1. BUDU BRIGHT INDEX NO. 5150410014 DEPARTMENT: AKAN-NZEMA UNIT: TWI
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TOPIC PAGE
INTRODUCTION
2
THE MAIN ESSAY
3-4
CONCLUSION AND REFERENCE
5
2. BUDU BRIGHT INDEX NO. 5150410014 DEPARTMENT: AKAN-NZEMA UNIT: TWI
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INTRODUCTION
Special education is used to describe a wide range of supports, programs and
placements for students who need different teaching methods or special materials to
allow them to be successful in the school. In my opinion, special education is the
systematic arrangement of teaching learning materials (TLMs) and teaching strategies to
supplement or complement the tasks of the teacher to give good instructions to the
students with disabilities as well as those with exceptionalities (those who perform
poorly and those who are extremely good).
As a student-teacher, it is important to acquire knowledge in special education so as to
be able to identify such students. Being able to identify these students, the teacher will
be able to know how to prepare his teaching learning materials (TLMs) and the teaching
strategies to be used to achieve his objectives.
Emiliana Veges, (Senior Education Economist, World Bank) once said; “it is not just that
kids need to go to school, they need to learn in school”. This shows that every student
needs special attention from the teacher for the student to be able to learn. According
to McNulty J. Raymond and Gloeckler C. Lawrence (2014), the goal of the Common Core
State Standards is to focus on the knowledge and skills needed by all students, those
who are disabled are not exception. They too are expected to be challenged to excel
within the general education curriculum based on the Common Core State Standards.
To this end, the following;
To understand students’ rate of learning,
For identification of children with exceptionalities,
Behaviour tolerance,
The practice of inclusive education,
Good teaching behaviour and management skills are some implications
(importance) of studying special education to the student-teacher. The
elaborations of the points identified above are as follow;
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One importance of studying special education to the student teacher is to
accommodate Students’ Rate of Learning. In a special education classroom, instruction
is tailored to meet the students’ unique needs. Instruction can be at a slower or faster
pace as needed. In a general education classroom, it is more difficult for the classroom
teacher to speed up instruction to benefit the few students who excel with the
presented material, which would ultimately leave the rest of the class behind. Similarly,
if the teacher slowed the pace of instruction down until every single child fully
understood it; some students would be left feeling bored and unchallenged. In addition,
students in a special education setting will receive extended wait time, allowing them to
process the information, as well as more frequent opportunities to respond due to the
smaller class size. Therefore, with the knowledge acquired in studying special education
will hell the teacher to strategize his teaching learning materials (TLMs) as well as his
techniques to meet the needs of every student in the class.
Additionally, the study of special education will help the teacher in the identification of
children with exceptionalities. Teachers are the immediate friends as well as parents in
the school. Because of this, the teacher is likely to identify any strength or weakness of
the students before the parent(s) or guardian. In other words, it is usually the teacher
that may begin to notice that a particular student is not performing to expectation. It is
good to be noted that teachers are necessarily to diagnose students’ disabilities but
they are expected to have suspicion that something is not going well with the child. As
soon as the teacher is able to identify this problem, he can then make the appropriate
adaptations in his teaching or making referrals for expert diagnosis. This can be done if
only the teacher is having any idea about students with disabilities and/ or
exceptionalities.
Furthermore, behaviour tolerance cannot be left out when discussing the implications
of studying special education. Managing 20+ children is hard work! Someone should try
it for a day if the person does not agree to it. Classroom teachers are dealing with a lot.
Most of them have determined a tried and true behavior management system that just
works great for them. Most of the students succeed on that system and they have very
few interruptions throughout their day. In a special education setting, largely due to the
smaller class size, behaviour plans become individualized. Students receive immediate
positive feedback that may be overlooked in that classroom of 20+ students. Their
accomplishments are recognized and they are praised for a job done well. And when
those naughty behaviours creep up, they can be recognized quicker and dealt with in a
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more effective way before we get to the point where the student feels out of control.
Some teachers, those without any special education training sometimes punish such
students who misbehave. On the other hand, the teacher who has acquired special
education will know how to handle such students and help them to succeed in their
academic work.
Again, for the practice of inclusive education. General education teachers have also
expressed positive outcomes on inclusion, which include: increased confidence in their
efficacy, greater awareness of themselves as positive role models for all students, more
skill in meeting the needs of all students with and without disabilities, and acquaintance
with new colleagues (Saled, 2001). As already stated, learning about children with
exceptionalities is very important in many ways. It is an age of inclusive education
globally; an inescapable reality is that students with diverse learning needs and
exceptionalities will be educated in regular education classrooms. Apart from these,
special schools are not able to accommodate or enroll all children with exceptionalities
due to the lack of schools to admit all these children. Therefore, if children with
exceptionalities cannot have access to special school, then they must be enrolled in the
general education classrooms within their neighborhood schools. This is the basis for
inclusive education and its success lies in the hands of the regular classroom teachers.
For this matter, all teachers need to have a good knowledge-base in special education in
order to cope up with the inclusive education program and any inherent challenges.
Finally, for good teaching behaviour and management skills. Many students with
disabilities have very poor social skills, and some have behavioral and/or emotional
disorders. Public schools often do not address social skills, and teachers have not been
trained to use positive behavior management strategies rather than punishment.
Mental health and other services are usually not available or, if available, are not
integrated into the regular program. The special education teacher or the knowledge
the teacher has acquired from special education will help him solve such behavioural
misconducts to meet the needs of the students. By so doing, the teacher is more likely
to achieve his/her objectives.
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CONCLUSION
From a cultural point of view, there are many specific circumstances that traditionally
had influenced the social lives of persons with disabilities generally (Yakple E. Yao and
Deku Prosper 2015). According to (Hop, 1996; Gibilisco, 2010), cited in (Yaple E. and Yao
P., 2015), historical records showed that ignorance, neglect, superstition and fear are
social factors that have exacerbated isolation of persons with disabilities in many
countries of which Ghana is part. Therefore, as a teacher, it is important to have
adequate knowledge in the field of special education so as to be able to handle issues
pertaining disabilities and/or exceptionalities, hence the above well discussed
implications of studying special education to the student-teacher.
References
Yakple E. Y. and Deku P. (2015). An introduction to special education (3rd
Ed). Winneba
(North campus). Watered gardens computers and business Centre (PSJ).
McNulty J. R. and Gloeckler L.C. (2014). Implications for students receiving special
education service. International center for leadership in education.
Berg S. L. (2004). The advantages and disadvantages of the inclusion of students with
disabilities into regular education classroom (5th
Ed).
Hocutt M. A. (1996). Effectiveness of special education: Is placement the critical
factor? The future of children. Special education for students with disabilities (vol.6).
Li F. and Tim R. S. (2010). What makes special education teachers special? Teacher
training, an achievement of students with disabilities. CALDER working paper No. 49.
