Special Needs Education

With the establishment of the National Council for Special Education in 2003 and the subsequent enactment of The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, there has been an increased recognition of the central importance of special needs education for students who were once measured by deficit because they didn’t conform to the standard curriculum. A realisation has emerged that for these students to be served by the education system, specialised training and skills are essential.

St Angela’s College Sligo is one college responding to these changes. In 2006 the college merged what were previously two postgraduate courses; one in learning support and the other in special education. The Postgraduate Diploma in Special Education Needs now run at St Angela’s is the result of the merger of these two courses, as Course Director, Ms Dolores Mc Donagh, explains:

‘We combined the courses in conjunction with the Department of Education and the other seven colleges who run postgraduate courses in this area, in order to meet the evolving role of the special education teacher. Previously ‘learning support’ was categorised as education for students such as those with reading difficulties, travellers and those on Youthreach programmes and ‘special education’ as education for those with disabilities. There is now seen to be no clear distinction between the two, it is a dual role’.

Fifty teachers are accepted onto the programme annually. It is a full-year programme of which thirteen weeks will be spent in college in total. Applicants must be registered with the teaching council and have at least twelve hours of scheduled resource teaching if at post-primary level, and will generally be fulltime resource teachers if at primary level. As part of the course, students study two electives out of a choice of four, including ‘Challenging Behaviour’ and ‘The Autistic Spectrum’. An emphasis is placed on formulating Individual Education Plans and group planning.

‘By and large teachers are interested in professional development, it affirms them in what they are already doing’, says Ms McDonagh. ‘Current government cutbacks will impact on the most vulnerable. It is vital that we affirm good practice. At the moment we are carrying out an impact survey to assess the effect of the programme on the way schools are run and will be releasing a report in January 2009. So far, the feedback has been extremely positive’.

The Church of Ireland College, Rathmines is another college striving to provide skills and expertise in this area. The Postgraduate Diploma in Special Education is open to qualified primary or second level teachers whose schools have been allocated resource hours or a learning support post by the Department of Education and Science.

As part of the Diploma students study broad subjects such as Developmental Psychology, and more specific practical areas such as Literacy and Mathematical Skills for Students with Difficulties. The programme spans the academic year, with time divided in blocks between attending college and placements.

Besides possessing everyday practical skills, special education teachers must also be familiar with the background theories and the legislation that guides them in their work. The Master’s of Education in Special Education Needs provided at University College Dublin gives students in-depth tuition in this necessary background theory. Students examine the basic premises of Special Needs Education and explore the current issues involved. Irish legislation for those with special needs is critically reviewed with an emphasis on the concepts of equality and rights. Students also examine family support roles and counselling.

The programme is assessed through assignments and take-home exams in first year. In second year, students must complete a research project. Collaborative learning is emphasised throughout the course, with students encouraged to voice feedback at weekly tutorials.

The Graduate Diploma in Special Education taught at St Patrick’s Drumcondra adopts a blended approach to special needs, according to graduate Eilish Nugent. ‘It was a generic course that covered all disabilities, although there was more emphasis on mild disabilities than those in the severe or profound spectrum. It provided me with a very broad base of knowledge of various syndromes and of child psychology’.

Eilish came to the programme having accumulated twenty years’ special needs teaching experience, but nevertheless felt that returning to college hugely benefited her. ‘At that I stage I feel I needed re-energising and returning to studies did this for me. It re-focused me and gave me renewed enthusiasm for teaching. It also made me more confident, I appreciate being able to tell parents that I possess this qualification’.

Despite Eilish’s huge experience, she feels that completing a postgraduate course helped her become a more reflective practitioner. ‘I am more aware of what I do in the class, especially as regards differentiation of children’s thought processes. Maybe I was always taking this into account but now I think about it much more’.

Special Education teachers are needed more than ever to provide learning support to those experiencing difficulty with the standard curriculum, and provide groups formerly marginalised by the system such as the travelling community with extra tuition. The Postgraduate Diploma is Special Education Needs provided at NUI Galway was established in 2006 to meet this spectrum of needs.
 
The content of the course is broad. Students examine curricular issues, the implications of educational disability and they also undertake an area of specialist study. The programme is run through classes and on-site practice, during which students are visited in their placements by course tutors.

The School of Education at NUIG is active in educational research and currently several students are pursuing doctoral and masters degrees by research. The School’s areas of research tend to touch on areas of justice and inclusion in education, which are vital to the ethos of special education. One current research project is titled ‘Learning To Teach For Social Justice Through Civic Engagement: A Collaborative Galway Traveller Movement, Galway Refugee Support Group And NUIG School Of Education Project’. As part of the project, postgraduate students provide homework and other supports to post-primary Traveller students and refugees and asylum seekers.

All educational catchment areas are served by Ireland’s colleges and universities, so that any teacher who wishes to develop expertise in special education can have the opportunity to do so. In an Ireland of shifting demographics, changing attitudes towards our most vulnerable and developing legislative measures, this expertise is vital.