Perceived efficacy of teachers in Macao and their alacrity to engage with inclusive education

ABSTRACT

This paper reports findings of a mixed methods study examining private school teachers’ perceptions of efficacy in dealing with the challenges presented by inclusive education in Macao. This is highly pertinent after the Government invited consultation to propose changes to amendments of the Decree Law of 1996 concerning the education of students with Special Education Needs (SEN) which will likely see private schools being required to accept these students in the future. Within the context of teacher preparedness for inclusive education, the study found that a number of teachers felt that they were not at all prepared to teach students with SEN. Whilst some teachers suggested that they lacked skills and knowledge in teaching in inclusive classrooms, some felt overwhelmed with the challenges. The teachers proposed that they would need to know how to provide instructional adaptations and modifications to support students with SEN. Implications for continuous development of teacher training and education are discussed within the context of improving teacher efficacy and how private school teachers could better respond to the challenges of inclusive education in Macao.     

Improving teachers’ self-efficacy in applying teaching and learning strategies and classroom management to students with special education needs in Hong Kong

This study examines the impact of a revised one-week training course on teacher self-efficacy in terms of improving teaching and learning strategies and classroom management to support students with special educational needs (SEN) in ordinary schools in Hong Kong. Various teacher-related variables (i.e., level of prior training in special education, confidence in teaching students with SEN, knowledge of legislation and policies, years of teaching, teaching experience with students with SEN, gender, and school type) are analyzed among 347 regular primary and secondary teachers. Teacher confidence and school type are determined to be significant predictors for the self-efficacy of teachers in inclusive education.     

Inclusivity through exclusivity: An evaluation of the provision of a special education needs (SEN) placement within second level art & design teacher education in the Republic of Ireland

It is a feature of Irish second-level teaching that teachers will encounter pupils with special educational needs (SENs). To prepare them, the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) has designated SEN placements as part of the ITE programme, whereby students are immersed in SEN settings. These placements have been acknowledged as good practice by Merriman & Rickard, on behalf of the National Parents and Siblings Alliance (2013). Over the ten-year duration of this specific SEN placement, this immersion has led to positive outcomes for both the student teachers and the centres in which they have been placed.     

From special tasks to extensive roles: the changing face of special needs teachers in Finnish vocational further education

Following the development of inclusive education in vocational education and training (VET), the discussion about the prevention of marginalisation and dropouts has increased. At the same time, the formal education system has strengthened the position of support services, such as special educational needs (SEN) teachers, social workers and counsellors. However, a confusion of roles in the work of SEN teachers seems evident. The changing work of SEN teachers has not been of great research interest in Finland. The focus has been mainly on SEN teachers at the secondary school level (Kivirauma and Kuorelahti, 2002; Ström, 1999). The work of vocational SEN teachers has been studied by Kaikkonen, 2010 and Hirvonen, 2006. SEN teachers comprise two groups in the field: one group supports vocational subjects and the other group supports general subjects. The aim of this study is to determine how SEN teachers of general subjects define the objectives of their work and how they organise pedagogical support. Ten SEN teachers in vocational colleges were interviewed. A qualitative analysis was performed. The main findings showed, on the one hand, an autonomous position and, on the other, a work model that can be described as a ‘traditional special needs education model’. However, the findings showed that the autonomous role was contradictory. SEN teachers did not emphasise the connection with the VET community or college‐based guidelines and directions. Moreover, although the consultative role exists, the findings showed that it is not a regular part of the work of SEN teachers.     

