Open Access‘Sana All’ Inclusive Education amid COVID-19: Challenges, Strategies, and Prospects of Special Education Teachers
Author(s) -
Cathy Mae Dabi Toquero
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
rimcis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.189
H-Index - 3
ISSN - 2014-3680
DOI - 10.17583/rimcis.2020.6316
Subject(s) - socialization , government (linguistics) , special education , psychology , face (sociological concept) , inclusion (mineral) , special needs , pedagogy , psychological intervention , medical education , public relations , sociology , political science , medicine , developmental psychology , social psychology , linguistics , philosophy , social science , psychiatry
People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are confronted with diverse challenges as COVID-19 caused tremendous disruption in face-to-face educational settings. Apart from this situation, teachers are also facing difficulties in making their lessons adaptive and responsive to the educational learning needs of people with SEND. This article explores the challenges, strategies, and prospects of teachers for inclusive education during the pandemic. Using a qualitative approach, the researcher gathered data through Messenger chatbot and emails with five special education teachers in the Philippines. Findings revealed that the teachers’ experience educational apprehensions, intermittent virtual socialization, and psychological crisis. However, the teachers assisted the parents in supervising their children with disabilities' through online communication, homeschooling, parental engagement, psychological safety, and empathetic language strategies. The special education teachers also look forward to inclusivity in school policies and government-driven emergency interventions for people with developmental disabilities.