From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SEN, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual differences, disabilities, and special needs.
This involves the individually planned and systematically monitored
arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, and
accessible settings. These interventions are designed to help
individuals with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and in their community, which may not be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.
Special education aims to provide accommodated education for disabled students such as learning disabilities, learning difficulties (such as dyslexia and ADHD), communication disorders, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical disabilities (such as osteogenesis imperfecta, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, and Friedreich's ataxia), developmental disabilities (such as autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disabilities) and other disabilities.
Disabled students are likely to benefit from additional educational
services such as different approaches to teaching, the use of
technology, a specifically adapted teaching area, a resource room, or a separate classroom.
Some scholars of education may categorize gifted education
under the umbrella of "special education," but this pedagogical
approach is different from special education because of the students'
capabilities. Intellectual giftedness
is a difference in learning and can also benefit from specialized
teaching techniques or different educational programs, but the term
"special education" is generally used to specifically indicate
instruction of disabled students.
Whereas special education is designed specifically for students with learning disabilities, remedial education
can be designed for any students, with or without special needs; the
defining trait is simply that they have reached a point of
unpreparedness, regardless of why. For example, if a person's education
was disrupted, for example, by internal displacement during civil disorder or a war.
In most developed countries,
educators modify teaching methods and environments so that the maximum
number of students are served in general education environments. Integration can reduce social stigmas and improve academic achievement for many students.
The opposite of special education is general education, also known as mainstream education. General education is the standard curriculum
presented without special teaching methods or supports. Sometimes
special education classrooms and general special education classrooms
mix. This is called an inclusive classroom.
History
In the past, most students with special needs have been excluded from school. Such exclusion still affects about 23 million disabled children worldwide, particularly in poor, rural areas of developing countries.
Identifying students or learners with special needs
Some
children are easily identified as candidates for special needs due to
their medical history. For example, they may have been diagnosed with a
genetic condition that is associated with intellectual disability, may have various forms of brain damage, may have a developmental disorder, may have visual or hearing disabilities, or other disabilities.
On the other hand, for students with less obvious disabilities, such as those who have borderline intellectual disability or specific learning difficulties (dyslexia, dyscalculia, etc.), two primary methods have been used for identifying them: the discrepancy model and the response to intervention model.
The discrepancy model depends on the teacher noticing that the
students' achievements are noticeably below what is expected, at which
point the teacher may make the decision for the student to receive
support from a special education specialist. Before doing so, the
teacher must show documentation of low academic achievement. The response to intervention model advocates earlier intervention.
In the discrepancy model, a student receives special education
services for a specific learning difficulty (SLD) if the student has at
least normal intelligence and the student's academic achievement is
below what is expected of a student with his or her IQ.
Although the discrepancy model has dominated the school system for many
years, there has been substantial criticism of this approach (e.g.,
Aaron, 1995, Flanagan and Mascolo, 2005) among researchers. One reason
for criticism is that diagnosing SLDs on the basis of the discrepancy
between achievement and IQ does not predict the effectiveness of
treatment. Low academic achievers who also have low IQ appear to benefit
from treatment just as much as low academic achievers who have normal
or high intelligence.
The alternative approach, response to intervention, identifies
children who are having difficulties in school in their first or second
year after starting school. They then receive additional assistance such
as participating in a reading remediation
program. The response of the children to this intervention then
determines whether they are designated as having a learning disability.
Those few who still have trouble may then receive designation and
further assistance. Sternberg (1999) has argued that early remediation
can greatly reduce the number of children meeting diagnostic criteria
for learning disabilities. He has also suggested that the focus on
learning disabilities and the provision of accommodations in school
fails to acknowledge that people have a range of strengths and
weaknesses and places undue emphasis on academics by insisting that
students should be supported in this area and not in music or sports.
Individual needs
A six-year-old boy in Norway with
Down syndrome is ready for his first day of school.
A special education program should be customized to address each
student's needs. Special educators provide a continuum of services, in
which students with various disabilities receive multiple degrees of
support based on their individual needs. It is crucial for special
education programs to be individualized so that they address the unique
combination of needs in a given student.
In the United States, Canada, and the UK, educational professionals use a student's Individualized Education Program (IEP). Another name for a student's Individualized Education Plan is a student's Individual Learning Plan (ILP).
"The IEP is meant to address each child’s unique learning issues
and include specific educational goals. It is a legally binding document
[in the US]. The school must provide everything it promises in the
IEP."
In the US, for children who are not yet three years old, an Individual Family Service Plan
(IFSP) contains information on the child's present level of development
in all areas; outcomes for the child and family; and services the child
and family will receive to help them achieve the outcomes.
In the United States, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) is a federal law that requires every school system to provide a
free and appropriate public education for every child, ages 3 to 22,
regardless of how or how seriously that child may be disabled.
To ensure that this federal law is obeyed, the government requires
every school system provide this type of education to each student in
order to receive federal funding.
This changed a little in 2004 when the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) decided to update the law. After the law was
updated into the Disabilities Education Improvement Act, the ability to
identify special needs children and give them the appropriate education
environment was improved.
Students with all forms of special needs are assessed to determine their specific strengths and weaknesses.
The earlier these students with special needs are assessed, the faster
they get the accommodations that they need, and the better it is for
their education.
