators place significant emphasis on social skills such as Cooperation, Responsibility, and Self-Control, which facilitate unhindered teaching and learning processes.

Self-dehumanization and other-dehumanization toward students with special educational needs: examining their prevalence, consequences and identifying solutions—a study protocol

BackgroundStudents with special educational needs (SEN) often face dehumanization, which negatively impacts their mental health, daily functioning, and educational outcomes. This study seeks to address the research gap in dehumanization literature by examining the prevalence, dynamics, and consequences of self-dehumanization and other-dehumanization among SEN students. Moreover, by utilizing psychological experiments, the study aims to identify potential intervention strategies and make recommendations to minimize the negative psychological consequences derived from the dual model of dehumanization.MethodsThis two-phase, mixed-methods study incorporates cross-sectional surveys and quasi-experimental designs. Phase 1 investigates the self-dehumanization of SEN students and other-dehumanization from non-SEN peers, teachers, parents, and the public. Phase 2 involves four experimental studies to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions emphasizing human nature and uniqueness in reducing self-dehumanization and other-dehumanization of SEN students, as well as their associated negative consequences.DiscussionThe study fills a research gap by examining dehumanization in SEN students, applying dyadic modeling, and identifying potential solutions to ameliorate dehumanization and its negative consequences. The findings will contribute to the advancement of the dual model of dehumanization, increase public awareness and support for SEN students in inclusive education, and promote changes in school practice and family support. The 24-month study in Hong Kong schools is expected to provide significant insights into inclusive education in school and community settings.

Employing Modified Design and Development Research (DDR) Approach to Develop Creativity Clay Module to Teach Special Educational Needs (SEN) Students with Learning Disabilities

Design and Development Research (DDR) is a systematic study of design, development, and assessment process for production of instructional and non-instructional tools. The purpose of this study is to discuss the Modified DDR approach to develop the Creativity Clay Module to teach Special Educational Needs (SEN) students with learning disabilities in primary schools. Studies indicate that SEN students with learning disabilities are weak when presenting creative skills in the classroom. Students are not sufficiently taught creativity skills in schools as teachers' creativity is low, and they possess suboptimal skills in adopting teaching strategies of a creative in nature. Therefore, there is a need to develop a specific teaching module to foster creativity skills among students. This study employs the Modified DDR approach. There are three phases in DDR namely; phase one: needs analysis; phase two: design and development; and phase three: evaluation. During phase one, a survey method will utilize using purposive sampling by adopting questionnaire instruments for 110 teachers to ascertain the necessity of module development. Subsequently, the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) utilized to obtain 15 experts’ consensus to design and develop the module prototype. In phase three, the usability of module measured by conducting a survey study using a questionnaire instrument with 120 samples of special education teachers. Then, organize the findings systematically under the DDR phases and analyze the data using descriptive analysis in phases one and three. In what follows, the researcher derives the threshold, d value, and experts’ consensus value in designing, developing, and evaluating constructs and items of the phase two module. The conclusion of this article presents a conceptual framework for this research. Hence, the findings provide potential information and guidance to design and develop the Creativity Clay Module to teach SEN students with learning disabilities.

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

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.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A MULTISENSORY APPROACH IN IMPROVING OPEN SYLLABIC READING SKILLS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS STUDENTS (SENS)

Mastery of reading skills of SENS (learning) is at a weak level and needs to be paid attention to. This issue is due to the cognitive disabilities and behavioral problems of SENS (learning) that need to be managed and dealt with by teachers in each teaching and learning session (PDP) specifically in Malay reading skills. Therefore, this study was conducted to increase active participation in PDP and improve the reading skills of open syllables, consonants, and vowels (CV) in Malay by applying a multisensory approach in PDP. This study is an action study. The study respondents consisted of eight special educational needs students (SENS) in class P3. The students consisted of one student with global development delay (GDD), one student with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and six students with intellectual disability (ID) recognized by medical experts. Data were collected through a pre-and post-test checklist conducted over eight four-week PDP sessions. The study’s findings show an increase in the development of open quarter reading at various levels during the study period. The implications of this study open up space for teachers to be more creative in applying a multisensory approach in PDP sessions to SENS for specific learning in improving Malay reading skills and also other subjects.

