STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN DIGITAL CLASSROOMS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN DIGITAL CLASSROOMS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Arina Budyakova
Graduate, Belgorod State University,
Russia, Belgorod
Sofia Turova
Student, Belgorod State University,
Russia, Belgorod
ABSTRACT
In this study, the aim is to examine how special education provided for students within inclusive education has continued at home during the pandemic. This study has employed phenomenology as the research method because this design enables researchers to make in-depth analysis and description. Purposeful sampling method was utilized to determine the participants of the study. Research participants consists of 15 voluntary parents of students with special needs who continued their education through inclusive education conducted in general education classes. Participating parents’ children were between 9-to-14 years of age and were studying at a grade between the 3rdand 8th grades. In addition, participants have reported that some teachers conducted online lessons and shared worksheets with all students via the WhatsApp group. However, several issues of concern have also been noted as follows: students with special needs could not follow the lessons on TV regularly, many of them did not attend online lessons, and their teachers did not give feedback about their activities. Moreover, none of the students with special needs received support education services, and there was no communication and cooperation among teachers, families, and students. Furthermore, the findings have indicated that children were unwilling and unable to adapt to distance education.
Keywords: inclusive education, distance education, students with special needs, COVID-19, pandemic.
According to the figures in the latest report of the World Health Organization (WHO), there are nearly twenty-seven million cases worldwide and the number is increasing day by day due to the pandemic caused by the Corona virus. Some emergency measures such as school closures, travel restrictions, social distancing and quarantine have been taken in many countries as this global pandemic has been growing day by day. Going to school during the pandemics is considered to play a major role in the spread of the infection due to the interactions among school-age children. For this reason, school closure strategy is thought as an effective measure in preventing the infection of others and controlling the spread of the disease in the community, especially in the early stages of the pandemic. On the other hand, it is also known that children have been in physical and social isolation in their homes due to school closures during the pandemic. Therefore, various regulations have been made to minimize the negative effects of the pandemic on education.
In order to ensure the continuity of education for school-age children throughout the world during the pandemic period, distance education process has been commenced through various technological tools and Internet-based education systems. In this context, online face-to-face lessons allowing attendance of many people and offline lessons on websites have been made available by taking advantage of modern education technology.
However, infrastructure and technological savvy of teachers to use distance education tools functionally are important in the success of distance education. For example, China, with a strong technological infrastructure, is successful in providing distance education, but it is reported that some countries such as Vietnam and Mongolia struggle with difficulties in carrying out distance education process with low Internet networks, smartphones, or televisions. On the other hand, even before COVID-19, it was known that all students in the world did not have the same opportunities in terms of access to devices such as computers, tablets, and the Internet. Most school districts serving, especially, children of low-income families or children in rural areas are deprived of necessary resources for an effective transition to distance education. It is emphasized that a rapid transition without taking into account the factors influential over the success of distance education may increase present inequalities. In this context, the quality of education all over the world has been negatively affected from school closures during the pandemic. Coupled with the fact that every student doesn’t have equal access to distance education, the consequences of the pandemic creates problems in equality and equity in education. In addition, the pandemic significantly reduced support services provided for students with special needs by specialists such as special education teachers, speech and language therapists, and psychologists .
Many studies report that the pandemic has negative effects on children and their education. Considering the concerns of many families that schools will not open in the new academic year, it is assumed that constructing more qualified distance education structures for students with special needs in the upcoming period would be significant. In this study, the aim is to examine how special education within inclusive settings has continued for students with special needs during the pandemic. The problem sentence of the research is “How do students with special needs continue their education through digital classrooms at home during the COVID-19 pandemic?” Answers were sought to the following sub-questions related to this problem statement:
1) What kinds of practices are carried out based on emergency distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic process for students with special needs who continue their education through digital classrooms?
2) What are the problems students with special needs who continue their education through digital classrooms encountered during the COVID-19 quarantine?
3) What are the expectations of families about the education of their children with special needs who continue their education through digital classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic?
In this study, the aim is to investigate parents’ opinions about how special education is delivered to students with special needs within inclusive education during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on the findings, it was revealed that the children with special needs partially watched TV classes during the pandemic. On the other hand, it was determined that online lessons were organized by some teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic process. At the same time, it was understood that teachers shared worksheets on WhatsApp groups for the whole general education classes. But parents could not follow these and left their children alone. It was also found that teachers did not give any feedback to students regarding these worksheets. However, in order for distance education to be successful, it is frequently emphasized in the literature that teachers should communicate with families on the phone after each study to check whether students have done their homework or to give feedback about the work done. Also, in the literature, it is emphasized that distance education contents and resources should be diversified considering students’ characteristics.
