Emerging Educational Reforms (Asynchronous Session)
Examining Parent and Special Education Teacher Perception of the Individualized Education Program Meeting Process and Necessary Transition Skills for Children with Developmental Disabilities View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Megan Mackey
This pilot study investigated parents and special education teachers’ perceptions of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting process. Participants included 11 parents of students in elementary, middle, or high school and six teachers. This study employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. The quantitative component included a pretest-posttest to determine the impact of the most recent IEP meeting. The qualitative component included examining interview responses and observation. Data were collected and analyzed separately. Finally, data from both were merged and interpreted collectively (this is still in process). Qualitative results revealed affirmative themes around communication prior to the IEP meeting, all IEP members being prepare and engaged, among others. Areas for growth related to inconsistent meetings structure, verbal versus visual presentation, and other items. Quantitative results revealed a disparity between parent perceptions and special education teachers’ perceptions of the IEP meeting experience for parents around validation, empowerment, advocacy, time, and other areas.
Reforming Education Through Self-Regulated Learning
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Prakash Singh
Reform in education must enable learners to be critical, imaginative, and independent, rather than being obedient, co-operative, and dependent. Self-regulated learning (SRL) is an alternative to spoon-feeding and herding in schools. In the past few decades, several attempts to change education, particularly those to individualize instruction and to develop skills of independent enquiry, have not been entirely successful because they did not include any mechanism for altering the ecological balance between traditional teaching and passive pupils in regular classrooms. Research affirms that the digital construct cannot be separated from SRL seeing that digital learning is increasingly replacing traditional textbook teaching methods. To be self-regulated, pupils are required to be metacognitively, motivationally, and creatively active participants in their own learning processes so that they are in a position to initiate and direct their efforts to acquire knowledge and skills instead of being entirely dependent on their teachers. Through self-regulation, pupils are expected to learn accountability by becoming totally involved in their own learning. Several theories are therefore analyzed in this paper. These theories highlight the significance of SRL to transform and redefine the mainstream of education. This theoretical perspective of reforming education through SRL injects a new approach to alter the trajectory of traditional schooling. As alluded in this paper, the spotlight must be on learners learning using SRL strategies rather than on their teachers teaching them using traditional teaching methods. Only then can learning and teaching be redefined to face the challenges of providing quality differentiated education to all learners.
TEFL in Spain : Diversity and Inclusion View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Alexia Larchen Costuchen
This proposal is aimed at EFL practitioners who teach English in Spain to young Spanish and foreign-born students. The challenges facing these teachers include linguistic background, learning needs, learning style, cultural differences, religion, gender, etc. This proposal addresses the EU perspective by examining European Commission policies which are later implemented in national and regional laws. Promoting equality and diversity in school is essential for the further social integration of these children as they grow up. Encouraging empathy, openness to new experiences, intellectual humility, and self-confidence also helps students to better integrate themselves into the global community. The current Covid-19 pandemic is another example of the 21st-century challenges that should be tackled together. This proposal provides practical classroom-management solutions that promote team building among the group members. It also explores different modes of delivery (face-to-face classes, online learning, and blended learning) and offers a variety of digital tools for interactive collaboration to support communication and creativity in the 21st-century classroom.
The Curricular Autonomy of Schools: A Case of a School on the Edge of Europe View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sofia Silva, Nuno Fraga
In Portugal, Order n.º 6478/2017, of July 26th, created a reference document - the Student´s Profile By the End of Mandatory Schooling, hereinafter referred to as Student’s Profile - which establishes the matrix of principles, values, and the areas of competence that curriculum development must comply with. This document constitutes a reference for all educational and pedagogical decisions and a common orientation for schools and the educational offers they provide, within the scope of compulsory education, with regard to curriculum development, planning and internal and external learning. In line with the Student’s Profile, Decree-Law nº. 55/2018 of July 6th was published, which establishes the curriculum for basic and secondary education, the guiding principles of its design, operation and assessment of learning, giving schools the possibility of making the curriculum more flexible, based on the basic curriculum matrices. This paper is the result of a qualitative investigation that is taking place in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (Portugal), through a unique case study of a basic and secondary school. In this study, we seek to understand the spaces and times of autonomy built by schools and describe the structuring curricular decisions and measures of a pedagogical, didactic, and organizational nature adopted to achieve the Student’s Profile. The school, within the scope of its autonomy, establishes curricular options and defines priorities that are reflected in the strategic management instruments - School Educational Project and School Curricular Project.
The Quantum University: New Knowledge Requires New Leadership View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Perry Rettig
Our current higher education organizational structure and leadership models are antiquated and based upon irrelevant sciences to human, dynamic organizations. Quantum physics and the other newer sciences provide more appropriate models for how we structure our institutions, as well as how we lead them. This paper briefly describes our current models and how they were developed. From this quick context, we will move into an accessible description of these new sciences and their realistic application to universities of the immediate future. This is based upon my most recent book of the same title.
The Announcement of a Special Educational Needs Diagnosis to Parents: Experiences and Perceptions of Greek Professionals Working in Diagnostic and Supportive Centers View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Elpida Danae Papalexandrou, Sotiria Tzivinikou
The announcement of a diagnosis is a multifactorial and highly determining process for the participants. Research has shown that most parents seem to treat the announcement as part of an ongoing process, causing various emotional reactions to those involved. The purpose of the study is to understand the subjective experience and the influence of participants' work framework, speciality. and perceptions on mutual interactions within the setting. This study is a qualitative investigation of the special education experts' experience. The participants were 20 employees- experts in special education, working in two different diagnostic centres, the Medical Education Centers and the Centers for Educational and Counselling Support. The data collection based on open-ended interview. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed according to the thematic analysis's methodological procedures and the theoretical framework of social representations theory. The thematic analysis resulted in 457 codes and seven main themes, i) who holds the responsibility for the acceptance of the diagnosis, ii) the sense of control in different settings during the announcement, iii) the feeling of unfulfillment due to everyday obstacles, iv) sense of anxiety facing denial, v) announcement as a combined effort, vi) interaction expectations and vii) perception of the other specializations within the setting. Most participants strongly support the paramount need for counselling services towards parents, material and technical support, training in psychometric tools and delivering difficult news. Findings suggest further research is needed on a grander scale, providing the opportunity to develop training, support, and counselling programs and strengthen communication among settings.