The special education teacher between the priorities of inclusion and specialisation

In Austria, the profession of the special education teacher is facing major changes. Presently, special education teachers need to have general pedagogical competences to teach children of all grades, and are expected to have competences in managing highly heterogeneous groups in inclusive settings. Additionally, they need to apply special strategies to efficiently work with children with various special needs. Student teachers starting their education 2015/2016 will no longer have the option of obtaining a distinct degree as a special education teacher. Instead, future teachers will choose between teaching in primary or in secondary schools, and can then select their preferred focus from various options, including inclusive education. This qualitative study is based on written and oral research interviews with teachers in inclusive settings, and aims to identify competences in the areas of knowledge, action, and attitude which teachers consider necessary and effective for successfully teaching a heterogeneous group of pupils. The results indicate the need to further strengthen both the inclusive and the reflexive attitude in teachers. The outcomes will influence curricula development in the new teacher education programmes, and aid to tailor courses offered in in-service training for teachers working in inclusive settings.     

From vocational training to open learning environments: vocational special needs education during change

This paper describes the development of education of students with special needs in vocational education. The paper is based on a case study research conducted in 2001–2005 in Jyväskylä Municipal Federation of Vocational Education in Central Finland. The study consisted of two parts: firstly of the historical analysis of special educational stages, and secondly of the contemporary analysis of special educational challenges in the research target. The Developmental Work Research model was used in attempting to get a systemic view of different factors affecting a special educational entity. The study showed the importance of a holistic view. The special educational system in the research target seems to be strongly linked to the general structure of vocational education, its goals, learning principles, legislation and personnel structure. The development of vocational special education in Jyväskylä followed the strongly regulated national guidelines set for vocational special education until the end of the 1990s. At that time new legislation, structural reforms and the change from norm‐based towards an autonomous information‐based self‐government opened doors for new special educational implementation. From the perspective of teachers specialized in special educational needs (SEN‐teachers) a clear change can be seen from an autonomous, defined work towards a loss of an expertise position. However, the strong linkage between general and special education in vocational education offers possibilities for inclusive education. In order to face the new challenges, the work of SEN‐teachers has to be redefined to clearly broaden the perspective from teaching towards new expertise in each educational establishment.     

Factors associated with staff perceptions towards inclusive education in Singapore

In this study, we sought to examine the perceptions of teachers and other school professionals towards the inclusion of secondary school students with special educational needs (SEN), and the associated factors. The Sentiments, Attitudes and Concerns about Inclusive Education Revised scale (SACIE-R) was completed by 131 teachers and school professionals from two mainstream secondary schools in Singapore. The findings revealed an overall neutral attitude towards inclusion. Together, confidence in teaching students with SEN, the level of training SEN support, as well as experience teaching students with SEN account for a large proportion of the variance in ratings of inclusive perceptions. Further analyses revealed that confidence in teaching or supporting students with SEN was found to be a significant predictor of inclusive perceptions. The findings suggest that schools seeking to engage in inclusive practices should focus on ways to develop the confidence of personnel to support students with SEN. Professional development and mentorship were suggested as possible avenues.     

The school staff's perception of their ability to teach special educational needs pupils in inclusive settings in Finland

Recent studies have suggested that the professional training received by general educators does not adequately prepare them to properly implement inclusion-based practices. The idea of inclusion in practice has not significantly changed the situation of teaching pupils with special educational needs (SENs) in mainstream classes. This study's primary intent is to examine the factors that identify the school staff's ability to meet the needs of SEN pupils in their daily teaching situations. A total of 187 elementary school teachers, principals and teaching assistants in a Finnish city completed a structured questionnaire that used a self-evaluation method. Two components were generalised according to answers concerning the respondents’ confidence in and knowledge of teaching SEN pupils. The results indicate that teachers’ qualifications constitute the main reason affecting their ability in this area. Pedagogical and practical knowledge, as well as collaborative skills in teaching SEN pupils, is focused on special educators. These findings reveal the need for additional and in-service training and more effective cooperation between special and general education to share the knowledge of teaching SEN pupils in practice.     

