ENHANCING SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES OF TEACHERS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

MEANING OF SPECIAL EDUCATION:
Special education means specially				TEACHER COMPETENCIES:
designed instruction which meets the special education				1. The SCANS study also
and related needs of an exceptional child. It is				addressed five areas in which special education
distinguished from regular educational programme for				teachers need to demonstrate competence. Being
non-exceptional children by some unusual quality,				able to work with a variety of Technologies was
something uncommon, noteworthy. It is something				identified as one of the five SCANS competencies.
special – special materials, special training				More specifically, teachers need to have the
techniques, special equipment and special help and for				knowledge to select and apply procedures, tools or
special facilities may be required for special categories				equipment to work-related situations, as well as
of children having special needs. For example,				maintain and troubleshoot if the need arises. Having an
- Visually impaired children may require reading				knowledge of technology is considered important for
materials in large print or Braille.				persons in this occupation.
- Hearing impaired children may require hearing aid,
auditory training, lip reading, etc.				The second competency listed in the SCANS study
- Orthopaedically handicapped children may require				addresses handling Resources. Special education
wheel chairs, and removal of architectural barriers				teachers need to be able to plan, organize, identify, and
- Mentally retarded children may need skill training.				allocate resources such as time, money, materials
Related service, such as special transportation, medical				facilities and people.
and psychological assessment, physical and				A third area of competence is
occupational therapy and counseling may be required if				System skills, knowledge and understanding of social,
special education is to be effective.				organization, and technical systems is becoming
				increasingly important for today’s teachers.
SPECIAL EDUCATION AS TEACHING:				The fourth competency is the
Special education can be looked in				ability to acquire, organize, interpret and communicate
terms of WHO, WHAT, WHERE and HOW? Special				information. This attribute is a combination of
education meant for exceptional children whose				information Input and Mental Processes.
special needs or abilities necessitate an individualized				The last competency presented in
programme of education.				the SCANS study is interpersonal ability.
				Regular educators should inculcate the following skills
�				and competencies in them:
Who? An inter-disciplinary team of				Teaching Basic skills:
professionals-special educators, regular classroom				These include: a) Literacy skills (reading, arithmetic,
teachers, psychologists, speech therapists,				writing, spelling, study skills,
physiotherapists, specialist doctors bear the primary				� speaking),
responsibility for helping exceptional children maximize				b) Life
their capabilities.				maintenance skills (health, safety),
What? Special education is				c) Personal
sometimes differentiated from regular education by its				development skills (moral behaviour, basic life issues).
curriculum, that is, by what is taught. For example,				Class management:
teaching self-help skills or training in reading and writing				This includes developing skills in
Braille is an important part of curriculum for severely				selecting appropriate techniques to manage individuals
handicapped children(the blind) in special education				and group behaviour. It requires proficiency in
institutions which is not found in regular education, the				techniques of behavioural analysis, group altering,
school system dictates the curriculum, but in special				guiding transitions, material arrangement and crisis
education the child’s individual needs dictate the				intervention.
curriculum.				Professional Consultation and Communication:
Where? Special education can				Mainstreaming makes in
sometimes be identified by where it takes place.				imperative that regular classroom teacher develops
Whereas regular education is provided in the regular				competence in ways to consult and communicate with
classroom, special education may be provided in				these professionals. Teachers should know how to
special class, resource room, special school or in				collect and report the type of information that will be
residential school.				most useful to the specialists.
How? Special education can be				Referral:
differentiated from regular education by the method				Teacher should know how to
used by teachers. One special educator may use sign				collect useful data for diagnosis and how to refer the
language to communicate with his students. Another				child.
special educator may use task analysis and skill training				Individualized Teaching:
for mentally retarded children. Still another special				Teacher needs to be adept at
educator may use multisensory approach and process				assessing a student’s individual needs and in
training while teaching a learning disabled child.				designing instruction to meet theses needs. This does
Exceptional children require special				not mean that each child should be taught individually. It
education which include three elements, and these are				means permitting child to pursue a preferred mode of
as follows:				learning.
ü Trained professionals including teachers,				Interactional skills:
educationists, psychologists, physiotherapists and				Teacher should be able to interact
others are required.				successfully with the parents, siblings, children. He/she
ü Special curriculum is made for the children which				should be able to interact and collaborate with others in
suit different areas of exceptionality such as mental				the school.
retardation, giftedness, deafness, blindness, orthopaedic				Orientation strategies for entry into mainstreaming:
handicap, cerebral palsy and social and emotional				Teachers should be able to
problems, and				prepare special students as well as regular class for
ü Some facilities including special building features,				mainstreaming. This also includes preparing parents of
study materials and equipment are also collected for				all children for normalization. He/she should be able to
this purpose.				develop positive attitudes towards mainstreaming.
				Identification and Assessment of children:
