An Analysis
Provision of equitable and quality education in most educational settings and institutions is a challenging task especially when one takes into account the diversity that is presented by the various learners. Most of the learners' present uniqueness in terms of how they process the learning instructions and relate with their colleagues in the course of gaining and retaining academic instructions. This then calls upon the school administrators to implement various policies with the aim of improving the outcomes of such learners considering that these school administrators and principals have more experience and insight when it comes to this noble task.
Interview schedule for a School Principal on Special Education Challenges
The following interview will serve as a guideline on how this unique challenge can be handled through the collaboration with other stakeholders to make this task bearable and easier to handle.
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Interviewer: What are the general challenges you face while providing effective, equitable and accessible education to ELL Students?
School Principal: “The challenges are so many when it comes to dealing with this group of students considering that they are learning with other students whose proficiency in the English language is above board. Additionally, according to Roekel (2008), this group of students is on the rise in our public schools thus creating a huge challenge in that the teacher tends to spend so much time attending to these particular learners at the expense of completing the syllabus for the other learners. This then means that the quality of learning may be compromised and which may not go well with the national goals of education.”
Interviewer: What about students with special needs?
School Principal : “This group creates a unique challenge for the teachers since they exhibit a myriad of special needs considering that their disabilities range from physical, social and cognitive in nature. This then calls for unique and well thought out strategies to handle their needs efficiently especially in this era of consistent emphasis on inclusive education. Such our schools are forced to seek the help of a specialist who works alongside the teachers in the classes in order to help them handle these learners in the best way possible which then translates to more need for finances.”
Interviewer : How do you view the challenges presented by the gifted learners?
School Principal : “Well it is true that this class of learners may be viewed as less challenging but on the contrary, they can be a challenge to the teachers as well as the other learners. This is due to the fact that their thought processes work faster than their normal colleagues are making them require special attention (Benny & Blonder, 2016). This is so since if their intellectual or academic needs are not met they may become idle and restless which can end up causing disturbance to the whole class. This would then call for the teacher to ensure that they are engaged in tasks which are harder than the ones being undertaken by their colleagues.”
Interviewer: What is your take on the strategies which support parent/community involvement in educational programs for ELL learners, students with special needs as well as the gifted students?
School Principal: “One cannot undervalue the role that the community and parents play in ensuring that the special needs learners get the best learning outcomes. These strategies which allow the parents and communities to participate in the education of special students should be strengthened further since the learners are part and parcel of the community (Parent Engagement Committee, 2011). Additionally, they are best known back in their communities and as such proper profiling of their cases can be accessed from these stakeholders.”
Interviewer: Thanks for your time.
School Principal: You are welcomed.
References
Benny, N. & Blonder, R. (2016). Factors that promote/inhibit teaching gifted students in a regular class: results from a professional development program for chemistry teachers. Education Research International, 2016 (2016)
Parent Engagement Committee. (2011). Collaborating for success” parent engagement toolkit. Michigan Department of Education. Retrieved on 31 August 2017, from http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/4a._Final_Toolkit_without_bookmarks_370151_7.pdf.
Roekel, D. (2008). English language learners face unique challenges . An NEA Policy Brief. Retrieved on 31 August 2017 from http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/ELL_Policy_Brief_Fall_08_(2).pdf.
