SAN JOSE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
San Jose, Malilipot, Albay
Subject: PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION 2 (Foundations of Special and Inclusive
Education)
Units: 3
Instructor: MARITES C. BASILLA
PRELIMINARY ACTIVITY (Please answer this in a short bond paper).
Direction: Please look for 6 members and try to answer the following question based
on your understanding. You will share your answers to the group during our face to
face classes.
1. Who teaches special education? Why?
2. What do you know about special education?
3. What is it in special education that you’re most worried about?
4. What is the most important thing for you as a group to learn in special
education?
5. What real-world activity would be valuable for you to learn about special
education?
MODULE 1
Lesson 1 (Basic Concepts: Definition, Uses, Elements and Purposes)
SPECIAL EDUCATION DEFINED
Special education is an individualized education for children with special needs.
It is especially designed instruction at no cost to the parents or guardian to
meet the unique needs of a child with disability, including instruction
conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions and in
other settings; the instruction in physical education. Education of persons who
have physical, mental, social or sensory impairment and cultural difference so
as to require modifications of the special curricula, program and special
services and physical facilities to develop them to their maximum capacity.
Those persons maybe gifted, talented fast learners, mentally retarded, visually
impaired, hearing impaired, with behavioral problems orthopedically
handicapped, with special health problems, learning disabilities, speech
impaired or multiple handicapped.
Understanding the Different Terms in Special Education
Adapted Physical Education Physical education program which has been adapted
or modified which is designed to fit for the learners
who require developmental or corrective instruction in
PE
Accommodations Changes that allow a person with disability to
participate fully in the indoor and outdoor activity
Acquisition Deficit It refers to the absence of knowledge for executing a
particular skill that have never been mastered
Adaptive Behavior The ability of an individual to demonstrate appropriate
personal independence, social responsibility and
environmental awareness for his or her chronological
age and cultural group.
Adaptions Changes in educational environments that allow
learners with disabilities to participate in inclusive
environment compensating for learner’s weaknesses.
Alternative Assessment Designed for learners with disabilities who cannot
participate in the standardized testing and reporting
system
Applied Behavior Analysis Application of learning principles derived from operant
conditioning, used to increase or decrease specific
behaviors; considerable research supporting its use
with individuals with autism.
Traumatic Brain Injury An acquired injury to the brain caused by an external
physical force, resulting in total or partial functional
disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that
negatively impacts a student’s educational
performance.
ELEMENTS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
According to exceptional special education program and practices at California charter
schools, there are nine (9) elements of successful special education programs namely:
1. Philosophy of inclusion. This includes shared value universal design for
learning accessible communication and collaboration in order for all students
educated in content-rich, general education settings.
2. Individualization of Programs. Children with special needs must enjoy
adaptable programs and individualized supports around student needs.
3. Supportive School Community. There is a need to have positive learning
environment for children at all times.
4. Multi-tiered support system. This includes team-based and data-driven
processes to support framework for academic, behavioral, and socioemotional
needs for all types of students.
5. Family and community partnerships. Family academe and community
partnerships are very important to build a strong learning environment and to
develop support networks around their students.
6. Cutting-edge technologies and practices. Each school must utilize innovative
approaches and assistive technologies in the delivery of the school curriculum.
7. Flexibility and autonomy. The needs of the learners are the top-most priority of
the schools.
8. Staff development. The staff must undergo rigorous professional development
training to ensure that general and special education teachers and other
personnel were ready to meet the needs of all students.
9. Constant refinement and improvement of programs. The schools must set goals
for the ongoing refinement and improvement for sustainable special education
programs.
Lesson 2 (Inclusive Education)
WHAT IS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Inclusive education refers to placement of students with special educational
needs in mainstream settings., along with other students without disabilities (Artiles,
Dorn, and Christenses, 2006 as cited in Al-Shammari, Faulkner & Forlin, 2019)
According to the United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization
(UNESCO) inclusive education is not a marginal issue but is central to the
achievement of high quality education for all learners and also determines appropriate
educational practices used in general education schools by offering a variety of
educational services to help all students with special needs best learn according toto
their abilities and needs (McLeskey, Hoppey, Williamson, & Rentz, 2004) defines
inclusive education as a philosophy that brings stakeholders together to create a
school environment based on acceptance and belonging within the school and
community.
Inclusive education means that all students attend and are welcomed by their
neighborhood schools in age-appropriate, regular classes and are supported to learn,
contribute and participate in all aspects of the life of the school. It is also about how
teachers develop and design schools, classrooms, programs and activities so that all
students learn and participating together. Inclusive education is intended to create a
learning environment in different schools that is center of learning and educational
systems as caring, nurturing, and supportive educational communities where the
needs of all students are met in accordance with their needs.
In addition, inclusive education is carried out in a common learning
environment that is, an educational setting where students from different
backgrounds and with different abilities learn together in an inclusive environment.
