Loading...
Please wait, while we are loading the content...
Similar Documents
Teacher Perceptions on What a Functional Curriculum Should Be for Children with Special Needs.
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Ee, Jessie Soh, Kay Cheng |
| Copyright Year | 2005 |
| Abstract | Curriculum planning for the intellectually disabled must be forward looking, giving due consideration to the students’ current and future needs, sensitive to the environments in which the individuals will ultimately be expected to adapt and function after leaving school. In this survey, the emphasis is seeking the teachers’ perceptions on what constitute a more functional and comprehensive curriculum for enhancing the independence and employability of the students, having earlier done focus group interviews with all the stakeholders, namely, teachers, employers, parents and ex-students regarding the relevancy of the curriculum. In 1976, the Association for the Educationally Sub-Normal Children (AESN) was formed by a group of volunteers who attempted to address the pressing schooling needs of children within the Intelligence Quotient range of 50 to 70, which is equivalent to the present definition of persons with moderate learning difficulties. In the early years, there were no trained teachers or even a specific curriculum available. Today, AESN is known as the Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) and special education services in Singapore have come a long way since the Report of the Advisory Council of the Disabled: Opportunities for the Disabled was published in November 1988. Although the voluntary welfare organizations (VWOs) are currently running the special schools for the different exceptionalities, the administration and funding patterns are assisted by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the National Council for Social Services (NCSS) on a 50:50 basis. MOE and NCSS have also attempted to improve the teacher-pupil ratios for the different exceptional groups as well as oversee the higher levels of staffing of paraprofessionals in improving the quality of educational opportunities for the children. However, the curriculum of the special schools are still very much left to the discretion of the VWOs who rely on volunteers, teachers and principals in special schools. According to Polloway, Patton, Smith & Roderique (1991), curriculum planning for the intellectually disabled must be forward looking, giving due consideration to the students’ current and future needs, sensitive to the environments in which the individuals will ultimately be expected to adapt and function after leaving school. Morse, Schuster and Sandknop (1996) further elaborated that the curriculum must emphasize skills that are both functional and longitudinally relevant so that students will develop skills that enable them to work and interact in integrated community services when they are adults. As these students may take relatively longer time to master certain skills due to their skill deficits, it may also be necessary that the exact choice of relevant, functional skills be taught as early as in the elementary years. Furthermore, the curriculum needs to be functional, that is, one that instructs the students in the life skills they require for successful daily living and prepares them for those situations and environments that they will encounter upon leaving school. They need to be exposed to curriculum content designed to enhance their current and future independence such as personal hygiene, consumer skills and independent living skills. By a functional curriculum one is also concerned with the application of skills to real-life situations. The instructional approach, known as community-based instruction should also be adopted for easy transfer and generalization to other settings which the skills are to be used. The emphasis on natural settings will maximize the |
| Starting Page | 6 |
| Ending Page | 18 |
| Page Count | 13 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 20 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ846930.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