Teaching Assistants' professional support for Students with disabilities and their role in inclusive Education

eaching assistants and professional communication mediators are a relatively new form of professional support for students with special educational needs (SEN) in the Croatian school system. In the context of Croatian primary and secondary schools, they represent valuable support for students with learning difficulties and disabilities as a subgroup of SEN students. Ministry of science and education, with numerous documents and projects, ensures opportunities for inclusive education. Providing this kind of support with teaching assistants and professional communication mediators is one way of good adaptation to the student's individual needs. With this, students can take their chances for participation in the educational process on an equal basis with other students and without discrimination based on disability. Current publications in the field of assistants and teacher collaboration reveal some aspects of inclusive education challenges and suggestions for improvement. This paper considers the involvement of teaching assistants in Varaždin County and the city of Varaždin, their and teachers' perception of assistants' role in supporting students with disabilities. The sample of this research comprises 160 participants.

Challenges of Special Education Teachers in Implementation Individual Education Plan (IEP) For Students With Learning Disabilities (LD)

Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a written document that is able to predict the maximum benefits that can be obtained by special education needs (SEN) students through receiving education in the most appropriate learning environment. Therefore, it is important to look into the things that affect the effectiveness of IEP implementation among SEN students. Special education teachers can be considered as the most crucial individuals in the IEP implementation process. This study identified the challenges of special education teachers in implementation IEP for SEN children with learning disabilities (LD). A pilot study was conducted by using a quantitative method which is a survey design. Questionnaire was used in data collection. Descriptive analysis was used to identify the challenges on this topic. The results of the study were obtained from 30 special education teachers that working in Integrated Special Education Program of primary or secondary schools in Selangor, Malaysia. Most of the findings indicate that teachers were facing competency challenges, especially in terms of attitude. The results of the analysis conducted show that teachers were having biggest knowledge and skill challengs in the IEP evaluation process. In terms of attitude challenges, teachers were lack of motivation in implementing IEP for LD students. For further research, the researcher suggests a more comprehensive and in-depth study that involving all stakeholders of IEP team such as parents to determine the main factors that influence the effectiveness of IEP implementation process.

Improving e-Learning Videos by Adding Sign Language Interpretation and Subtitles

As a professional academic supporting unit of the University, The Independent Learning Centre (ILC) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has decided to provide additional support by adding sign language interpretation versions and subtitles to the existing self-learning videos. Such a project is pioneering in Hong Kong in addressing the needs of Special Education Needs (SEN) students. The project aims to benefit students with different levels of hearing impairment or other SEN as well as general students. While the revised videos will allow and encourage a wide range of students with different levels of learning difficulties to foster their independent learning skills, the added subtitles (Cantonese, Mandarin or English) can aid learning in terms of retention, comprehension, accuracy and engagement. Such benefit means general students are also expected to have their learning effectiveness increased by viewing these inclusive design videos. The whole project selected 98 videos from different self-designed online platforms, which would be over 10 hours in total. Once ready, the videos will be incorporated into the redesigned online platform and revised micro-modules accordingly. This paper aims to offer a first-handed and thorough perspective on the whole project in order to share the experience of supporting SEN and general students by making eLearning more accessible. When we are carrying out the project, we hope we can further benefit academia by sharing our successful experience. We believe the aims of the project can be further extended by sharing our experience with our academic peers, that is, our partners.