Placement, resources, and goals are determined on the basis of the
student's needs. Accommodations and modifications to the regular
program may include changes in the curriculum, supplementary aids or
equipment, and the provision of specialized physical adaptations that
allow students to participate in the educational environment as much as
possible.
Students may need this help to access subject matter, physically gain
access to the school, or meet their emotional needs. For example, if the
assessment determines that the student cannot write by hand because of a
physical disability, then the school might provide a computer for
typing assignments, or allow the student to answer questions verbally
instead. If the school determines that the student is severely
distracted by the normal activities in a large, busy classroom, then the
student might be placed in a smaller classroom such as a separate
classroom or resource room.
Parents of students with a learning disability must be aware of
what type of disability their child has, so they can get access to
accommodations such as speech therapy, occupational therapy and adaptive
physical education. For example, if a student takes an academic test
and it indicates that the student struggles with reading comprehension,
parents can request speech and language support or classroom
accommodations, such as extra time to complete reading and writing
tasks.
Methods of provision
Procedure that a person must follow in order to receive special education accommodations
In most developed countries,
schools use different approaches to providing special education
services to students. These approaches can be broadly grouped into four
categories, according to how much contact the student with special needs
has with non-disabled students (using North American terminology):
- Inclusion:
In this approach, students with special needs spend all, or most of the
school day with students who do not have special needs. Due to the fact
that inclusion can require substantial modification of the general
curriculum, most schools use it only for selected students with mild to
moderate special needs, which is accepted as a best practice.
Specialized services may be provided inside or outside the regular
classroom, depending on the type of service. Students may occasionally
leave the regular classroom to attend smaller, more intensive
instructional sessions in a separate classroom, resource room, or to
receive other related services that might require specialised equipment
or might be disruptive to the rest of the class, such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, rehabilitation counseling. They might also leave the regular classroom for services that require privacy, such as counseling sessions with a social worker.
- Mainstreaming
refers to the practice of educating students with special needs in
classes with non-disabled students during specific time periods based on
their skills. Students with special needs are segregated in separate
classrooms exclusively for students with special needs for the rest of
the school day.
- Segregation in a separate classroom or special school for
students with special needs: In this model, students with special needs
do not attend classes with non-disabled students. Segregated students
may attend the same school where regular classes are provided, but spend
all instructional time exclusively in a separate classroom for students
with various disabilities. If their special class is located in an
ordinary school, they may be provided opportunities for social
integration outside the classroom, such as by eating meals with
non-disabled students. Alternatively, these students may attend a special school.
It may also occur when a student is in hospital, housebound, or
detained by the criminal justice system. These students may receive
one-on-one instruction or group instruction. Students who have been suspended or expelled are not considered segregated in this sense.
- ‘’Co-teaching:’’
In this setting, disabled students are placed in a general education
classroom to learn along with their disabled peers and non-disabled
peers. A General Education teacher and a Special Education teacher work
as partners in instruction. Types of co-teaching include "one
teaching/one helping" in which one teacher instructs while the other
circulates around the class to evaluate and offer help, "parallel
teaching" in which both teachers teach the same content to two groups of
students of equal size, "station teaching" in which both teachers
present differing content to different groups of students simultaneously
and students rotate through each station, "alternative teaching" in
which one teacher works with a smaller group or individual students
while the other works with the rest of the class, and "team teaching" in
which both teachers plan and teach a lesson together.
Effective instruction for disabled students
- Goal Directed:
Each child must have an individualized Education Program (IEP) that
distinguishes their particular needs. The child must get the services
that are designed for them. These services will allow them to reach
their annual goals which will be assessed at the end of each term along
with short-term goals that will be assessed every few months.
- Research-Based Methods- There has been a lot of research done
about disabled students and the best way to teach them. Testing, IQs,
interviews, the discrepancy model, etc. should all be used to determine
where to place the child. Once that is determined, the next step is the
best way for the child to learn. There are plenty of different programs
such as the Wilson Reading Program and Direct Instruction
- Guided by student performance- While the IEP goals may be
assessed every few months to a year, constant informal assessments must
take place. These assessments will guide instruction for the teacher.
The teacher will be able to determine if the material is too difficult
or too easy.
Special schools
A special school
is a school catering for students who have special educational needs
due to learning difficulties, physical disabilities, or behavioral
problems. Special schools may be specifically designed, staffed and
resourced to provide appropriate special education for children with
additional needs. Students attending special schools generally do not
attend any classes in mainstream schools.
Special schools provide individualized education, addressing
specific needs. Student to teacher ratios are kept low, often 6:1 or
lower depending upon the needs of the children. Special schools will
also have other facilities for children with special needs, such as soft
play areas, sensory rooms, or swimming pools, which are necessary for treating students with certain conditions.
In recent times, places available in special schools are declining as more children with special needs are educated in mainstream schools.
However, there will always be some children, whose learning needs
cannot be appropriately met in a regular classroom setting and will
require specialized education and resources to provide the level of
support they require. An example of a disability that may require a
student to attend a special school is intellectual disability. However,
this practice is often frowned upon by school districts in the US in the
light of Least Restrictive Environment as mandated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
An alternative is a special unit or special classroom, also called a self-contained classroom,
which is a separate classroom dedicated solely to the education of
students with special needs within a larger school that also provides
general education.