Common learning environment are used for the majority of the students’ regular
instruction hours and may include classrooms, libraries, gyms, performance theatres,
music rooms cafeterias, playgrounds and the local community. A common learning
environment is not a place where student with intellectual disabilities or other special
needs learn in isolation from their peers.
The following are the benefits of effective common learning environments. (1)
enable each student to fully participate in the learning environment that is designed
for all students and is shared with peers in the chosen educational setting; (2) provide
a positive climate, promote a sense of belonging and ensure student progress toward
appropriate personal, social, emotional and academic goals; (3) responsive to
individual learning needs by providing sufficient levels of support and applying a
student centered teaching practices and principles; and (4) designed to be delivered to
students of mixed ability and with their peer group in the community school, while
being responsive to their individual needs as a learner, and used for the majority of
the students’ regular instruction hours.
Therefore, Inclusion and participation are essential to human dignity and to the
enjoyment and exercise of human rights (Salamanca Framework for Action, 1994).
This involves changing culture of contemporary schools with emphasis on active
learning. Applied curriculum, appropriate assessment methods, multi-level
instructional approaches, and increased attention to diverse student needs and
individualization”.
BENEFITS OF INCLUSIVE SCHOOL COMMUNITIES
Effective inclusive education practices as stated by Al-Shammari, Faulkner and
Forlin, (2019) should incorporate ideas from different theories so that teachers can
successfully make curricular and instructional decisions for each student.
“Beheviourism-based inclusive education settings, which clearly appears in the
emphasis on student behavior and performance in manipulating stimulus materials”.
Accordingly, cognitivist focuses on the attributes of one’s thinking, memory, self
reflection and motivation to teach (Piaget, n.d). Cognitivism-based inclusive education
practices are implemented by applying different instructional approaches focused on
learning activities, such as note-taking (Boyle & Rivera, 2012), underlining (Swanson,
Orosco, & Lussier, 2014), summarizing (Wittrock & Alesandrini, 1990), writing to
learn, outlining and mapping, and use of the PQ4R method (Slavin, 2009). Lastly, in
the same study by Al-Shammari, Faulkner, & Forlin (2019), constructivism-based
inclusive education practices are the applications of constructivism in inclusive
education settings, which would involve instructional methods and strategies to assist
learners to explore complex topics actively.
TIES (Increasingly Time, Instructional Effectiveness, Engagement, and State Support
Center (2018) enumerated different benefits of inclusive education:
1. Support to Civil Rights teachers believe that inclusion is a civil right. Like all
students, those with disabilities have the right to attend regular schools and
general education classes.
2. Integration in Community Life. Special education students need to belong in a
certain group of people.
3. Sense of Belonging and Acceptance of Differences. “An inclusive approach to
education challenges practices of separating students and their underlaying
assumptions. As educators become more successful implementing inclusive
practices, fewer students are at risk for experiencing segregation and its
potentially devastating effects on learning” TIES, 2018.
4. varies Learning Opportunities. Like other students, children should also enjoy
varied learning opportunities that fit their learning needs. All children should
grow encountering varied opportunities and challenges.
5. Use of Best Practices in Instructions. Teachers are trained with varied
strategies, modalities and individualized instruction approaches. The children
should have the best teacher with experiences.
6. Individualized Education in a Supportive Context the teachers are well-trained
in IEP making. “The nature flow of productive interactions and learning in
general education environment makes them ideal places in which to expect
active student participation and high levels of student accountability for their
performance, TIES (2018)
7. Relationship with Peers. Inclusive learning environments provide opportunities
for all children, teachers, parents community and other stakeholders to have a
very smooth relationship for the improvement of teaching practices.
8. Increased Instructional Support for All Students. Inclusion benefits the
students because when students with disabilities are educated in general
education classes, special educators and specialized instructional support
personnel provide support in those settings. This result in general education
teachers and students having additional expertise more available, TIES (2018)
9. Improving Schools through Team Building. Team effort and collaboration of all
students is essential in an inclusive learning environment.
[Link] Involvement. The parents are greatly involved in all students’ activities.
Parent conferences are regularly conducted.
MAINSTREAMING IN SPECIAL EDUCATION
Another important concept in special education is mainstreaming. “Mainstreaming
has been used to refer to the selective placement of special education students in one
or more “regular” education classes. Rogers (1993) assume that a student must “earn”
his or her opportunity to replaced in a regular classes by demonstrating an ability to
“keep up” with the work assigned by the regular classroom teacher. Mainstreaming is
closely linked to traditional forms of special education service delivery”, (Rogers, 1993).
Mainstreaming refers to children with an Individualized Education Program (IEP)
attending a regular classroom for their social and academic benefit. Mainstreaming
involves placing students with disabilities in general education settings only when they
can meet traditional academic expectations with minimal assistance or when those
expectations are not relevant (for example, participation only in recess school
assemblies for access to social interactions with peers).