School achievement and changes in inclusive vs exclusive support over 50 years in Sweden regarding students with intellectual disabilities and special educational needs

ABSTRACT The Swedish educational system is recognized as being highly inclusive. Nevertheless, support in special classes and placing students with intellectual disabilities in special schools have increased after the mid-1990s. The study involves 65 thousand students in seven cohorts (born 1967–2004), participating in the Swedish longitudinal project Evaluation through Follow Up. It focuses on students with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) in the Swedish compulsory school and students with special educational needs (SEN) who received inclusive or exclusive support, compared to regular students without MID, SEN or support. Findings show inclusive support to dominate prior to the mid-1990s for both MID and SEN students. After that, increases in exclusive support solutions are noted. The high achievements demonstrated by MID and SEN students with inclusive support in all cohorts over a period of 50 years provide impetus for offering vulnerable student groups better opportunities for equal participation in regular classes.

Conceptual Framework to Design and Develop Creativity Clay Module to Teach Special Educational Needs (SENs) Students with Learning Disabilities in Primary School

This paper presents a conceptual framework for design and develop Creativity Clay Module to teach Special Educational Needs (SENs) students with learning disabilities in Special Education Integration Program (SEIP) in Malaysia primary schools. The Creativity Clay Module will be designed especially for students with learning disabilities based on Torrance Creativity Theory, Constructivism Theory, and Sidek’s Module Development Model. Thus, this paper presenting literature review on Creativity, Clay, Torrance Creativity Theory, Constructivism Theory, Sidek’s Module Development Model, Design and Development Research (DDR), Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM), and SENs Students with Learning Disabilities. Literature review evidenced SENs students with learning disabilities are poor in creative skills. Therefore, there is a need to develop a specific teaching module for SENs students with learning disabilities to cultivate their creativity skills through teaching and learning. Thus, this study aims to present a conceptual framework to design and develop Creativity Clay Module. This study will employ Modified Design and Development Research (DDR) approach. There are three phases in this approach namely; phase one: need analysis; phase two: design and develop; and phase three: evaluation. After gone through the three phases of DDR, researcher will produce the Creativity Clay Module as end product. This Creativity Clay module is able to nurture creativity skills among SENs students with learning disabilities in primary school.

Teachers' Implementation of Inclusive Teaching Practices as a Potential Predictor for Students' Perception of Academic, Social and Emotional Inclusion.

The aim of the study was to illustrate the impact of teachers’ implementation of differentiation and individualization (perceived by students) on students’ perception of their inclusion regarding their social inclusion, emotional wellbeing and academic self-concept. The study sample comprised 824 third-to-eighth-grade students [255 males (31%) and 569 females (69%)]. Around 10% of the sample (82) had special educational needs (SEN). Students’ perceived inclusion levels and academic self-concept were examined with the Arabic version of the Perceptions of Inclusion Questionnaire (PIQ-S-AR). Students’ ratings of inclusive practices in their classroom were examined using the Arabic version of the Inclusive Teaching Practices Scale (ITPS). SEN students expressed lower perceived social inclusion, emotional inclusion, and academic self-concept in comparison with non-SEN students. Moreover, high levels of inclusive teaching practices strongly predicted students’ perceived emotional inclusion, social inclusion, and academic self-concept. The results of the study supported the importance of school-level inclusive teaching practices and their relation to students’ school experiences. It also highlighted the need for schools and teachers to work towards improved school-level inclusion experiences for SEN students.

Long-term scarring from institutional labelling: The risk of NEET of students from schools for learning disability in Germany

This article demonstrates the disadvantages that students leaving special needs schools ( Förderschule) face in their school-to-work transition in Germany. We analyse whether the institutional label of ‘having attended a special needs school’ – beyond and above low school attainment – results in scarring effects for students’ chances of integration into training and employment after leaving school. We focus on students classified as having learning disability ( Lernbehinderung), the largest group among students with special educational needs (SEN) and examine their NEET risk compared to equally low-attaining students from general schools at age 20/21. The analyses are based on rare longitudinal data for SEN students, the German National Educational Panel Study. Employing matching and regression techniques, we find that the label of ‘having attended a special needs school’ does generate long-term scars above and beyond low school attainment. However, this is only the case for school leavers with a lower secondary school certificate but not for those without school certificate.