This classroom is typically staffed by a specially trained teacher, who
provides specific, individualized instruction to individuals and small
groups of students with special needs. Separate classrooms, because they
are located in a general education school, may have students who remain
in the separate classroom full-time, or students who are mainstreamed
in certain general education classes. An alternative to the separate
classroom full-time for a student would be a one-to-one aide in the
general education setting. In the United States, a one-on-one aide for a
student with a disability is called a paraprofessional. In the United States a part-time alternative that is appropriate for some students is sometimes called a resource room. Another alternative would be attending a separate classroom for a specific subject such as social studies.
History of special schools
One of the first special schools in the world was the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles in Paris, which was founded in 1784. It was the first school in the world to teach blind students. The first school in U.K. for the Deaf was established 1760 in Edinburgh by Thomas Braidwood, with education for visually impaired people beginning in the Edinburgh and Bristol in 1765.
In the 19th century, people with disabilities and the inhumane
conditions where they were supposedly housed and educated were addressed
in the literature of Charles Dickens. Dickens characterized people with severe disabilities as having the same, if not more, compassion and insight in Bleak House and Little Dorrit.
Such attention to the downtrodden conditions of people with
disabilities brought resulted in reforms in Europe including the
re-evaluation of special schools. In the United States reform came more
slowly. Throughout the mid half of the 20th century, special schools,
termed institutions, were not only accepted, but encouraged. disabled
students were housed with people with mental illnesses, and they were not educated much, if at all.
Deinstitutionalization
proceeded in the US beginning in the 1970s following the exposes of the
institutions, and it has taken sometime before the Education for All
Handicapped Children's Act of 1974, to the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) and then Individuals with Disabilities Educational
Improvement Act (IDEIA) have come into fruition.
School integration was supported as early as the 1970s, and teacher
preparation programs in higher education have carefully taught and
instructed graduates on inclusion at the classroom, individual, school,
and district levels for decades resulting in dual certification of
"regular teachers".
With the Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997,
school districts in the United States began to slowly integrate
students with moderate and severe special needs into regular school
systems. This changed the form and function of special education
services in many school districts and special schools subsequently saw a
steady decrease in enrollment as districts weighed the cost per
student. It also posed general funding dilemmas to certain local schools
and districts, changed how schools view assessments, and formally
introduced the concept of inclusion to many educators, students and parents.
Instructional strategies
The student can be taught in either a classroom or outside
environment. Both environments can be interactive for the student to
engage better with the subject.
Different instructional techniques are used for some students
with special educational needs. Instructional strategies are classified
as being either accommodations or modifications.
An accommodation is a reasonable adjustment to teaching
practices so that the student learns the same material, but in a format
that is more accessible to the student. Accommodations may be classified
by whether they change the presentation, response, setting, or
scheduling of lessons. For example, the school may accommodate a student with visual impairments by providing a large-print textbook. This is a presentation accommodation. A modification changes or adapts the material to make it simpler.
Modifications may change what is learned, how difficult the material
is, what level of mastery the student is expected to achieve, whether or
how the student is assessed, or any other aspect of the curriculum.
For example, the school may modify a reading assignment for a student
with reading difficulties by substituting a shorter, easier book. A
student may receive both accommodations and modifications.
- Examples of modifications
- Skipping subjects: Students may be taught less information than
typical students, skipping over material that the school deems
inappropriate for the student's abilities or less important than other
subjects. For example, students with poor fine motor skills may be
taught to print block letters, but not cursive handwriting.
- Simplified assignments: Students may read the same literature as
their peers but have a simpler version, such as Shakespeare with both
the original text and a modern paraphrase available.
- Shorter assignments: Students may do shorter homework assignments or take shorter, more concentrated tests.
- Extra aids: If students have deficiencies in working memory, a list of vocabulary words, called a word bank,
can be provided during tests, to reduce lack of recall and increase
chances of comprehension. Students might use a calculator when other
students do not.
- Extended time: Students with a slower processing speed may benefit
from extended time for assignments and/or tests in order to have more
time to comprehend questions, recall information, and synthesize
knowledge.
- Students can be offered a flexible setting in which to take tests.
These settings can be a new location to provide for minimal
distractions.
- Examples of accommodations
- Response accommodations: Typing homework assignments rather than hand-writing them (considered a modification if the subject is learning to write by hand). Having someone else write down answers given verbally.
- Presentation accommodations: Examples include listening to audiobooks
rather than reading printed books. These may be used as substitutes for
the text, or as supplements intended to improve the students' reading
fluency and phonetic skills. Similar options include designating a
person to read to the student, or providing text to speech software. This is considered a modification if the purpose of the assignment is reading skills acquisition. Other presentation accommodations may include designating a person to take notes during lectures or using a talking calculator rather than one with only a visual display.
- Setting accommodations:
Taking a test in a quieter room. Moving the class to a room that is
physically accessible, e.g., on the first floor of a building or near an
elevator. Arranging seating assignments to benefit the student, e.g., by sitting at the front of the classroom.
- Scheduling accommodations:
Students may be given rest breaks or extended time on tests (may be
considered a modification, if speed is a factor in the test). Use a
timer to help with time management.
All developed countries permit or require some degree of
accommodation for students with special needs, and special provisions
are usually made in examinations which take place at the end of formal
schooling.
