Search results for "Special education."
showing 10 items of 205 documents
Special Education Teachers’ Identification of Students’ Reading Difficulties in Grade 6
2020
his study investigated special educational needs (SEN) teachers’ (n = 29) assessment practices and the accuracy of their ratings of the students’ (M age = 12.75 years, n = 55) skill levels in reading fluency and reading comprehension. Teachers rated their sixth grade students’ fluency and comprehension on a three-point scale, and the students were also tested in group tests. Results showed that SEN teachers used several assessment practices simultaneously but mostly relied on observations. The correlations between the teacher ratings and the test scores were significant but moderate in fluency and weak in comprehension. Only two thirds of low-performing students having difficulties in fluen…
Creating Learning Environments Free of Violence in Special Education through the Dialogic Model of Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts
2021
Violence suffered by children is a violation of human rights and a global health problem. Children with disabilities are especially vulnerable to violence in the school environment, which has a negative impact on their well-being and health. Students with disabilities educated in special schools have, in addition, more reduced experiences of interaction that may reduce both their opportunities for learning and for building protective social networks of support. This study analyses the transference of evidence-based actions to prevent violence in schools –the Dialogic Model of Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts (DMPRC)– in the context of a special school, and its impact on the reduction …
How the Psychology of Education Contributes to Research With a Social Impact on the Education of Students With Special Needs: The Case of Successful …
2020
One current challenge in the psychology of education is identifying the teaching strategies and learning contexts that best contribute to the learning of all students, especially those whose individual characteristics make their learning process more difficult, as is the case for students with special needs. One main theory in the psychology of education is the sociocultural approach to learning, which highlights the key role of interaction in children's learning. In the case of students with disabilities, this interactive understanding of learning is aligned with a social model of disability, which looks beyond individual students' limitations or potentialities and focuses on contextual as…
What is individual in individualised instruction? Five storylines of meeting individual needs at school
2015
Abstract The purpose of this narrative case study was to examine the meanings and practices of individualised instruction narrated by two seventh-grade Finnish pupils with mild learning difficulties, their mothers, their special education teacher and researchers. The data comprise narrative interviews and field notes. The analysis showed that the narrators had various, even conflicting, experiences of individualisation, which was narrated through five storylines: individual needs as difficulties and limitations; individualisation as the ideal principle for inclusive education; individualisation as a bureaucratic procedure; individualised instruction as making room for emotions, and individu…
The treatment of severe self-injurious behavior through sensory stimulation: A case report
2016
Self-injurious behavior of an institutionalized man with profound intellectual disability was treated with a daily 15-min sensory stimulation program, which consisted of moving the arms and hands of the participant, swinging his body, and massage. The frequency of self-injurious behavior was measured in 10-min sessions. Using a reversal design, it was shown that sensory stimulation decreased the participant’s self-hitting behavior significantly, both in intensity and in frequency. Sensory stimulation is recommended for use in those cases in which functional analysis has shown that self-injury may be reinforced by its sensory consequences.
Exploring pre-service special needs teachers’ assessment conceptions and assessment self-efficacy
2022
This survey study (N = 148) investigates the interrelationships between assessment conceptions, assessment self-efficacy, prior education, and teaching experience amongst Finnish pre-service special educational needs teachers (pre-service SENs). The results showed that assessment conceptions and assessment self-efficacy are intertwined. Assessment conceptions, prior studies, and teaching experience were clustered into three different pre-service SEN types: Assessment Positives, Assessment Cautious, and Assessment Criticals. Pre-service SENs with assessment-positive or assessment-cautious conceptions reported higher assessment self-efficacy than students with assessment-critical conceptions.…
Academic achievement and self-concept of deaf and hard-of-hearing and hearing students transitioning from the first to second cycle of primary school…
2018
ABSTRACTThis study was done to examine the transition of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) and hearing students from the first cycle (Grade 4) to the second cycle (Grade 5) of primary education in Ethiopia. Academic achievement and self-concept were measured longitudinally with 103 DHH and hearing students. Participants were selected from three different settings (special schools, special classes and regular schools). Self-Description Questionnaire I (Marsh, H. W. 1990. Self-Description Questionnaire – I (SDQ I). Manual. MacArthur, NSW, Australia: University of Western Sydney) was used to measure the children’s self-concept. The results showed a decrease in the academic achievement and academi…
The implementation of new special education legislation in Finland
2014
This article examines the implementation of new special education legislation in Finland among students with significant disabilities. The data consist of a nationwide survey and field observations. In the analysis, a policy implementation framework is utilized as a theoretical lens. The findings suggest that schools and municipalities that had participated in long-term development projects had more capacity and willingness to reform special education practices substantially, suggesting that learning in one policy area can transfer to other domains across multiple levels of national and local governments. The key findings highlight the significance of professional trust as a policy instrum…
Principals’ views on changes in the provision of support for learning and schooling in Finland after educational reform
2019
Recently, the large-scale reforms of special education have been carried out in many countries. This study focuses on the latest Finnish reform of special education in compulsory education. As principals lead educational reforms in schools, their role in the implementation of reform is significant. The study explores principals’ views on the changes in support arrangements after the educational reform. We used latent class analysis to identify the subgroups of principals who share similar views. In addition, we examined the relationship between the subgroups and individual, school, and municipal level factors using multinomial logistic regression analysis. Four subgroups were identified: im…
Analysis and evaluation of the inclusive model in infant and primary centre support systems
2016
En esta investigación se analiza el funcionamiento y la organización de los sistemas de apoyo utilizados en centros de Educación Infantil y Primaria de la Comunidad Valenciana. Planteamos hasta qué punto los sistemas de apoyo en estos centros contribuyen a mejorar la organización de un sistema inclusivo que resulte accesible para todos. En el estudio de casos han participado 24 profesionales pertenecientes a cuatro centros que tienen diferentes modalidades de escolarización. Para la recogida de información, se han manejado instrumentos cualitativos como son la entrevista, la observación y el análisis documental. Según los datos obtenidos, los sistemas de apoyo no se ajustan de forma integra…