Teaching Special Needs Students
Special needs education, also known as special education is a form of education that is provided to children who are considered as different in terms of physical aspects, mental aspects, or social aspects from the average children (Sansour and Bernhard 2018). These special needs children require high quality care in terms of their educational needs as well as school practices. Special needs education is important to cater to the educational needs of the differently abled children who learn and gain knowledge differently. This paper is focused on discussing in detail the implications and drive for the teachers to impart knowledge to the special children along with the concept of inclusive education and the worldwide demand for special educators. The paper will also focus on the various ways in which the teacher can deal with special needs children.
The teachers who are engaged in teaching special needs children must be encouraged in order to deliver their knowledge in an interactive and engaging manner to the children (Huda et al. 2017). They must be taught the difference between the special needs children and the other children who are able to use their five fences for gaining knowledge. Most importantly, the teachers must love acknowledged as well as address these differences and in order to fulfill their duties as a teacher, they must be fully invested in imparting knowledge effectively with special needs children. The teachers must be encouraged with the fact that they will be associated with a noble cause. Promoting the growth of a special needs child will automatically promote the growth of the teacher (Pit-ten Cate et al. 2018). This will help the teacher to engage in interactive styles of teaching and also explore their own personal and professional horizons. Therefore it is important for the teachers to understand the concept of inclusive education and define their teaching styles in such a way so that they can not only be fully dedicated to the teaching but also encourage the special needs children to love their subject and classes.
Inclusive education can be defined as the process in which all students can be included within the same classroom and be taught the same curriculum (Yeo et al. 2016). Each and every student has the basic right to education and they must be welcomed by every school and institution for regular classes through support participation as well as contribution in order to enhance their school life. Look for these classrooms and educational structures must be designed in order to encourage all the students to participate in the educational activities aiming for the holistic development of the child. From an overall perspective, inclusive education does not discriminate between age, caste, gender, family background, ethnicity, culture, and many more. However in this context, this focuses on the educational rights of special needs children. Inclusive education from this perspective would mean that the classroom designs and the curriculum designs must be prepared in such a way that the specialist children can be included in the normal classroom of schools and institutions where they can coexist with the other students and gain knowledge and education (Haug 2017).
A special education teacher is responsible for engaging in differentiated instructional strategies in order to cater to the physical mental emotional learning as well as behavioral disabilities of students. There has been a worldwide shortage of special education teachers. For instance, 48 states in the Columbian district had reported a shortage of special education teachers between the years 2016 to 2017 (Western Governors University 2019). This is expected to grow by a rate of 8% by the year 2026 as stated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Western Governors University 2019). this is because of the increasing number of students with disabilities in developmental aspects. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately about one Kate out of every six kids between the age group of three to 17 years have a physical, learning, mental, or behavioral disability. This increases the demand for special needs teachers across the world (Western Governors University 2019).
There are several teaching strategies that can be undertaken by special needs teachers in order to cater to all kinds of students irrespective of their special needs which include:
Establishing a strong bond between the teachers and the students
Creating a safe space where the students can share their needs and opinions
Engaging and interactive ways of instructions
Conducting an extensive literature review in order to incorporate evidence based strategies of teaching (Saloviita 2020)
Constant provision of positive reinforcement and encouragement to the students
Conclusion
Therefore, in conclusion, it can be said that special needs children require special instructional modes that require immense motivation and dedication on the part of the special education teachers. Due to the increasing number of children born with disabilities across the world, the need for special needs educators is increasing. Therefore in order to cater to the needs and requirements of the special needs students, evidence based inclusive education strategies must be used by the teachers.
References
Haug, P., 2017. Understanding inclusive education: ideals and reality. Scandinavian journal of disability research, 19(3), pp.206-217.
Huda, M., Jasmi, K.A., Hehsan, A., Mustari, M.I., Shahrill, M., Basiron, B. and Gassama, S.K., 2017. Empowering children with adaptive technology skills: Careful engagement in the digital ?nformation age. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 9(3), pp.693-708.
Pit-ten Cate, I.M., Markova, M., Krischler, M. and Krolak-Schwerdt, S., 2018. Promoting Inclusive Education: The Role of Teachers’ Competence and Attitudes. Insights into Learning Disabilities, 15(1), pp.49-63.
Saloviita, T., 2020. Attitudes of teachers towards inclusive education in Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 64(2), pp.270-282.
Sansour, T. and Bernhard, D., 2018. Special needs education and inclusion in Germany and Sweden. Alter, 12(3), pp.127-139.
Western Governors University, 2019. Demand for Special Education Teachers Is Booming. [online] Western Governors University. Available at:
<https://www.wgu.edu/blog/demand-for-special-education-teachers-is-booming1907.html> [Accessed 2 March 2022].
Yeo, L.S., Chong, W.H., Neihart, M.F. and Huan, V.S., 2016. Teachers’ experience with inclusive education in Singapore. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 36(sup1), pp.69-83.
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