In addition to how the student is taught the academic curriculum,
schools may provide non-academic services to the student. These are
intended ultimately to increase the student's personal and academic
abilities. Related services include developmental, corrective, and other
supportive services as are required to assist a student with learning
disabilities and includes speech and language pathology, audiology, psychological services, physical therapy, occupational therapy,
counseling services, music therapy, including rehabilitation
counseling, orientation and mobility services, medical services as
defined by regulations, parent counseling and training, school health
services, school social work, assistive technology, other appropriate
developmental or corrective support services, appropriate access to
recreation and other support services.
In some countries, most related services are provided by the schools;
in others, they are provided by the normal healthcare and social
services systems.
As an example, students who have poor impulse control,
behavioral challenges, or are autistic may learn self-management
techniques, be kept closely on a comfortingly predictable schedule, or
given extra cues to signal activities.
A university field, termed severe disabilities, also is
taught throughout the US university sector in schools of education.
Advanced instruction is based upon community-referenced instruction, and
alignment with transition to adulthood and progressive community
practices.
Rehabilitation counseling personnel are often association with supported employment services, and typically with "transition to adulthood"
in which multi-decade recommendations for better coordination between
the school and the community service sectors have been made at the
federal and university levels.
Issues within special education
At-risk
students (those with educational needs that are not associated with a
disability) are often placed in classes with disabled students. Critics
assert that placing at-risk students in the same classes as disabled
students may impede the educational progress of disabled people.
Some special education classes such as separate classroom and resource room have been criticized for a watered-down curriculum.
The practice of inclusion (in mainstream classrooms) has been
criticized by advocates and some parents of children with special needs
because some of these students require instructional methods that differ
dramatically from typical classroom methods. Critics assert that it is
not possible to deliver effectively two or more very different
instructional methods in the same classroom. As a result, the
educational progress of students who depend on different instructional
methods to learn often fall even further behind their peers.
Parents of typically developing children sometimes fear that the
special needs of a single "fully included" student will take critical
levels of attention and energy away from the rest of the class and
thereby impair the academic achievements of all students.
Linked to this, there is debate about the extent to which
disabled students, whether in mainstream or special settings, should
have a specific pedagogy, based on the scientific study of particular
diagnostic categories, or whether general instructional techniques are
relevant to all students including those with special needs.
Some parents, advocates, and students have concerns about the
eligibility criteria and their application. In some cases, parents and
students protest the students' placement into special education
programs. For example, a student may be placed into the special
education programs due to a mental health condition such as obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety, panic attacks or ADHD,
while the student and his parents believe that the condition is
adequately managed through medication and outside therapy. In other
cases, students whose parents believe they require the additional
support of special education services are denied participation in the
program based on the eligibility criteria.
Whether it is useful and appropriate to attempt to educate the most severely disabled children, such as children who are in a persistent vegetative state,
is debated. While many severely disabled children can learn simple
tasks, such as pushing a buzzer when they want attention, some children
may be incapable of learning. Some parents and advocates say that these
children would be better served by substituting improved physical care
for any academic program.
In other cases, they question whether teaching such non-academic
subjects, such as pushing a buzzer, is properly the job of the school
system, rather than the health care system.
Another large issue is the lack of resources enabling individuals
with special needs to receive an education in the developing world. As a
consequence, 98 percent of children with special needs in developing countries do not have access to education.
Another issue would be budget cuts. Cuts can affect special
education students who don't have access to proper equipment or
education. The National Coalition for Personal Shortages did a survey
and almost 100% of the teachers said that they are not able to give the
proper rights to disabled children. Teachers are getting cut off from
work due to the budget cuts.
There is a financial debate that covers the use and allotment of
special education government funding. The three views on this topic are
that too much money is already spent, not enough money is being spent,
or that the money that is given isn't being spent properly. The argument
for the first is that the amount of money spent on one special needs
child is enough to cover a large group of general education students,
and sometimes even causes several students to experience budget cuts on
general programs to support one child. The evidence for special
education not having enough money is the lack of teachers, burnt out
teachers and a limited variety of teaching tools for each student. The
argument to spend the money differently states that there is a lot of
money set aside, but that it is being wasted by spending too much time
on paperwork, inefficient IEP meetings or spending money on things that
don't actually benefit the child.
Global issues
Disabled
children are often denied their right to education. However, little is
known about their school attendance patterns. The collection of data on
children with disabilities is not straightforward, but data are vital to
ensure that policies are in place to address the constraints these
children face.
By one estimate, 93 million children under age 14, or 5.1% of the
world's children, were living with a 'moderate or severe disability' in
2004. According to the World Health Survey, in 14 of 15 low and middle
income countries, disabled people of working age were about one-third
less likely to have completed primary school. For example, in Bangladesh,
30% of people with disabilities had completed primary school, compared
with 48% of those with no disabilities. The corresponding shares were
43% and 57% in Zambia; 56% and 72% in Paraguay.
It has been shown that children with a higher risk of disability
are far more likely to be denied a chance to go to school. In
Bangladesh, Bhutan and Iraq, children with mental impairments were most
likely to be denied this right. In Iraq, for instance, 10% of 6- to
9-year-olds with no risk of disability had never been to school in 2006,
but 19% of those at risk of having a hearing impairment and 51% of
those who were at higher risk of mental disability had never been to
school. In Thailand, almost all 6- to 9-year-olds who had no disability
had been to school in 2005/06, and yet 34% of those with walking or
moving impairments had never been to school.
