Special Teaching: The Pedagogy and Perception of Special Education Teachers

Abstract

Education is deemed as an integral part of human formation. It is the process of facilitating knowing, learning and developing the skills and behaviour of the students. In the context of education, special education (SPED) is occupying a niche that is beyond the complexities of regular basic education., Due to this, several teachers are finding it hard to craft teaching techniques that will best fit the children with special needs. To solve this, we should be aware of the experiences that the teachers of SPED and how they are dealing with difficult experiences. Consequently, this qualitative research aims to know how teachers handle the attitude or behaviour of students with disability. The researchers interviewed seasoned SPED teachers to know their experiences and perceptions regarding teaching students with disabilities. Teachers who specialize in teaching special education from Holy Nazarene Christian School were interviewed. Through thematic analysis of interview transcripts, the findings of the study revealed that the teachers experience minimum difficulty in handling students with disabilities since the teacher in SPED is really their passion. The reasons on why they teach SPED was because it is in line with their chosen course and they chose to teach students with disabilities than normal students. The teachers believe that through proper and constant observation with the child they are handling, certain pedagogy must be tailored fit to their needs. In addition, the participants noted that teaching students with special needs is not that different from normal students, thus, it is important that aspiring teachers should see to it that the students will not feel any special treatment is being given to them or the concept of inclusion. Being part of the special education calls for teachers who specialize in children and have had training on encouraging youth with special needs to achieve their highest potential and strive for unparalleled academic progress. With this in mind, teachers encouraged their students to participate in academic contests, mind games, and sports events along with normal students so that they will be able to develop emotionally and physically. The teachers also shared that at times, the special needs students are given a chance to sit in regular classes in order to feel accustomed to the reality of a classroom.