Understanding inclusive education practices in schools under local government jurisdiction: a study of Khon Kaen Municipality in Thailand

This article investigates inclusive education practices in schools under the jurisdiction of Thai local government through a study of schools in Khon Kaen Municipality in Northeastern Thailand. Thailand’s 1997 Constitution and 1999 National Education Act both legislated that the educational system must become inclusive, and under these laws schools are required to admit all groups of children, including children with special educational needs (SEN). This study sheds light on the situation of inclusive education in schools with regard to administrators’ policy implementation, teachers’ practices, and parents’ perception of inclusive education management. The findings derive from a survey of 11 school administrators, 114 teachers, and 274 parents (of 137 regular and 137 students with SEN), together with six focus groups with administrators and teachers from six schools. The results demonstrate that most school leaders support inclusive classrooms, most teachers are willing to work with SEN students, and parents of regular students accept the concept of inclusion. Actual practices of inclusive education vary, however, depending upon the perception of administrators and the will of the teachers to implement inclusive education. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the policy of the municipality may have resulted in the development of inclusive practices in schools under its jurisdiction.     

Dual PowerPoint presentation approach for students with special educational needs and note-takers

Abstract

In higher education, supporting students with special educational needs (SEN) necessitates an understanding of these needs, additional teaching aids and innovative ideas. The teacher must be an integral part of this support process, and this is difficult for the majority of teachers, due to their lack of core understanding of SEN. However, teachers can focus on their core skills and content knowledge, and have immense alacrity to explore potential options to support their students with SEN. I decided to support my students with SEN by adapting my PowerPoint presentations according to their requirements. PowerPoint presentations usually provide concisely summarised information to students that often lead to confusion in their pre-lecture or post-lecture review. This lack of comprehensive subject information within PowerPoint presentations can have serious implications for students with SEN and their note-takers if no other teaching resources or aids are available to help them. Students with SEN and note-takers reported this concern to me at Aberystwyth University, UK. Consequently, I began to explore ways to make my PowerPoint presentations extra helpful for my students with SEN. After a review of best practices for students with SEN based on universal design for learning and a few trials, I developed a dual PowerPoint presentation (DPP), lecture handouts and comprehensive lecture notes. Subsequently, I successfully employed this approach in the delivery of some of the undergraduate modules of a BSc computer science programme. Feedback from students with SEN, note-takers and the student support department, and examination results showed the success and potential of this DPP approach.     

Assessing the special education professional development needs of northern Malawian schoolteachers

This research examines special needs education professional development needs among both general and special education schoolteachers in northern Malawi. A semi‐structured questionnaire with open and close‐ended questions was used for the research. Quantitative and thematic analyses were conducted to determine the extent to which teachers believe that students with disabilities should be educated together with students without disabilities, the importance of professional development for teaching students with disabilities, prioritised professional development needs regarding special education knowledge, and self‐identified needs for successful special education classrooms. Results indicate that teachers are generally in favour of inclusive practices and identify a high need for special education professional development. Participants identified training and resources to teach students with visual impairments or auditory impairments as a high priority. Participants noted a need for improved infrastructure, more educational materials, and recognition by the government for work in special education.     

The effect of the integration of students with special educational needs: Evidence from Chile

This paper studies the effect of the integration of students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) on the academic achievement of their peers without SEN. This achievement is measured using performance in standardized reading and mathematics tests. The study also evaluates the effect of a policy that recognizes and increases resources for special educational needs that had not yet been considered and improves education provision protocols for students with SEN. Using administrative data and standardized test scores, we constructed a panel that follows a cohort of students before and after the reform, determining for each individual and year whether the class to which he/she belongs has any students with SEN. Our identification strategy employs panel data with fixed effects at the school, individual, and time levels. Estimates show that, on average, having a peer with SEN in the classroom has a negative effect on the academic performance of students without SEN. However, these effects are small and decrease, or even vanish, once better inclusion policies are in place. These results suggest that the effect on peers is almost totally canceled when more resources are provided and when adequate treatment and support protocols are implemented.     

