Special Education and Related Services of Special Education - Research Paper Example

Secondary Special Education. Task: Secondary Special Education. A society is usually made up of individuals that differ on awide number of fronts. Each individual has their own trait that differentiates them from the rest. As such, the overall structure of the society is based on the interactions that exist between all the members. In order to ensure the best form of interaction, a society must ensure that each member of the society is considered equal to the rest, irrespective of their distinguishing trait. Therefore, this necessitates the establishment of different programs and services to cater for the needs of the various members of a society. It is at this point that special education, or special needs education sets in. To this end, special education refers to the learning programs, institutions, or systems that are specifically designed to cater for students with special needs (Morellion 2007, p. 87). These educations systems have to be structured in a manner that ensures all the inadequacies of the students with special needs are met in a way that tries to keep them at par with the regular students. As such there are certain assigned effective models for providing these secondary special education services. An effective model for secondary special education services has to factor in quite a number of aspects to ensure that the students can get the best from it. For a start, it has to understand that the students are specialized in such a manner that they need special attention to be able to learn as effectively as the rest. Moreover, the specialized approach needs to be unique to each and every student with a special need. This is due to the fact that special needs students vary in terms of specific needs and individualistic traits. These include the strengths and weaknesses of each student, their processing and cognitive abilities as well as the specific form of disability that they may be possessing (Lian and Kim 2002, p. 131). In this line, a mental disability has to be treated differently from a physical deficiency. Similarly, the same type of disability has to be treated differently across different age brackets. Consequently, a model that identifies the specialty in special needs education is expected to be more effective than that which generalizes and does not give any unique attention to individualistic traits. One of the most effective models for providing secondary special education is the collaborative model for secondary special education services. Through this model, both a regular teacher and a special education teacher work collaboratively to provide education services to students (Alur and Hegarty 2002, p. 79). Through the collaborative model, there is bound to be some form of specialized attention due to the way that both a regular teacher and a special needs teacher are used in providing education services. While the regular teacher will just use a normal approach towards imparting knowledge, the special needs teacher will be called in in instances that require some unique attention. Therefore, this highlights how this model can be used to cater for students that have specialized needs under special education. Specialized needs under special education refers to the unique requirements that each special student requires (Rotatori et al. 2010, p. 178). As much as all of them may be special in the general meaning of the term, they still have their own unique requirements that differentiate them from each other. Hence this defines the need for both a regular teacher and a special needs teacher under the collaborative model. Collaborative model of providing special education services has a variety of advantages. For one, it gives students with special needs the ability to receive their dedicated teachings in regular classrooms. This eliminates the stigma that is often associated with secluding students with special needs (Terzi 2010, p. 53). In addition, the students receive their education in a free and less restrictive environment. On the other hand, restricting the students in a secluded environment makes them develop a notion that they are different from others in the society. An approach that gives students the idea that they are different from others clouds their cognitive abilities in that their perspectives are limited to the way that they interact among themselves, which could be limited (Alur and Hegarty 2002, p. 134). Moreover, by having all students in one environment, they can easily learn from each other and maximize on their different personalities. An environment that has numerous personalities encourages tolerance for different behaviors, thereby making it much easier for students taught through such a model to have an open mind which is necessary for effective learning. Coupled with the inclusion of specialized support whenever the need arises, the collaborative model is one of the most capable representations for providing secondary special education services (Rotatori et al. 2010, p. 99). Another advantage associated with a collaborative model that incorporates every type of student is the development of a positive culture in addition to making the learning system socially inclusive. This approach is essential in making sure that all the learners identify themselves as members of a united society in which all differences are appreciated equally. This social inclusivity widens the scope of the learners’ range of view, thereby making them as flexible to societal differences as possible. Through all this, special needs education through the collaborative model benefits not only the special needs learners but the society as a whole. The most important gain from this approach is the way that it influences the mindset of everyone involved such that they have a sense of understanding each other and identifying the various variances that define any society (Morellion 2007, p. 91). Essentially, those that gain the most are the special needs students through the entirely new approach that they are exposed to. It can be argued that regular students may not note much of a change as they are generally regarded as being ‘normal’. However, special needs students are generally used to being secluded, and an approach that mixes them with the regular students opens up their minds in an entirely different manner, consequently, leaving them as the highest beneficiaries. While the basic aim of education is to impart knowledge and skills to individuals, an interactive approach that factors the needs of the real world ensures much more gains than the basic aim. In line with this proposition, the collaborative model for providing secondary special education services is essential in ensuring that all students are prepared for tackling the real challenges that characterize the contemporary society. The model facilitates the creation of partnerships that facilitate mutual gain in the course of learning (Alur and Hegarty 2002, p. 119). This can be noted for both students and teachers. While student cooperation entails the various mechanisms of tackling a common problem or task, teacher cooperation comes in the form of learning from each other and understanding the most result-oriented mechanisms of coordinating themselves in the course of teaching. A major point of concern in this model is finding a point of balance such that all teachers involved with a group if students are viewed as equals. In most cases, regular teachers are considered superior to their specialized counterparts. The whole concept of the collaborative model is essentially lost when this issue is not tackled, since the collaborative