Teacher development for working with children with special needs

1
Teacher development for working with children
with special needs strategies for community
involvement

• Dr. Shanti Auluck
• Director (hon.)/President
• Muskaan Parents Association for the empowerment
  of persons with intellectual disability families

2
Outline

• The term Special education needs to be dropped
• Challenges of inclusive schools class rooms
  what does it demand?
• Preparations of teachers to meet the needs of
  inclusive class rooms
• present situation an evaluation
• What needs to be done
• Strategies For community involvement

3
What is special about special education?

• Special about special education is that we do not
  understand the needs of certain children and our
  usual ways do not seem to work.
• Onus is placed on the child rather than us. A
  sincere examination of the situation reveals that
  it is lack of our own understanding of a childs
  education/growth needs that becomes a barrier in
  the learning process

4
What is Inclusive Education

• Ideally it means attending to diverse needs of
  every child ( differing in ability, ethnicity,
  socio-economic background etc.) in the same class
  room or school setting.
• Respect and acceptance of diversity can happen by
  inclusion in all aspects of life starting from
  inclusion in schools.

5
Demands of Inclusive Education

• Attitude change of policy makers, school
  management and most importantly of teachers.
• Enough knowledge base about various impairments
  e.g. locomotor, visual, hearing, intellectual and
  how it affects the learning process. It also
  demands deepening of our understanding of mind
  functions including cognition, emotions and
  motivation.
• Devising teaching strategies including learning
  material to reach out the children with diverse
  (dis)abilities,
• It demands systemic change rather than huge
  finances, child-centric approach rather than
  information-centric approach

6
Teacher development for Inclusive education

• Sensitization of all the teachers about the
  educational needs of children with diverse
  impairments and how environmental attitudinal
  barriers prevent them from learning and living a
  fuller life,
• Broadening the meaning of education beyond
  curriculum transaction,
• Orientation programs for in-service teachers to
  deepen the understanding of mind including
  cognition, emotions and motivation and their
  impact on our learning process

7

• Abolition of separate systems of training of
  teachers for mainstream children and children
  with impairments of locomotor, sensory and
  cognitive impairments.
• Teacher training courses must have 1or 2 core
  courses on understanding the educational and
  learning needs of children with diverse
  disabilities. It will enrich their knowledge
  base.

8
Teachers are the key to success of education

• Teaching is an organic system, it should not be
  equated with industry.
• Incentive systems should be there so that
  teachers feel motivated to enhance their
  understanding and knowledge base,
• Academic leadership is very important and good
  deal of attention should be given to it.
• Stress on implementation and accountability

9
Preparations required for implementing Inclusive
Education

• Important to recognize that India has no option
  other than mainstreaming of education for all
  children having diverse needs and backgrounds,
  including children with disability
• Models of inclusive education need to be evolved
  through pilot projects and NGOs working with
  persons with disability need to be involved in
  this process.
• Implementation can not happen in one go it has
  to be a phase wise plan
• NGOs working in the field of disability need to
  be supported to function as resource centres

10
Contd.

• Orientation programs for school management,
  teachers, parents and other staff members are
  necessary for a successful implementation,
• Parents/families involvement is important. It
  will serve twin purpose of parents capacity
  building as well as support system to the school.
• Other students of the school can become a huge
  resource if they are properly informed and
  oriented.
• NGOs can contribute through their knowledge and
  experience.

11
Evaluation of existing situation

• Lack of preparation and understanding about
  responding to the learning needs of children with
  diverse impairments
• Lack of preparation at all levels, school
  management, teachers, parents and community and
  also perhaps at the level of policy makers,

12

• It is very much doable. It needs conviction
  and courage to take bold steps. Openness to
  experiment with new ideas, determination to
  evolve implementation strategies and
  accountability are important for bringing
  necessary changes in the system. It is worth
  doing as it is a matter of preparing future
  generations for an inclusive society where
  diversities are accepted and respected.