Primary teachers’ perceptions of multi-grade classroom grouping practices to support inclusive education

ABSTRACT

Previous research has focused on inclusive classroom practices in mainstream primary schools but little is documented regarding practices in multi-grade classrooms. The purpose of this paper was to report mainstream primary teachers’ perceptions of multi-grade classroom grouping practices to support inclusive education specifically for students with special educational needs (SEN). The findings indicated that despite the difficulty of covering the curricula of the various grades, multi-grade teachers reported the implementation of flexible grouping practices (ability, mixed ability, social) for academic or social reasons. However, the tension between meeting the needs of the grade groups and the individual student with SEN were apparent, with some practices documented not necessarily inclusive. The importance of using appropriate grouping practices to enable teachers to include all students, thereby avoiding potentially negative effects of treating some students differently was emphasised.     

Links between teachers’ knowledge about special educational needs and students’ social participation and academic achievement in mainstream classes

Teachers' pedagogical knowledge is considered a prerequisite for effective teaching and is also expected to be relevant in highly diverse, inclusive classes. This study examines the social participation and academic achievement of children with and without special educational needs (SEN) due to emotional and behavioral (EBD) and learning (LD) difficulties and the importance of teachers' knowledge of these SEN. In 25 primary school classes with at least one child with SEN EBD (N₁ = 421) and 40 classes with at least one child with SEN LD (N₂ = 715), multilevel analyses revealed poorer performance of students with SEN. Students with SEN EBD also felt less integrated than their peers without SEN. Teachers' EBD knowledge was positively related to every student’s social participation and academic achievement, but teachers’ LD knowledge was unrelated. The results underscore the importance of teacher knowledge for student outcomes in classes with students with SEN.     

The identification by teachers of special educational needs in primary school pupils and factors associated with referral to special education

This paper addresses the identification of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream primary schools by their teachers. Data were analysed from two consecutive measurement occasions of a large cohort study in the Netherlands. The types and severity of pupils’ problems, and their school careers were studied. Around 25% of the pupils were considered by their teachers to have SEN. Results show that a substantial percentage of pupils who had been identified with SEN at the first measurement occasion were not identified with SEN three years later, whereas the same percentage had not been identified with SEN at the first occasion but was at the second occasion. Significant predictors of being identified with SEN include results from skills tests, and the teacher’s views on the pupil performing below expectations, having a less favourable attitude to work, being less popular with classmates, and being more dependent on the teacher. In addition, boys are more likely to be identified with SEN in comparison to girls. Cognitive impairment and/or delayed cognitive development proved to be the most influential predictor of referral to special education. In addition, chances of a pupil being referred to special education are influenced by several other pupil characteristics. Implications of these outcomes are discussed.     

Teaching experiences of students with special educational needs in co‐taught and non‐co‐taught classes

Co‐teaching has gained considerable interest as a service delivery model for promoting the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream classrooms. This study examines whether co‐teaching has an effect on the teaching experiences of 12 students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 10 students with intellectual disability (ID) as compared with the experiences of the same students in non‐co‐taught classes. We implemented 264 structured observations in 22 classes to identify students with SEN grouping arrangements, level of engagement, interactions with teachers and peers, and the nature of the interactions. We also conducted 44 structured interviews with co‐teachers to compound their perceptions with our observations. Observational results indicate that co‐teaching has a strong effect on students' with SEN level of engagement and on the nature of interactions. The grouping arrangements for these students and their interactions with teachers and peers were slightly different between co‐taught and non‐co‐taught classes. More statistically significant differences were identified between the two conditions for students with ASD than for students with ID. Also, co‐teachers reported that co‐teaching had a positive effect on students with SEN in all researched variables. Our study concludes that co‐teaching has some positive effect on the teaching experiences of students with SEN; nevertheless, there is still scope for improving the employment of co‐teaching in Greek mainstream classrooms. Implications of these findings for current practice are discussed.     