approach is aimed at eliminating the underlying concept that often separates learners on the basis of their special needs (Rotatori et al. 2010, p. 111). As such, a strong collaborative approach enables the creation of a strong partnership between the teachers involved. Such a partnership is structured in such a manner that the students view them as equals, and there is no form of hierarchy such that one teacher is placed ahead of the other. Apart from enabling the teachers to perform their duties in a more dignified way, this approach also resonates well with all students as they can develop a sense of cooperation as exemplified by their teachers. Such a strong partnership also enhances the way that any form of specialized approach on a student can be taken. Given that the teachers involved have different perspectives on each student, special needs are tackled from different perspectives which makes it much more likely to have a viable solution from varied points of view (Terzi 2010, p. 121). A collaborative model also ensures that there is specialization since each teacher has his or her own point of focus, which makes it much better as they can become perfect in their respective fields. This specialization leads to better understanding of each student and their special needs, and this facilitates an improved approach towards providing the best support. Moreover, a teacher has the ability to spend as much time with any student that needs attention as possible. This attention to detail will result in a better learning system that ensures everyone is looked after to the slightest of needs. This is a far cry from the generalized approach that overwhelms teachers as they have to take the needs of every student into account despite the special needs being as diverse as the number of students (Morellion 2007, p. 119). As such, a collaborative approach should be the framework from which special needs education is based. In fact, even the denotation ‘special needs education’ calls for some form of specialized attention, which can only be achieved effectively through a collaborative approach. Generally, a collaborative model involves every party in different ways, all of which are beneficial. As everyone is participating in the classroom and any other designated activity, their reactions can be noted by their corresponding teachers, and an assessment can then follow. Given that the students are mixed between regular ones and those with special needs, the teachers can easily structure the learning mechanism such that the activities for special needs students are incorporated into those for regular students, or vice versa, and the corresponding outcome weighed against expectations (Lian and Kim 2002, p. 123). Consequently, this is aimed at ensuring that the different types of students learn from each other and understand the concepts from an entirely different perspective. This type of approach augments all the other aforementioned benefits associated with the collaborative model, since it necessities inputs from all teachers involved, all students, and even the entire teaching curriculum. Nonetheless, the most important inference that we can draw from it is that it reduces any pre-existing reservations towards individuals with special needs. In addition, it develops the regular students in such a manner that they appreciate the special needs students, a character that is much needed throughout life. While the collaborative model for providing secondary special education services focuses mainly on the collaborative aspects of integrating both general and special needs education into one system, the most advanced model calls for integrating even the larger societal factors. This includes collaborative efforts of the larger community, and entire school administrators apart from the necessary teachers. The collaborative efforts even go further to include the immediate local administration. Through the support of all these parties, there is bound to be improved planning and the creation of an appropriate environment that facilitates the maximization of the model (Terzi 2010, p. 101). With the right collaborative approach, the overall effort from each of the involved parties is reduced significantly, thereby creating time for maximizing the specialization allocated to each party. As an example, a teacher will find it much easier to understand and subsequently tend to the needs of a special needs student if the parent is willing to cooperate in any situation as deemed necessary. The same applies to instances when an institution like a hospital is required to provide assessments, and extends to instances where the local legal requirements allow for any necessary action aimed at improving the disposition of special needs services (Lian and Kim 2002, p. 201). Therefore, the collaborative model factors in all the necessary pre-requisites of an effective system for providing secondary special education. Through the model, writing skills are greatly improved as already highlighted with the distinctive features that make the model effective at providing special education. In addition, the various learning strategies can be weighed against their individual effectiveness in the model. This means that strategies such as oral instructions can be deployed to improve the grasping ability therefore give a more accurate representation of the student. This could be used to administer tests and even evaluate reading abilities. Moreover, special needs students need a swift progress evaluation to enable them to find the relationship between what has been taught and what they have grasped. Through this, they will have to be taught through a fast-paced evaluative model, which can easily be integrated into the collaborative model. Furthermore, students with special needs need a more pronounced praise mechanism to boost their morale in the education activities. Anytime that a student makes a significant progress or grasp of the required content, it is necessary that they are effectively applauded, as this increases their interest in the respective content areas. All of these skills can be effectively integrated into the collaborative model, and weighed against the various characteristics that define secondary special education services. From the foregoing analysis, an effective model for providing secondary special education services is based on an approach that unifies the education system instead of demarcating it in terms of special and regular students. This approach, known as the collaborative model, benefits every party involved in its execution, from all the students and extending down to the community. The way that both general and special education teachers collaborate as a team in the education of both general and special needs students sets the model apart. In all, one of its most outstanding yet important features is the manner that it unites the different education programs into one and creates a feeling of equality which is the basic aim of specialized education systems. References. Lian, M. & Kim, P. (2002). Special Needs Education: Children with Exceptionalities. New York, NY: Chinese University Press. Morellion, J. (2007). Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Comprehension. Malden, MA: American Library Association. Alur, M. & Hegarty, S. (2002). Education & Children with Special Needs: From Segregation to Inclusion. Indianapolis, IN: SAGE. Terzi, L. (2010). Justice and Equality in Education: A Capability Perspective on Disability and Special Educational Needs. New York, NY: A&C Black. Rotatori, A. et al. (2010). Current Issues and Trends in Special Education. Massachusetts, MA: Emerald Group Publishing. Read More