Assessing Emotions of Teaching Assistants in Inclusive Education.

Although there are an increasing number of studies on assessing teacher emotions in mainstream education, there is a lack of appropriate measurement tools to evaluate the emotions of teaching assistants (TAs) who need to take care of students with a range of special educational needs (SEN). This study tested the generalizability of the 24-item teacher emotion inventory (TEI), among 204 TAs from 122 secondary schools with inclusive education in Hong Kong. We conducted both confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Rasch analysis to test the within-network validity of the TEI. For the between-network validity, we examined the relationships between TAs’ emotions and their attitude toward inclusive education. The Rasch analysis supported the scale’s dimensionality and item fit statistics. The CFA supported the five-factor solution of the TEI. The results also showed statistically significant correlations between positive emotions (joy and love) and TAs’ attitudes toward inclusive education. TAs’ negative emotions (anxiety, anger, and stress) appeared to be negatively correlated with their attitude toward inclusive education. The results supported that TEI is a useful tool to assess the emotions of TAs that play a pivotal role in assisting both school teachers and SEN students, who are more likely to face increased emotional challenges than those not needing to educate SEN students. Implications of this study to enrich the current scope of research on understanding teacher emotions across educational levels and settings are discussed.

Distance Education Along with Pedagogical and Psychological Assistance for SEN Students on the Example of the City of Gliwice

During the COVID-19 pandemic, students with special education needs, including students with disabilities, found themselves in a particularly vulnerable position. What raised concern was the organization of remote education for this group of students, the implementation of tasks in the field of psychological and pedagogical assistance, and the effective use of recommendations contained in documents (opinions, decisions on the need for special education, or individual educational and therapeutic programs). The period of the pandemic and closing schools posed new challenges for teachers in organizing education for this group of students and meeting their special and specific educational needs in the online mode. The analyses presented in the article refer to the organization of remote education for students with special educational needs (SEN) and the organization of psychological and pedagogical assistance.

Impact of visual impairment on balance and visual processing functions in students with special educational needs.

IntroductionVision is critical for children’s development. However, prevalence of visual impairment (VI) is high in students with special educational needs (SEN). Other than VI, SEN students are prone to having functional deficits. Whether visual problems relate to these functional deficits is unclear. This study aimed to assess the impact of vision on visual processing functions and balance in SEN students through a community service.MethodsVisual acuity (VA) and contrast sensitivity were measured in a total of 104 (aged 14.3±4.3) SEN students as the visual outcomes, followed by retinoscopy. Visual processing function assessment included facial expression recognition by card matching examiner’s facial expression matching, and visual orientation recognition. Dynamic balance, by Timed Up and Go test, and static standing balance (postural sway in double-legged standing with feet-together and tandem-stance for open-eye and closed-eye conditions) were assessed. Static balance was presented in terms of the maximal medial-lateral and antero-posterior sways.ResultsOf the 104 students, 62 (59.6%) were classified as visually impaired according to WHO classification of visual impairment based on presenting distance acuity. Ocular problems (e.g. optic nerve anomaly, uncorrected/ under-corrected refractive errors) and neurological anomalies were the major causes of vision loss. VA was positively associated with visual processing functions (all p ≤ 0.01), as SEN students with better vision tended to perform better in visual orientation and facial expression recognition tasks, as well as dynamic balance function (p = 0.04). For the static balance, postural sway and VA showed a positive relationship under open-eye and tandem stance conditions. However, the relationship between postural sway and VA became negative under closed-eye and tandem stance conditions.ConclusionThis study found a high prevalence of SEN students with visual impairment, in which many of them were undetected. Optometric examination is important to improve their visual function to minimize the effect of vision on functional performance. Vision is critical in visual processing as well as playing an important role in maintaining balance in SEN students.