Students negotiating the borders between general and special education classes: an ethnographic and participatory research study

ABSTRACT

Although Finnish basic education is based on inclusion, 37% of students receiving special support still study in either separate schools or separate classes in comprehensive schools. In this study we explore how policies of inclusion are implemented in a school with separated special educational needs (SEN) and general education (GE) classes. More specifically we conducted a two-year ethnographic study focusing particularly on exclusion and the sense of belonging in a lower secondary school (students aged 13–16) in the capital region of Finland. During the fieldwork, several students attending the SEN-class expressed an interest in changing from the SEN-class to a GE-class, or in breaking the borders between SEN and GE classes in other ways. As part of the negotiations with the school, students who criticised the GE- and SEN-class division were offered an opportunity to transfer to GE-classes but in the end, all of them wanted to stay in the SEN-class. In this investigation, we focus on the students’ reasoning and the teachers’ reactions when students negotiate the borders between SEN and GE-classes. In this study we found a clash between integration and inclusive thinking.     

The social position and development of pupils with SEN in mainstream Dutch primary schools

Since August 2003, pupils with auditory, communicative, motor, mental or multiple disabilities, as well as severe behavioural/emotional problems, in The Netherlands have been entitled to receive a pupil‐bound budget when attending a mainstream school. The first experiences with this budget in regular Dutch primary schools are described in this paper. The focus is on the social position and development of 20 special educational needs (SEN) pupils who were placed in mainstream primary schools. The class teacher, parent(s) and peripatetic teacher of each of the pupils were interviewed; interviews focused on the cognitive, social and social‐emotional development of the SEN pupils. In addition, the class teacher, parent(s), peripatetic teacher and classmates assessed the social position of the SEN pupil via interviews and a sociometric questionnaire. The results showed that teachers and parents and, to a lesser extent, peripatetic teachers, had a more positive view of the social position of the SEN pupils than did classmates. The results of the sociometric questionnaire indicated that the social position of the SEN pupils and that of their non‐SEN classmates did not differ significantly, however. In addition, a panel of five independent assessors assessed the cognitive, social and social‐emotional development of the 20 SEN pupils by examining anonymous pupil dossiers, which comprised information derived from interviews with class teachers, parents and peripatetic teachers, together with results of the sociometric questionnaire and a copy of the individual education programme (IEP) of the SEN pupils. The assessments showed that the panel had concerns about the development of 35% of these pupils; it was (very) positive about a further 35% of the SEN pupils. An expected relation between the social position of the SEN pupils and satisfaction of the panel concerning the development of the SEN pupils, however, was not found.     

An analysis of English teachers’ self-efficacy in relation to SEN and disability and its implications in a changing SEN policy context

Policy and practice in relation to meeting the diverse needs of all children, including those with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, is in a state of change in the UK. As a result, there is growing interest in and understanding of the need to focus on factors which impact on teachers’ levels of self-efficacy in meeting the needs of learners with SEN, and the implications of this for further development and training. The research reported in this paper gathered data from teachers at a unique time in the transition of policy and practice in England. Through a quantitative analysis of a questionnaire completed by 213 teachers from a variety of teaching settings, data relating to the self-efficacy and confidence levels of teachers immediately prior to the statutory changes in SEN policy has been captured. The findings identify that the Key Stage that the teacher works in is directly related to self-efficacy, that self-efficacy in collaboration is generally lower than self-efficacy in instruction and behaviour management, and that knowledge of laws and policies pertaining to SEN and Disability and experience in teaching children with disabilities had a strong positive relationship on overall self-efficacy. Implications for the ongoing development of practice within the profession, including the development of appropriate initial and continuing professional development models to support teachers throughout their career, and avenues for further research are presented.     

Using students’ drawings to elicit general and special educators’ perceptions of co-teaching

This paper describes the findings of a study of general and special educators’ perceptions of co-teaching in elementary and middle school classrooms. A total of 85 students, 20 general education, and 11 special education teachers participated in this investigation in which student drawings were used as both data and as tools to spark teacher reflection. Students’ pictorial depictions of co-teaching were analyzed for apparent features and traits. Co-teachers’ reactions to the drawings were springboards for reflective conversations around modifications they felt needed to take place to improve co-teaching. Findings suggest that proactive role distribution, support structures, and trust building are critical factors in strengthening co-teaching. Implications for practice are discussed.