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Education Dive
Report: Teachers need more preparation to work in inclusive classrooms
Amelia Harper
June 6, 2019
Dive Brief:
Only 17% of general education teachers feel “very well prepared” to
teach children with mild to moderate learning disabilities, and only
30% “feel strongly” about their preparedness to teach them, according
to a recent report released by Understood and the National Center for
Learning Disabilities. More than 60% feel they are “somewhat prepared”
to teach them, however, The 74 reports.
Across the nation, about one in five public school students has
learning or attention issues, but not all of them receive special
education services, the report noted. The issue is of importance
because most students with such learning disabilities spend most of
their time in the traditional classroom and most perform below grade
level, in part because roughly half of teachers surveyed “feel
strongly” that it is possible for these students to perform at grade
level.
Most teachers want to be better prepared, but only seven states
currently require future general education teachers to take coursework
focusing on students with disabilities, and much of this instruction
does not prepare them for the realities of the classroom. Many teachers
also have misconceptions about the source of learning disabilities and
low expectations for student success. They require more professional
development to help them work with these students with better
understanding, the article says.
Dive Insight:
Teachers are routinely required to teach students with a wide variety
of needs and abilities in a single classroom.. While integrated
classrooms and fuller inclusion of students with disabilities in the
general education classroom is possible and often beneficial,
especially to students with special needs, it is not an effective
approach without proper training, support, and technology to help
personalize the learning environment.
If general education teachers are to be expected to teach students with
learning disabilities in their classrooms, then it is also reasonable
to expect that they be required to have training in this area. The
training also needs to be realistic. Teaching someone how to work
one-on-one with a special-needs student is a far cry from dealing with
25 students with varying needs. While some of this training may be
provided in teacher preparation programs, it is often not required.
Professional development can help fill this gap.
Teachers also need to have the right growth mindset when working with
all students and with students with learning disabilities especially.
Many students with learning disabilities simply learn differently or at
a different pace than their peers, but they are often capable of
accomplishing more than their teachers realize. In fact, their unique
perspectives can add value to collaborative learning situations. By
encouraging a growth mindset in teachers, students are more likely to
develop that growth mindset as well and take more control of their own
learning and become better prepared for the future.
However, general education teachers cannot help students reach their
full potential without the help of special education teachers. In some
schools, special education teachers are not available either because of
funding issues or because they are becoming increasingly hard to find.
Administrators can advocate for funding for these positions, and in
some cases, this may mean encouraging general education teachers who
are adept at working with students with special needs to go back and
get the credentials they need to serve in that role. When special
education teachers are in place, administrators also need to encourage
a spirit of collaboration between special and general education
teachers, perhaps even considering a cooperative teaching arrangement
between the two.
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