The role of the teachers, working in special needs children’s classrooms that ensure quality learning outcomes for all learners

Abstract

The teachers, serving in the special classrooms have to play a major role in further extending their services focusing on the special needs of children’s achievement in education. “The term disability is encompassed by the current research on children with learning disabilities such as Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and autism.” This study aims to explore the teachers’ role and serving gaps to enhance the education achievement of special needs children in Sri Lanka. The study mainly intends to understand the teachers’ current knowledge and skills to serve the special needs of children that were measured considering the UNICEF guidelines of adaptation to proper curriculum & confidence for the special skills to serve these children. The current study further extends to investigate how the teachers are involved in controlling the children’s situational behaviors, utilizing their capabilities. Mainly, data were collected by a structured questionnaire from the teachers served in the special needs children’s classrooms of the government school in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka, additionally the research was intended to understand the children’s situational behaviors and teachers’ treatment style on these behaviors (words and actions) observing each classroom separately during the three months (July, August and September 2023). Critically analyzed collected data using the SPSS software and qualitative research technique, the major finding was the barriers include many interrelated factors, majority of teachers (90%) are positioned by lack of knowledge and skills to cover the proper curriculum and to control the children’s situational behaviors. 96% of teachers indicated that the difficulty of time limitation to attend the individual children’s education enhancement and difficulties of limited accessibility to infrastructure in special needs children’s classrooms in government schools in Sri Lanka were highlighted by 99% of respondents. Against this backdrop, children with special needs continue to face several barriers to access, participation, and achievement in education in Sri Lanka. Therefore, current research recommended enhancing the teachers’ knowledge & skills via continuous professional training and extending the infrastructure facilities in special needs children’s education. The study thus recommended establishing a proper mechanism of involvement of other teachers to enhance the therapy activities of reading, music, Arts, dancing, sports, drama and IT to improve special needs children’s achievement in education.