Chapter VII: Theoretical Foundation of Classroom Management in Special Education
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – SAN ISIDRO CAMPUS
Module Overview
This module discusses diversity and classroom management in special education
settings. It begins by explaining the importance of understanding diversity in the classroom,
including factors like gender, culture, language, socioeconomic status, and learning styles. It then
outlines several international and Philippine declarations that mandate providing education to all
students regardless of individual differences.
It describes the key components of classroom management, including procedural,
organizational, physical, psychological, behavioral, and instructional dimensions. Effective
classroom management requires understanding diversity and creating an environment where all
students can learn.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this chapter, learners are expected to:
1. Explain the meaning of diversity
2. Identify and describe the sources of learners’ diversity
3. Discuss learners’ diversity as applied in the SPED setting
4. Give the value of understanding diversity in classroom management
Lessson Proper
DIVERSITY IN THE CLASSROOM
A. CONCECPTS OF DIVERSITY
The classroom is a cen rpiece of a complicated social arrangement and daunting
challenges for he teacher. Imagine yourself as a teacher facing twenty 5-year old boys and girls
in the classroom. What do you want to know? How would you make each one learn? How
should you respond to their diversity? The answers to these questions will influence your
classroom management behaviors.
Studies have shown that a teacher who is ill-prepared to understand the diversity in the
classroom tends to discriminate subtly students through certain facial expressions, selective
acknowledgment, or tolerating class "monopolisers" (Davis, 2001). The lacks of understanding
can also results to general labeling of students increasing the incidence of incorrect assumptions
about individual students. Understanding diversity prepares us for a new cultural paradigm, a
mainstream culture that encourages, values and promotes tolerance for individual differences.
What is diversity?
Diversity simply means recognizing the group or individual differences that we see in
our students (Eggen & Kauchack. 2010). It means looking at each student's unique profile,
hisbiological challenges, his family patterns, and where he stands on the developmental ladder
(Greenspan & Weider, 1998). Obviously it is identified with race, gender age and other physical
attributes. It is also identified by some less obvious characteristics like religious and/or spiritual
beliefs and social orientation. Having children with different backgrounds and abilities in a
single classroom has its challenges. We need to consider what each child needs to learn and how
he or she can learn best. We need to discover how to get all of the children, no matter what
disabilities they have, want to learn together happily. The most important challenge of the
Special Education teacher in a diverse educational setting is to deal with prejudices and
discrimination.
B. SOURCES
OF LEARNING
DIVERSITY
Culture is an important consideration in understanding learner diversity. Another
cultural dimension that can influence classroom management is the type of child-adult
interaction.
Gender difference is another important consideration in understanding diversity.
Teachers may unintentionally reinforce gender stereotypes such as assigning housekeeping to a
task o girls and tool-using task to boys or gives more responsibilities to boys than girls
(UNESCO, 2004).
Your dialect can also make you different from the rest. No matter how hard you try to
imitate a second language speaker, e.g. English, there will always remain a trace of your mother
tongue, the language you grow up with.
C. DIVERSITY IN SPECIAL EDUCATION SETTING
The classroom of children with special needs is a natural setting of diverse needs and
characteristics. Individual differences can be explained in terms of:
1. How the child reacts to sensation, process of information, plans actions and sequences
behavior and thought.
2. The level of functional, emotional, social and intellectual capacities.
3. Typical and necessary interaction patterns, and
4. Family patterns (Greenspan & Weider 1998).
The implication for understanding learner diversity are reflected in the provisions of
legal mandates and politics spelled out by the Constitution, Department of Education and other
agencies particularly, the UNESCO.
Education Act of 1982 and Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, Art.
XIV, Sec. 5 par.5 (1987)
mandates that all people regardless of
o sex
o age
o creed
o socioeconomic status
o physical and mental conditions
o social and ethnic region
o origin and other affiliations
The global movement for Education for All (1990) was strongly reaffirmed by the
Salamanca Statement and Framework for action (1994) in its principles and policy ensuring the
right to education for everyone regardless of individual differences.
Dakar Framework 2000 inspired the Philippine Education for All 2015 National Action Plan
specifically to include in its goals a strong declaration to provide basic quality education for all
and eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education (Philippines EFA 2015,
Goals 1 & 5, 2005).
KEY CONCEPT OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
A. BASIC COMPONENTS OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
What is Classroom Management?
Classroom management was defined as “a symmetric designing of the classroom environment to
create conditions in which effective teaching and learning can occur (Smith et al, 2006).
In 19th and 20th century, classroom management focused on the mastery of the 3R’s,
obedience and compliance. • Interaction was basically teacher-directed and the student
passive.
During that period, classroom management was viewed as “bag of tricks” requires
teachers to be skillful in directing classroom activities to make students busy and
discipline.
Classroom management was defined as “a symmetric designing of the classroom
environment to create conditions in which effective teaching and learning can occur
(Smith et al, 2006).
