How special needs students are best acknowledged in teaching?

1. How special needs students are best acknowledged in teaching? Team Earth

2. What are special needs? • Disabilities such as hearing or visual impairment, which might affect the studies • Illnesses which may have slown down a person’s progress and/or involves treatment that affects his or her education • Delayed development may be learning difficulties, specific learning difficulty with reading, writing or understanding information • Emotional disorders

3. Golden rules of Finnish Education system • According to the Constitution of Finland, everyone is equal before the law. • No one may, without a valid reason, be treated differently from other people on grounds of sex, age, origin, health, disability or any other reason that concerns her/his person. • Children are to be treated equally • Basic Education Act (628/1998): and the comprehensive reform of school legislation in 1998 aim to guarantee educational equality and equal educational services for all those subject to compulsory education.

4. Special needs education • Finnish approach has undergone four phases: • Instruction for pupils with sensory disabilities • Care for the disabled, medical care and rehabilitation, which led to segregation of children into homogeneous groups • The principle of normalization and integration • Educational equality and equal educational services

5. Act on Vocational Education 630/1998, sections 20-21: • special education services and special psycho-social support are offered when students have disabilities, ongoing health problems, developmental delays, emotional distress or other severe causes. • HOJKS/IEP(=henkilökohtaisen opetuksen järjestämistä koskeva suunnitelma) (individual educational plan) is made for the student • special teaching arrangements are possible if student’s health condition demands so

6. Vocational special needs education • Main objective is to support studies of special needs students and help them qualify for occupation • Special instructions within VET should be provided in connection with regular instruction or in separate groups or both. • The local and secondary school curriculum will determine how instruction and support measures for special needs students are to be organized • Involves a group of experts: principal, educational leader, school welfare officer, special education teachers, classroom assistants and dormitory masters.

7. Vocational special education colleges in Finland • 3,900 students were enrolled in vocational special education colleges in 2010. • Education is provided in the preparatory and rehabilitative instruction and guidance in the following fields: • Culture • Natural Resources and the Environment • Natural Sciences • Social Sciences, Business and Administration • Social Services, Health and Sports • Technology, Communications and Transport • Tourism, Catering and Domestic Services

8. Where vocational special education is given? • special needs VET is provided by regular vocational colleges and vocational special education colleges • seven vocational special education colleges in Finland

9. Teaching in vocational special education colleges in Finland • preparatory and rehabilitative instruction and guidance • towards vocational qualifications • towards independent life and working life • vocational qualifications • Also adult SNE is provided (vocational qualifications, further vocational qualifications, specialist vocational qualifications) • SNE Colleges (PDF)

10. An example of handling a special needs student • Video (watch 2:20-5:00) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdLgAf0uVrw&feature=related

11. Steps in Special needs VET • Identification of learning difficulties • Planning and implementation of support measures while taking into account the information acquired on the student’s study performance and their need for support during basic education.

12. Special needs students in regular class • in Finland children are well monitored – students coming to vocational colleges usually already have diagnosis disabilities and learning difficulties • Special needs students may have had preparatory and rehabilitative instructions and guidance already

13. Special needs students in regular class • Usually hearing and seeing disability students attend to go to special schools • 20 % regular students have some sort of learning disabilities • not diagnosed special needs students: first year is the most important teacher to notice

14. Special needs students in regular class • When teacher notices something , he or she should talk with the student, try to identitfy the problem • then contact professionals at the school: student counsellor, curator, study advisor, school nurse, special needs teacher etc. • parents, social workers

15. How do special needs appear in everyday life at school? (according to Kepanen/OAMK) rules breaking problems in theory substances problems in practical situations behaviour problems difficulties to understand instructions problems to express themselves verbally or written problems in memorising problems in social skills (withdrawal, isolation, violent behavior) • loss of life management: • Irregular attendance • too much absences • drug or alcohol abuse hyperactivity difficulties to read, difficulties in maths difficulties in fine cordination

16. Planning and implementation • Vocational special education institutions and a few VET providers assigned to a special educational mission are responsible for providing education and training for students with the most severe disabilities.

17. Planning and implementation • Individual education plan (IEP) is always drawn and provided for both young people and adults, respecting each student’s individual needs as much as possible • The objectives of qualification-oriented upper secondary VET programmes may also be adjusted as required • Instruction for special needs students is primarily provided at regular vocational institutions in the same groups as other students or, partially or completely in separate groups depending upon the necessity

18. Solutions (from Kepanen/OAMK) • Practice oriented workshops where students can design and create practical real life tasks • Differentiation • Teaching small groups • Simultaneous teaching (two teachers in the class)

19. Solutions(from Kepanen/OAMK) • Individual teaching in mathematics, language, reading and writing, also in vocational subjects • Learning by doing • Oral examinations • Plain language materials • Longer studying time (4years)

20. Solution- A real life example • Flexible practices on-the-job-learning • About VET of a student with hearing disability • The student applies for a course in ` surface treatment’ in regular vocational school • Mode of selection was through an entrance examination • Admission into the regular vocational school and the special help she gets- from a sign language interpretor who is present along with her during the lessons and tranlates.

21. Interview with Päivi Vuorihuhta

22. Teacher training in special needs education Vocational Special Needs Teacher Education • Jyväskylä and Hämeenlinna UAS Criteria: Vocational Teacher Education + 12 months of teaching experience

23. References • http://www.oph.fi/download 131431_vocational_education_and_training_in_finland.pdf • http://www.european-agency.org/country-information/finland/national-overview/complete-national-overview • Kepanen, P. 2002. Master’s thesis: Haaste vai riesa? Viiden ammatillisen opettajan kokemuksia ja käsityksiä erityisopiskelijoista yleisessä ammattioppilaitoksessa. • www.ammatillinenerityisopetus.fi

24. DISCUSSION CASE Breakout 1 You are teaching a class. One of the students is showing up late on a regular basis, seems tired and absent. What do you do?

25. DISCUSSION CASE – Breakout 2 You have just started the school year with a new groups of students. After a few weeks you start noticing that there are a few students who seem to have trouble staying on pace with the rest of the group, they don’t succeed in finishing the tasks you give them and seem to loose focus. What do you do?

26. DISCUSSION CASE – Breakout 3 One student in your class keeps on skipping classes and doesn’t participate. What do you do?