NCERT: ROLE IN TEACHER TRAINING: The				Teacher should be able to
National Council of Education Research and Training				observe children in various settings without affecting
(NCERT) functions as the adviser to the Ministry of				their behaviour. Teacher should be able to identify
Education and Social Welfare. NCERT has earlier a				children with special needs and assess their needs, use
department of Special education within Teacher				and interpret individual assessment measures.
education and Special education cells in all its four				Goal setting:
Regional colleges of Education. It is pioneer in running				Teacher should be able to
six months key/resources Teacher training at its				establish appropriate goals for the exceptional child.
headquarters and multi-category training of teachers in				The goals should be realistic, measurable and also give
the four Regional Institutes of Education. About 100				opportunity for optimum development of potentials of
teachers are trained every year. The course structure				such children.
includes comprehensive coverage for enabling the				Adjusting curricula:
teachers to develop competency to handle major				Teacher should be able to adjust
debilities.				curricula to suit the ability, needs and interests of
				disabled children.
REGIONAL INSTITUTES:				Use of Teaching Strategies:
The Regional Institutes of				Teacher should be able to plan
Education also run B. Ed. and M. Ed. courses with				and implement a variety of instructional techniques.
specialization in one area of Special education until				Promoting Classroom Climate:
recently. At the centre, several in-service programmes				Teacher should be able to
also being run for Principals of DIET, Special education				promote acceptance of individual differences among
faculty of SCERT, PIED block supervision of various				all children. Teacher should be able to conduct class
times.				activities to encourage interaction among students.
				Resource Managing:
SKILLS:				Teacher should be able to
The following skills are to be developed for preparing				manage resources which can be used for instruction
teachers for Special education.v Practical skills in				of disabled children.
observation of children both individually and in groups to
help teachers sharpen their perception of variations in
children’s learning and behaviour and develop their				Evaluation and Monitoring:
awareness of variation in children’s circumstances				Teacher should be able to assess
(home-school difficulties).v Appreciation of the				the extent to which the needs of disabled children are
educational needs of children with developed				met in the classroom evaluate the appropriateness of
difficulties-physical, sensory, emotional behavioural or				the resources for these children, modify his methods,
learning the needs of their parents, and the value of				materials to meet their needs.
the contribution which parents can make to their				As the regular educator has to
children’s development.v Understanding of the				work as a member of the team, it is important that he
practical steps necessary for meeting a child’s				appreciates the role of special educator also. Based
special needs and an ability to adopt the attitude must				on the tasks that the special educator is required to
suit to dealing with particular difficulties and to				perform following skills should be inculcated by special
appreciate the need for modification of the school or				educators.
classroom organization for the curriculum of teaching				Special educators should possess ability to
techniques.v Appreciation of the special services				1. Observe child’s behaviour systematically.
available to children with special needs of their familiar				2. Assess present status and needs of special child.
and of the advisory services available to teachers.				3. Develop individualized education programmes.
This might be developed by inviting professionals for				4. Write report on basis, of data gathered.
the various services to visit the college so that through				5. Interact with others to build up relationship and
discussion, the students can learn about the work of				collaborate.
teachers in relation to other professionals, the				6. Communicate results to other staff members and
contributions which different specialist can make, the				parents.
services to expect from them, and the kind of question				7. Change attitudes and advocate for them.
to put to them.v Awareness of the range of career				8. Carry out remedial work.
and professional opportunities in Special education and				9. Evaluate and monitor methods, materials and
the availability of further qualification in special				progress.
education.				10. Develop and administer therapeutic programmes.
According to the Secretary’s Commission On				11. Solve problems and deal with different situations
Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), a study				that may arise due to unique needs of special children.
commissioned by the Secretary of the U. S.
Department of Labor, several core skills are essential				CONCLUSION:
for Special education teachers. These skills are divided				In the modern era, a teacher has enumerable
into a Three-Part Foundation and Five Competencies.				responsibilities as our society becomes very complex.
The Three-Part Foundation				Teacher has to play the several roles to develop
includes Basic skills of reading, writing, Mathematics,				special children. The most important qualities of teacher
listening and speaking. For special education teachers				are sincerity, honesty and involvement in teaching. The
Basic skills are extremely important. Another				knowledge of teaching, training and instruction can be
Foundational attribute is Personal qualities. This includes				effectively used by incorporating important Basic skills
self-management, integrity, self-esteem, sociability and				like learning strategies and speaking skill, Complex
responsibility. This is similar to two variables – Social				problem solving skills through idea generation,
skills and interaction with others. The third foundation				implementation planning and Social skills through
skill is Thinking skills. This includes creative thinking,				instruction, service orientation and social
decision making, problem solving, knowing how to learn				perceptiveness in managing special children.
and reasoning.

Medway Pac

ENHANCING SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES OF TEACHERS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

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