Besides the adaptations, the findings of the research revealed that support education services, which are integral for the success of students with special needs, were not offered by school teachers at all during the pandemic. Similarly, it was stated that very few students with special needs received support or most of them were not supported at all during the COVID-19 pandemic process. Special education service is provided to support students with special needs out of school times through a private education institution by the parents’ choice. In this study, it was found out that only one student was provided with distance special education support by a private education institution, and others did not receive any support from anywhere. Similarly, in the world, it is stated that many students with special needs cannot benefit from special education and related support services during the COVID-19 pandemic process. Considering that the students in question continue their distance education at home without cooperation between families and teachers, teacher guidance and follow-up, and support education services, it can be said that the education of these students has been ignored during this process.
As a result of the analyses, several problems were determined such as the lack of access to computers and the Internet, the inability to establish communication between and among teachers, students, and parents, and lack of cooperation regarding the distance education of students with special needs within the quarantine period during the pandemic. Similarly, it was stated that students with special needs and their families were not contacted by teachers and other relevant staff. This had a negative impact on the physical, emotional and mental health of many of the families and their children. The families had to try carrying out their children’s education at home without the support of any specialist or institution. It was determined that families felt forgotten together with their children during this process. Lack of interaction between students and teachers affects learning process negatively and a significant learning gap occurs due to the prolongation of this process. Furthermore, it was determined that both students and families gave up on distance education process due to the prolongation of the quarantine. Similarly, relevant literature reports that families could find more opportunities to take care of their children and take more responsibility for their children’s learning at the beginning of the pandemic. Along with all these, the most important problem unraveled by the findings is the inefficiency of educational practices for students with special needs. Unfortunately, many similar findings were found in terms of the education of students with special needs during the pandemic. Similarly, within situational reports and the results of studies, many children are reported not to carry out distance education properly because they are deprived of computer or Internet access due to financial insufficiencies in the world.
As can be understood from the findings of this research, psychosocial health risks were among other problems that emerged during the quarantine. During this period, it was found that students with special needs and their families were very depressed and bored due to their inability to go out and lack of interaction with their social environment. Accordingly, it was revealed that some students had severe conflicts with their siblings. Therefore, it can be said that teachers have important responsibilities in informing and guiding parents about the existence of such options. In addition, although family is the first interactional context of children, children need different social environments in order to develop physically, emotionally, and socially. Considering that the main purpose of inclusive education is to place students with special needs in the same educational and social environment with their peers, it can be said that inclusive education is important for both equal educational life and preparation for social life. Another problem that arose during the quarantine was the disruption of families’ daily sleep patterns and routines. It can be said that lack of school and work life during the quarantine naturally causes a change in daily routines by eliminating the need to get up early in the morning.
During the pandemic, it was also found that almost all the participants expected teachers’ attention and support regarding the education of their children. It is known that some of the families still had to continue working during the pandemic. In such a case, it can be said that it would not be possible for them to encourage their children to learn and follow their distance learning processes. On the other hand, it is thought that families who do not have to work can encourage their children to learn and follow their education. At the same time, it can be argued that there may be opportunities to observe the effectiveness of their children’s learning. However, it is stated that students need guidance from teachers in order to continue their education and to realize their learning. Considering the purpose of this research, it can be said that teacher support and guidance regarding the education of students with special needs is crucial and vital and necessary. Families also expect their children to be provided with technological tools such as computers and internet from charity organizations.
In this study, it was also figured that most of the students with special needs watched lessons on TV during the COVID-19 pandemic process and very few attended online courses. It was unveiled that teachers shared worksheets via WhatsApp groups. However, it is identified that teachers have failed in both guiding and supporting students with special needs & their families and in providing them with instructional adaptations. Based on the opinions of families, one can state that the educational needs of students with special needs within inclusive education were not taken into account. However, it is frequently emphasized in the literature that the demographics, strengths and weaknesses of each student should be taken into account and their needs should be met in inclusive education. However, the results of this study show that students with special needs have not received equal and qualified education and have not been involved in any form of implementation in the context of integration during the pandemic process.
In addition, the importance of strengthening and maintaining school-teacher-family-student cooperation, which is one of the important factors in the success of inclusive education, has been underlined one more time in this study. Considering the special needs of the children of participating parents in this study, it is possible to conclude that teacher guidance and follow-up is much more necessary in distance education process. Likewise, it may be beneficial to adapt the worksheets for children with special needs as part of the Individualized Education Programs. Based on all these data, one can suggest that IEP development units prepare a feasible program with teacher-family collaboration for the possibility of both face-to-face and distance education that can compensate the loss. On the other hand, future research endeavors can be directed to investigate teachers’ opinions regarding distance education for students with special needs during the pandemic through qualitative designs.
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