In the 21st century, the paradigm of classroom management of the past shifted from one-
way flow interaction to an environment of shared responsibility and learning
From blind obedience and compliance, management has shifted to producers which
advance self-discipline with the aim of producing students who are highly innovative,
creative, effective communicators and self-directed.
This paradigm shifts also brought a more humane, comprehensive definition of classroom
management (Freiberg & Lapointe 2006).
The contemporary concept of classroom management emphasizes on the concerted
efforts of both the teacher and students to create as an effective learning environment.
It is very important of school population with special needs to release them from the
stereotype concepts of helplessness and dependency.
B. KEY COMPONENTS OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONS
Classroom is a behavior setting that is Eco behavioral in context and multidimensional composed
key of components.
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Procedural Dimension Classroom rules
Classroom procedures
Personal Interaction
Organizational Dimension Work Environment
Administrative duties
Instructional Applications
Personal Applications
Classroom arrangemen
Physical Dimension Accessibility
Specialized equipments
Student Factors
Psychological Dimension Teacher Factors
Peer Factors
Family Factors
Creating and increasing desirable behaviors
Behavioral Dimension Decreasing undesirable behaviors
Generalization and maintenance
Developing self-management
Schedule
Instructional Dimension Transitions
Grouping
Lesson plans
Procedural Dimensions
If there are two words most often used to describe a classroom, they are chaos and order.
Rules and procedures are necessary to maintain order within acceptable limits for a
classroom event to be realized in the situation.
A chaotic classroom produced confused learners while an orderly one produces organized
efficient learners.
Organizational Dimension
A teacher is expected to establish and maintain a healthy relationship with other teacher
and school personnel, attend to the immediate work area, perform numerous
administrative duties in addition to the instructional and personal time management
You should be able to enhance these personnel interaction for the success of the program
designed for the child.
A teacher should be organized especially for Special Education teacher who regularly
interact with teachers in regular classrooms and professional support staffs to enhance the
program designed to particular child.
Your working environment should also be well kept since children with special needs are
highly distractible. Basic recommendation including to-do list, breaking down the task
into smaller pieces and working on them. Working during work time, and setting
priorities.
Physical Dimension
Setting up your classroom space is your first task at the beginning of a new school year. It
is important that before classes start, you make an inventory of the sizes and shape of
your classroom, the type and quantity of your furniture and equipment, and the
availability of wall spaces.
A well-organized classroom space can help maintain order, increase pupil interaction,
and decreased level of distractions and consequently decreasing the occurrence of
unacceptable behaviors.
Psychological Components
The psychological dimension determines the classroom climate or the atmosphere of the
classroom.
It is influenced by student factors, teacher factors, peer factors and family-related factors.
Students attitudes about school and their relationship with their teachers or other school
authorities can have significant impact on how they behave and react to the classroom
management demands.
Teachers, to an extent, also play a role in setting the classroom climate Teachers
deposition, competencies and skills, and behavior dramatically affect the quality of
classroom interaction.
Communication skills especially in special education setting should include emphatic
responding, listening to the students' perspective and problem solving (Smith et al).
Peers are highly influential especially in the process of socialization, bolstering self-
confidence and providing a sense of identity and belonging.
Behavioral Dimension
The behavioral dimension is concerned with the management of inappropriate behaviors
that may disrupt the learning environment either in the part of the individual or groups.
This is considered as the most challenging component especially in special education
settings where students' inappropriate behavior.
Teachers are expected to address problematic behaviors commonly seen in school such as
off-task talking, noncompliance, inattention and bullying.
Instructional Dimension
The early concepts of classroom management have placed little concerned on
management of instruction.
The amount and quality of instruction has taken center stage in the stage in the education
of children with special needs.
In response to these expectations, Special Education teachers prepared on how to manage
instructional time wisely.
It is also important that you should be familiar with the writing in the Individualized
Education Plan for children who are placed in individualized instructional settings.
C. CHARACTERISTICS OF CLASSROOM SETTINGS
The classroom setting is a showcase of contradictions and competition. Students are
urged to be independent and responsible but teacher set the rules and procedures from the class.
Doyle (1986) citedsix features of the classroom that make it complex.
1. Multidimensionality
Teachers not only teach; they are also tasked to do broad range of activities inside the
boundaries of the classroom.
2. Simultaneity
It is the concurrent of events happening inside the classroom which teachers should have
"eves in the back ack of their heads".
3. Immediacy
Things happen rapidly in the classroom and each incident requires immediate and on-
the-spot decisions about how to proceed.
4. Unpredictability
Events in the classroom cannot be anticipated even with careful planning. It can be
exhausting but challenges you always look forward to another day.
5. Publicness
You always find yourself "on stage" watching your own behavior and monitoring your
student's behavior.
6. History
Past events from history of the classroom and it affected what happens in the future.
Teachers must work to shape history and supports than future activities.
ANSWER ME!!
Synthesis
References:
[Link]
Classroom-Management-in-Special-Education-Module-1
[Link]
Classroom-Management-in-Special-Education-Module-2
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