Examining the Problems Faced by Students with Special Needs in the Distance Education Process during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The article provides a summary of a theoretical study on the main provisions of the activity of the educational institution’s administration in creating and implementing an inclusive educational process at the institution. Inclusive education is teamwork – the responsibility and obligation shared by the whole educational institution is a challenge to the whole team of the educational institution and first of all, a challenge to the administration of the educational institution. Inclusive education can be implemented in various ways all united by organizational culture with positive perception of student diversity, an understanding that the leaders working at educational institutions with their colleagues have a central role in promoting the inclusive culture. The role of administration in the development of the inclusive educational process at an educational institution is to ensure the implementation of the norms concerning the rights of students with special needs to be included, to maintain inclusive policy in the activity of the educational institution, to provide everyone involved in the learning process with information about the special needs of the students, to allocate funds for providing for the special needs, to guarantee accessibility of the educational institution. The administration and the support specialists of the educational institution must work as a team, must develop a plan of measures for the implementation of a further inclusive education process of the educational institution, for providing the support in education where the measures for educational support include determining and assessment of the needs of a student; consultations and support for all students, including the students with special needs, professional development, consultations and support for teachers, the students’ parents and the specialists; consultations of the support team specialists and services, also attracting specialists from other institutions; technical aids and equipment (if necessary); an opportunity to study using sign language and the services of an interpreter (if necessary); transportation services (if necessary, also with an accompanying person); assistant services, etc. The make-up of specialists of the support team of the educational institution – speech and language pathologist, psychologist, social pedagogue, special education pedagogue, medical specialist, etc. can vary depending on the needs and circumstances of the students of the specific educational institution. Work responsibilities of these support team professionals in the general support system of the educational institution are analyzed in the article.

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Library Research Courses that Follow Universal Design Principles and Best Practices for Online Education of Special Needs Students Improve Student Learning Experiences

Evidence Based Library and Information Practice ◽

10.18438/b84w33 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 69 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dominique Daniel

Keyword(s):

Distance Education ◽

Distance Learning ◽

Best Practices ◽

Special Needs ◽

Library Instruction ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Special Needs Students ◽

Students With Special Needs ◽

Library Research ◽

Online Library

A Review of: Catalano, A. (2014). Improving distance education for students with special needs: A qualitative study of students’ experiences with an online library research course. Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, 8(1-2): 17-31. doi: 10.1080/1533290X.2014.902416 Abstract Objective – To evaluate student experience with an online library research course that follows best practices about distance education for special needs students. Design – Questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Setting – A large private college in the United States of America. Subjects – Seven female students, both undergraduate and graduate, each with different physical and cognitive disabilities. Methods – Students were recruited from respondents to a survey about accessible library services, with a $50 gift card incentive. They took an online information literacy course that had been adapted for students with special needs, using universal design for learning and best practices in distance education for special needs students and in library instruction. Upon completion, students answered a questionnaire about the course learning activities. Students were then asked to participate in in-depth, semi-structured interviews on their learning preferences and study skills. Main Results – Students expressed overall satisfaction with the course, especially the clear organization and the ability to choose from various types of assignments for their final project. They expressed a preference for click-through, step-by-step instructions for tutorials. Five of the seven students participated in in-depth interviews, which revealed some common themes in their overall online learning experience: the challenge of obtaining extended time on tests; overcoming reluctance to participate in online discussions; the need for regular communication with instructors; and the need for clearly stated expectations and timely feedback. Conclusion – Student feedback confirms best practices identified in the literature on distance learning and on special needs students. The need for clear instructor expectations, clear course organization, and frequent interaction with the professor are common to all distance learning situations, but students with special needs are particularly in need of such well-structured instruction. Librarians should always determine accessibility before selecting software and tools to be used in online instruction. Accessible online library instruction should include information about resources for students with special needs; it should provide the same content in varied formats; and it should offer students options for assignment formats. Much research remains to be done to compare students with special needs in online and face-to-face courses, and to determine factors that improve the success of students with special needs in online courses.

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Doświadczenia nauczycieli szkół przyszpitalnych w paradygmacie inkluzji ucznia ze specjalnymi potrzebami edukacyjnymi

Kwartalnik Pedagogiczny ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0013.5542 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 64 (3 (253)) ◽

pp. 194-206

Author(s):

Beata Antoszewska ◽

Małgorzata Moszyńska

Keyword(s):

Public Schools ◽

Special Needs ◽

Chronically Ill ◽

Transitional Space ◽

School Teachers ◽

Students With Special Needs ◽

Inclusion Process ◽

Teachers Experiences ◽

Hospital School ◽

Education Process

The inclusion of students with special needs into the education process offered by public schools invites research concerning the transitional space created by hospital schools dedicated for chronically ill or disabled children. The interpretive paradigm was employed for the framework of the study, this choice being motivated by a wish to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon of inclusion. The study aimed at getting acquainted with and describing the work of teachers in hospital schools from the perspective of the inclusion of students with special needs. Hence, the study focused on the work carried out by teachers in hospital schools. The collected information related to the interviewed teachers’ experiences facilitated the identification of common areas that are described in detail in this paper, along with the teachers’ narrations. Conclusions based on the conducted study demonstrate how hospital school teachers implement the notion of inclusion of students with special needs and what their experiences are as far as the inclusion process is concerned.

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Improving Distance Education for Students with Special Needs: A Qualitative Study of Students’ Experiences with an Online Library Research Course

Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning ◽

10.1080/1533290x.2014.902416 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 8 (1-2) ◽

pp. 17-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Amy Catalano

Keyword(s):

Distance Education ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Special Needs ◽

Students With Special Needs ◽

Library Research ◽

Online Library

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Distance Education for Students with Special Needs in Primary Schools in the Period of CoVid-19 Epidemic

Propósitos y Representaciones ◽

10.20511/pyr2020.v8n3.587 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Nedime Karasel Ayda ◽

Meryem Bastas ◽

Fahriye Altinay ◽

Zehra Altinay ◽

Gokmen Dagli

Keyword(s):

Special Education ◽

Distance Education ◽

Special Needs ◽

Special Education Teachers ◽

Primary Schools ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Students With Special Needs ◽

National Education ◽

Epidemic Period ◽

Developmental Characteristics

This study aims to determine what had been done in distance learning applications to enable special education students to continue their education during the Covid-19 epidemic period and how students and their families could benefit from these applications. The research was prepared using a qualitative method and semi-structured interview questions were used to collect the data. In the research ten special education teachers affiliated to MNE (Ministry of National Education), the sample group was analyzed by using content analysis method. The research results revealed that distance education and face to face education were not provided and family education is not given importance; special education teachers expressed both positive and negative opinions about distance education practices in primary education; there is not a sufficient distance education application for students with special needs and no IEP(Individual Education Program) applications in distance education for students with different developmental characteristics; the use of materials suitable for students' needs is inadequate.

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