Disabled children require access to services that can support
them throughout their time in school, such as more individual attention
from instructors. According to the United Nations Centre for Human
Rights, about 2% of children with disabilities have access to these
services. Those without access to these services are excluded from
education and unable to attend school. Due to the need of certain
services and facilities, the estimated cost of providing education for a
disabled child is 2.3 times higher than a child without disabilities.
Given the poverty levels in a variety of developing countries, the
education of children with disabilities does not become a priority.
Children with physical disabilities are less likely to attend school in
comparison with students who do not have a disability and children with
an intellectual ability are even less likely than children with
physical disabilities. In the Global South, 90% of children with some
form of disability do not receive any form of structured education.
While current initiatives toward inclusive education internationally
have been implemented, such as the Education for All program, some
countries in the Global South still challenge the lack of ability to
provide children with disabilities access to education due to issues
such as lack of resources and schools being overcrowded.
National approaches
Africa
- South Africa
White Papers in 1995 and 2001 discuss special education in the country. Local schools are given some independent authority.
Both modifications and accommodations are recommended, depending on the student's individual needs.
- Nigeria
The Federal Ministry of Education constituted a committee to develop exclusively the first broad -based
National Policy on Special Needs Education (SNE) in
Nigeria. The constitution of the drafting committee with
the mandate to formulate a National Policy on Special
Needs Education gave birth to the National Situation
Analysis Report. This implies that the status has
changed to a National Policy on Special Education in 2015 (an expanded version)
thereby widening its scope and activities.
Asia
- China
China holds the largest system of education in the world and features
a state run public school system under the order of the Ministry of
Education.
- Japan
Japanese students with special needs are placed in one of four different school arrangements: special schools, special classrooms with another school, in resource rooms (which are called tsukyu), or in regular classrooms. Some local areas such as Koto Ward in Tokyo are expanding these tsukyu (or, as of 2019, Tsubasa Classrooms) to cover all junior high schools within the next few years.
Special schools are reserved for students with severe disabilities who cannot be accommodated in their local school.
They do not use the same grading or marking systems as mainstream
schools, but instead assess students according to their individualized
plans.
Special classes are similar, and may vary the national curriculum as the teachers see fit. Tsukyu
are resource rooms that students with milder difficulties use part-time
for specialized instruction individually in small groups. These
students spend the rest of the day in the mainstream classroom. Some
students with special needs are fully included in the mainstream
classroom, with accommodations or modifications as needed.
Depending on the local authority, state elementary schools may also hold a Naka-yoshi
(中よし, close friends) class group in addition to the 6 grades, where
students who struggle to adapt to mainstream classrooms are gathered and
given life skills as well as completing their studies at a more
adaptable pace. This is different to Tsukyu in that although all-school
activities are regularly held together, the majority of time is spent as
a class.
Training of disabled students, particularly at the
upper-secondary level, emphasizes vocational education to enable
students to be as independent as possible within society. Vocational
training varies considerably depending on the student's disability, but
the options are limited for some. It is clear that the government is
aware of the necessity of broadening the range of possibilities for
these students. Advancement to higher education is also a goal of the
government, and it struggles to have institutions of higher learning
accept more disabled students.
- Pakistan
After independence (1947), Pakistan had to face some serious
challenges, due to which no proper emphasis was given to special
education and even education. Among other reasons, lack of resources,
financial as well as human, was the major one in this context. The need
and importance of special education was felt in different educational
policies of Pakistan in different times. At the first time, in its
report, the Commission on National Education (1959) highlighted the
importance of special education. After that the Education Policy (1972)
and the National Policy and Implementation Programme (1979) gave some
importance to this sector. The same was also reflected in different
medium-term (five-year) plans. This was felt more seriously when the
Directorate General of Special Education, Islamabad formulated a draft
National Policy for Special Education in 1986 and revised it in 1988 to
bring it in line with the emerging needs of the disabled population.
After that a special education policy was launched in 1999. Recently,
Government of Pakistan has launched a new National Policy for Persons
with Disabilities 2002, which is dynamically being implemented.
- Singapore
Special education is regulated centrally by the Singapore Ministry of Education.
Both special schools and integration into mainstream schools are
options for students with special educational needs, but most disabled
students are placed in special schools.
Disabled students who want accommodations on national exams must
provide appropriate documentation to prove that they are disabled.
Accommodations, but not modifications (e.g., simpler questions) are
normally approved if they are similar to the accommodations already
being used in everyday schoolwork, with the goal of maintaining the
exam's integrity while not having students unfairly disadvantaged by
factors that are unrelated to what is being tested. The accommodations
are listed on the Primary School Leaving Exam.
Australia
Australian
Association of Special Education Inc (AASE)'s position is informed by
the Disability Standards for Education 2005 which require that disabled
students are treated on the same basis as other students in regards to
enrollment and participation in education.
With respect to standardized tests, special consideration procedures are in place in all states for disabled students.
