BUDU BRIGHT INDEX NO. 5150410014 DEPARTMENT: AKAN-NZEMA UNIT: TWI

TABLE OF CONTENTSTOPICPAGE

INTRODUCTION2

THE MAIN ESSAY3-4

CONCLUSION AND REFERENCE5

INTRODUCTIONSpecial education is used to describe a wide range of supports, programs and placements for students who need different teaching methods or special materials to allow them to be successful in the school. In my opinion, special education is the systematic arrangement of teaching learning materials (TLMs) and teaching strategies to supplement or complement the tasks of the teacher to give good instructions to the students with disabilities as well as those with exceptionalities (those who perform poorly and those who are extremely good).As a student-teacher, it is important to acquire knowledge in special education so as to be able to identify such students. Being able to identify these students, the teacher will be able to know how to prepare his teaching learning materials (TLMs) and the teaching strategies to be used to achieve his objectives. Emiliana Veges, (Senior Education Economist, World Bank) once said; it is not just that kids need to go to school, they need to learn in school. This shows that every student needs special attention from the teacher for the student to be able to learn. According to McNulty J. Raymond and Gloeckler C. Lawrence (2014), the goal of the Common Core State Standards is to focus on the knowledge and skills needed by all students, those who are disabled are not exception. They too are expected to be challenged to excel within the general education curriculum based on the Common Core State Standards.To this end, the following; To understand students rate of learning, For identification of children with exceptionalities, Behaviour tolerance, The practice of inclusive education, Good teaching behaviour and management skills are some implications (importance) of studying special education to the student-teacher. The elaborations of the points identified above are as follow;

One importance of studying special education to the student teacher is to accommodate Students Rate of Learning. In a special education classroom, instruction is tailored to meet the students unique needs. Instruction can be at a slower or faster pace as needed. In a general education classroom, it is more difficult for the classroom teacher to speed up instruction to benefit the few students who excel with the presented material, which would ultimately leave the rest of the class behind. Similarly, if the teacher slowed the pace of instruction down until every single child fully understood it; some students would be left feeling bored and unchallenged. In addition, students in a special education setting will receive extended wait time, allowing them to process the information, as well as more frequent opportunities to respond due to the smaller class size. Therefore, with the knowledge acquired in studying special education will hell the teacher to strategize his teaching learning materials (TLMs) as well as his techniques to meet the needs of every student in the class. Additionally, the study of special education will help the teacher in the identification of children with exceptionalities. Teachers are the immediate friends as well as parents in the school. Because of this, the teacher is likely to identify any strength or weakness of the students before the parent(s) or guardian. In other words, it is usually the teacher that may begin to notice that a particular student is not performing to expectation. It is good to be noted that teachers are necessarily to diagnose students disabilities but they are expected to have suspicion that something is not going well with the child. As soon as the teacher is able to identify this problem, he can then make the appropriate adaptations in his teaching or making referrals for expert diagnosis. This can be done if only the teacher is having any idea about students with disabilities and/ or exceptionalities.Furthermore, behaviour tolerance cannot be left out when discussing the implications of studying special education. Managing 20+ children is hard work! Someone should try it for a day if the person does not agree to it. Classroom teachers are dealing with a lot. Most of them have determined a tried and true behavior management system that just works great for them. Most of the students succeed on that system and they have very few interruptions throughout their day. In a special education setting, largely due to the smaller class size, behaviour plans become individualized. Students receive immediate positive feedback that may be overlooked in that classroom of 20+ students. Their accomplishments are recognized and they are praised for a job done well. And when those naughty behaviours creep up, they can be recognized quicker and dealt with in a more effective way before we get to the point where the student feels out of control. Some teachers, those without any special education training sometimes punish such students who misbehave. On the other hand, the teacher who has acquired special education will know how to handle such students and help them to succeed in their academic work.Again, for the practice of inclusive education. General education teachers have also expressed positive outcomes on inclusion, which include: increased confidence in their efficacy, greater awareness of themselves as positive role models for all students, more skill in meeting the needs of all students with and without disabilities, and acquaintance with new colleagues (Saled, 2001). As already stated, learning about children with exceptionalities is very important in many ways. It is an age of inclusive education globally; an inescapable reality is that students with diverse learning needs and exceptionalities will be educated in regular education classrooms. Apart from these, special schools are not able to accommodate or enroll all children with exceptionalities due to the lack of schools to admit all these children. Therefore, if children with exceptionalities cannot have access to special school, then they must be enrolled in the general education classrooms within their neighborhood schools. This is the basis for inclusive education and its success lies in the hands of the regular classroom teachers. For this matter, all teachers need to have a good knowledge-base in special education in order to cope up with the inclusive education program and any inherent challenges.Finally, for good teaching behaviour and management skills. Many students with disabilities have very poor social skills, and some have behavioral and/or emotional disorders. Public schools often do not address social skills, and teachers have not been trained to use positive behavior management strategies rather than punishment. Mental health and other services are usually not available or, if available, are not integrated into the regular program. The special education teacher or the knowledge the teacher has acquired from special education will help him solve such behavioural misconducts to meet the needs of the students. By so doing, the teacher is more likely to achieve his/her objectives.

CONCLUSIONFrom a cultural point of view, there are many specific circumstances that traditionally had influenced the social lives of persons with disabilities generally (Yakple E. Yao and Deku Prosper 2015). According to (Hop, 1996; Gibilisco, 2010), cited in (Yaple E. and Yao P., 2015), historical records showed that ignorance, neglect, superstition and fear are social factors that have exacerbated isolation of persons with disabilities in many countries of which Ghana is part. Therefore, as a teacher, it is important to have adequate knowledge in the field of special education so as to be able to handle issues pertaining disabilities and/or exceptionalities, hence the above well discussed implications of studying special education to the student-teacher.

ReferencesYakple E. Y. and Deku P. (2015). An introduction to special education (3rd Ed). Winneba (North campus). Watered gardens computers and business Centre (PSJ).McNulty J. R. and Gloeckler L.C. (2014). Implications for students receiving special education service. International center for leadership in education.Berg S. L. (2004). The advantages and disadvantages of the inclusion of students with disabilities into regular education classroom (5th Ed).Hocutt M. A. (1996). Effectiveness of special education: Is placement the critical factor? The future of children. Special education for students with disabilities (vol.6).Li F. and Tim R. S. (2010). What makes special education teachers special? Teacher training, an achievement of students with disabilities. CALDER working paper No. 49.