Students must provide documentation. Not all desired forms of
accommodations are available. For example, students who cannot read,
even if the inability to read is due to a disability, cannot have the
exam read to them, because the exam results should accurately show that
the student is unable to read. Reports on matriculation exams do not
mention whether the student received any accommodations in taking the
test.
Europe
Each country in Europe has its own special education support structures. Thirty-one European countries are covered by the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education.
- Bulgaria
- Czech Republic
Schools must take students' special education needs into account when assessing their achievements. Disabled students are normally included in their neighborhood school, although may be placed in special schools.
- Denmark
In Denmark, 99% of students with specific learning difficulties such
as dyslexia are educated alongside students without any learning
challenges.
- Finland
Schools adapt the national guidelines to the needs of individual
students. Students with special educational needs are given an
individualized plan.
They may be exempted from some parts of school examinations, such as students with hearing impairments not taking listening comprehension tests. If the student receives modifications to the school-leaving exams, this is noted on the certificate of achievement.
If they are not following the national core curriculum, then they are
tested according to the goals of their individual educational program.
- France
French students with disabilities are normally included in their neighborhood school, although children may be placed in special schools if their personalized plan calls for it.
Each student's personalized school plan describes teaching methods,
psychological, medical and paramedical services that the school will
provide to the student.
- Germany
A special school for children with special emotional needs in Kötitz, Germany
Most students with special needs in Germany attend a special school that serves only children with special needs. These include:
- Förderschule für Lernbehinderte (special school for learning disabilities): for children who have challenges that impair learning
- Förderschule mit dem Förderschwerpunkt Geistige Entwicklung (school for cognitive development): for children with very severe learning challenges
- Förderschule Schwerpunkt emotionale und soziale Entwicklung (school for emotional and social development): for children who have special emotional needs
- Förderschule für Blinde (school for the blind): for blind children
- Förderschule für Sehbehinderte (school for the visually impaired): for children who are visually disabled
- Förderschule für Gehörlose (school for the deaf): for deaf children
- Förderschule für Schwerhörige (school for the hearing impaired): for children who are hearing impaired
- Förderschule für Körperbehinderte (school for children with physical disabilities): for children with physical disabilities
- Förderschule für Sprachbehinderte (school for children with language disorders): for children with language disorders
- Förderschule für Taubblinde (school for the deafblind): for children who are deafblind
- Schule für Kranke (school for ill children): for children who are too ill to attend school or are hospitalized for a longer period of time.
- Förderschule für schwer mehrfach Behinderte (school for
children with severe and multiple disabilities): for children with
severe and multiple disabilities who need very special care and
attention. Sometimes these children are only susceptible for very basic
emotional and sensory stimulation. Thus teachers at these school (as
well as at schools for the deafblind) are highly specialized
professionals.
One in 21 German students attends a special school. Teachers at those
schools are specially trained professionals who have specialized in
special needs education while in university. Special schools often have a
very favorable student-teacher ratio and facilities other schools do
not have.
Some special needs children in Germany do not attend a special school, but are educated in a mainstream school such as a Hauptschule or Gesamtschule (comprehensive school).
Students with special educational needs may be exempted from standardized tests or given modified tests.
- Greece
Greek students with special needs may attend either mainstream schools or special schools.
Students whose disabilities have been certified may be exempted from some standardized tests or given alternative tests.
Accommodations are responsive to students' needs; for example, students
with visual impairments may take oral tests, and students with hearing
impairments take written tests. Accommodations and modifications are
noted on the certificate of achievement.
- Hungary
Special education is regulated centrally.
According to the 1993 Act on Public Education, students with
special educational needs may be exempted from standardized tests or
given modified tests.
They have a right to extra time, a choice of formats for the tests
(e.g., oral rather than written), and any equipment that they normally
use during the school day.
As of 2006, disabled students received a significant bonus (eight
points) on the university entrance examination, which has been
criticized as unfair.
- Republic of Ireland
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) supports students with physical and intellectual disabilities.
- The Netherlands
As a general rule, students with special educational needs are
integrated into their regular, mainstream schools with appropriate
support, under the "Going to School Together" policy (Weer Samen Naar School). Four types of disability-specific special schools exist. The national policy is moving towards "suitable education" (passend onderwijs), based on the individual's strengths and weaknesses.
A strong emphasis is placed on the specific needs and positive capabilities of the individual, rather than on limitations. Disabilities are normally documented by experts.
- Norway
The National Support System for Special Needs Education (Statped) is managed by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training.
The general objective for Statped is to give guidance and support to
those in charge of the education in municipalities and county
administrations to ensure that children, young people and adults with
major and special educational needs are secured well-advised educational
and developmental provisions. The institutions affiliated with Statped
offer a broad spectrum of services. Statped consists of 13 resource
centres owned by the State, and 4 units for special education, where
Statped buys services. These centres offer special educational guidance
and support for local authorities and county administrations.
- Portugal
Disabled students have a "guaranteed right" to appropriate accommodations on assessments. Schools are generally considered autonomous.
- Slovenia
On national tests, the National Examination Center normally grants
most requests for accommodations that are supported by the local
school's examination committee. Legislation opposes the use of
modifications that would be unfair to non-disabled students.
- Spain
Schools are required to provide services and resources to students
with special educational needs so that they make progress and
participate in school.
If the local school is unable to provide appropriately for an
individual student, then the student may be transferred to a special
school.
Spanish non-governmental organizations like ONCE have traditionally provided significant services to disabled students.
- Sweden
Local schools have significant autonomy, based on national
guidelines. Schools are expected to help students meet the goals that
are set for them.
There are special schools (Swedish: Särskola)
for students with low abilities to attend normal education. In 2012 and
2013, the media criticized how students with disabilities that are
considered more mild, such as dyslexia, have been placed in special schools, saying that this may seriously hamper their chances on the labour market.
- Switzerland
Education is controlled by the 26 cantons, and so special education programs vary from place to place. However, integration is typical. Students are assessed according to their individual learning goals.
- United Kingdom
In England and Wales, the acronym SEN (for Special Educational Needs)
denotes the condition of having special educational needs, the services
which provide the support and the programmes and staff which implement
the education. In England SEN PPS refers to the Special Educational Needs Parent Partnership Service. SENAS is the special educational needs assessment service, which is part of the Local Authority. SENCO
refers to a special educational needs coordinator, who usually works
with schools and the children within schools who have special
educational needs. The Special Educational Needs Parent Partnership
Services help parents with the planning and delivery of their child's
educational provision. The Department for Education oversees special
education in England.
Most students have an individual educational plan, but students
may have a group plan in addition to, or instead of, an individual plan.
Group plans are used when a group of students all have similar goals.
In Scotland the Additional Support Needs Act
places an obligation on education authorities to meet the needs of all
students in consultation with other agencies and parents. In Scotland
the term Special Educational Needs (SEN), and its variants are not
official terminology although the very recent implementation of the Additional Support for Learning Act means that both SEN and ASN (Additional Support Needs) are used interchangeably in current common practice.
- Turkey
At a young age students who have special needs in Turkey are provided special education from The Ministry of Education, who are responsible in giving them the education that they need.
In order to get special education you are required certain things:
- "Residency certificate
- Written application by the parents to the school administration
- Personal development report of the child (if already registered)
- Child's health report from the hospital."
All special-needs students receive an Individualized Education Program (BEP) that outlines how the school will meet the student's individual needs. The Özel Eğitim Kurumları Yönetmeliği (ÖEKY) requires that students with special needs be provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education in the Least Restrictive Environment
that is appropriate to the student's needs. Government-run schools
provide special education in varying degrees from the least restrictive
settings, such as full inclusion, to the most restrictive settings, such
as segregation in a special school.
The education offered by the school must be appropriate to the
student's individual needs. Schools are not required to maximize the
student's potential or to provide the best possible services. Unlike
most of the developed world, American schools are also required to
provide many medical services, such as speech therapy, if the student needs these services.
According to the Department of Education, approximately 10
percent of all school-aged children currently receive some type of
special education services.
As with most countries in the world, students who are poor,
ethnic minorities, or do not speak the dominant language fluently are
disproportionately identified as needing special education services.
Poor people and refugees are more likely to have limited
resources and to employ inexperienced teachers that do not cope well
with student behavior problems, "thereby increasing the number of
students they referred to special education." Teacher efficacy,
tolerance, gender, and years of experience and special education
referrals.
Latin America
Before
1978, little action was taken to educate disabled children in Colombia.
Children would be left home without much interaction with the outside
world. In 1985, special education was researched across the country and
education programs were created. After 1990, disabled people were given
access to public school classes.
The increase in advocation for accessibility for disabled children was
initiated by the awareness and recognition of the rights of this group
of children to education. While there has been improvement over recent
years, there is still slow development for special education programs
and special education policy.
Colombia
Statistics
from DANE (Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística) state
that there are 2,624,898 disabled people who reside in Colombia, representing 6.3% of the country's population.
According to 2010 research 90% of disabled students in Colombia did not
attend a mainstream school, and only 26% of them are able to attend
school at all.
The history of special education in Colombia can be categorized
into three time periods: the period of neglect, the period of diagnosis
and planning, and the emergence of special education. The period of
planning ran from the years 1978 to the year 1990. The Ministry of
Colombia in 1995 implemented a national plan for the development of
special education called "Plan Nacional para el Desarrollo de la
Educación Especial". The purposes of the plan was to create a national
diagnosis of special education and to initiate programs for individuals
with disabilities. In 1994, the Ministry of education put the first law
into action to introduce special classes in public schools that include
disabled students, called Law 115. In 2011, Colombia entered into the Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities, an agreement among the United Nations Education Scientific and Culture Organization (UNESCO) to protect people who live with disabilities.
The most recent development of special education in Colombia was
Article 11 of Law 1618, which was passed in 2013. The law states that
"the Ministry of Education will define the policy and regulate the
scheme of education for persons with special educational needs,
promoting educational access and quality under a system based on
inclusion in the educational services". The Colombian government has
also made financial strides into special education, investing over $12.3
million in 2015.
North America
In North America, special education is commonly abbreviated as special ed, SpecEd, SPED, or SpEd in a professional context.
- Canada
Education in Canada is the responsibility of the individual provinces and territories. As such, rules vary somewhat from place to place. However, inclusion is the dominant model.
For major exams, Canadian schools commonly use accommodations,
such as specially printed examinations for visually impaired students,
when assessing the achievements of students with special needs.
In other instances, disabled students may receive alternative
assessments or modifications that simplify tests, or they may be
exempted from the tests entirely.
- United States
All special-needs students receive an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that outlines how the school will meet the student's individual needs. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that students with special needs be provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education in the Least Restrictive Environment that is appropriate to the student's needs. Government-run schools
provide special education in varying degrees from the least restrictive
settings, such as full inclusion, to the most restrictive settings,
such as receiving special education services at home or hospital.
The education offered by the school must be appropriate to the
student's individual needs. Schools are not required to maximize the
student's potential or to provide the best possible services. Unlike
most of the developed world, American schools are also required to
provide many medical services, such as speech therapy, if the student
needs these services.
According to the Department of Education,
approximately 6 million children (roughly 10 percent of all school-aged
children) currently receive some type of special education services.
As with most countries in the world, students who are poor, ethnic
minorities, or do not speak the dominant language fluently are
disproportionately identified as needing special education services.
Poor, black and Latino urban schools are more likely to have limited
resources and to employ inexperienced teachers that do not cope well
with student behavior problems, "thereby increasing the number of
students they referred to special education."
During the 1960s, in some part due to the civil rights movement, some researchers began to study the disparity of education amongst people with disabilities. The landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, which declared unconstitutional the "separate but equal" arrangements in public schools for students of different races, paved the way for PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Mills vs. Board of Education of District of Columbia,
which challenged the segregation of students with special needs. Courts
ruled that unnecessary and inappropriate segregation of disabled
students was unconstitutional. Congress responded to these court rulings with the federal Education for All Handicapped Children Act
in 1975 (since renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA)). This law required schools to provide services to students
previously denied access to an appropriate education.
In US government-run schools, the dominant model is inclusion.
In the United States, three out of five students with academic learning
challenges spend the overwhelming majority of their time in the regular
classroom.
Integrating technology in special education classrooms
Autism
Autism,
or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), refers to a range of conditions.
These conditions involve challenges with social skills, repetitive
behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. They also involve unique
strengths and differences.
Autism is a disability that impairs the social interactions and
communication skills of a person. People who are autistic tend to think
and act differently from others. Many autistic children find themselves
comfortable with a device in their hands. For students with autism,
there are apps called "visual scene displays" that are most helpful for
children who are having difficulty with verbal skills, according to
Jules Csillag, a speech–language pathologist who focuses on special ed
tech. Apps such as SceneSpeak and Speech with Milo help autistic
children develop storytelling skills with text-to-speech voice and
interactive storybooks. Using apps like these in a classroom can improve
autistic student's verbal skills.
There are several controversies surrounding the diagnoses and causes of autism.
It is now believed that there is no single cause of autism. Research
seems to suggest that autism is normally the result of both genetic and
environmental influences.
Down syndrome
If a student has down syndrome, assistive technology can help with their learning experience. Author of Down Syndrome: A Promising Future, Together, Terry
Hassold, who got his PhD in human genetics, explains that students with
Down syndrome have delays with cognitive ability. Their brains have a
late reaction when their neurological system sends a message for any
task. Because of this late reaction, they tend to take longer to
complete a task than an average student.
Assistive technology is crucial in helping Down's students with their
writing ability. Down syndrome children tend to have shorter fingers and
a lowered thumb making their ability to write more difficult. Also,
some of the usual wrist bones are not formed, making it difficult to
hold objects. Slanted desks are one type of assisted technology that can
aid in the successful ability to write. A three-ring binder can be used
to create a slanted desk by turning the binder sideways. Also, students
with Down syndrome often try to hold their pencils by anchoring them
against the thumb rather than using the tip of their thumb. Shortened
pencils or triangular-shaped pencils encourage students to hold them
correctly. Using any of these assistive technologies can help down
syndrome students during their educational process.
Special education and sports
Benefits
Many people with special needs are denied when they want to participate in a sport. In the U.S., the Office for Civil Rights
ensures students with disabilities always have opportunities to
participate in extracurricular athletics equal to other students.
Special education students can benefit from sports in many ways. For
example, studies show it boosts self confidence and improves the
participant's skills in relationship building and working as part of a
team.
Types of sports
Just about any sport can be altered for special education purposes. Some of the popular sports are swimming, wheel chair soccer, handball, gymnastics, and weightlifting.
Organizations and programs
Many competitive organizations are available for special needs student athletes. For example, the Special Olympics is an annual, world-wide competition held for disabled children that want to participate in sports. Other organizations include the Paralympic Games and Unified Sports, the latter which pairs participants with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. Educational institutions can also promote Adapted Physical Education,
which tailors sports for students with certain disabilities.
Organizations like S.T.R.I.D.E. Adaptive Sports help educational
institutions in providing opportunities for special education student
athletes. Some of these sports might include wheelchair basketball or sledge hockey.
Some sports even have their own organizations. For example, in
baseball athletes can participate in the Miracle League or Little League
Challenger Division. Another organization that soccer athletes can
participate in US Youth Soccer TOPSoccer or Just for Kicks.
Other sports which can be played or adapted include track & field, quad rugby, tennis, bowling, and skiing.
Impact
A 2021
study that examined the impact of a sharp reduction in the provision of
special education services in Texas found that this policy change
substantially reduced the high school completion rates and college
enrollment rates of the students who were denied access to special
education.