History Assignment Help

1

Running head: THE LOW EXPECTAIONS

14

THE LOW EXPECTAIONS

The Low Expectations of the Special Education Teachers for Their Students

Master of Applied Behavior Analysis

Abstract

One of the major issues in the current education system is the low expectations that special education teachers have for their students. The special education teachers need to believe in their students and help them achieve the best they can. However, this has proven to be a hard task. Special education teachers have undergone the best training that equipped them with the ability to assist students to achieve their life goals. In this context, teachers who have high expectations for their students in comparison to teachers who have low academic performance expectations differ in very great way. Research has proven that most teachers have low expectations of their students because their physical disabilities. These disabilities make it harder for them to acquire knowledge the way normal students do. As a result, the teachers do not expect much from their students. Plans to foster special needs education are underway. The main stakeholders should go to the grass roots and find out how the system is ruined. This is mostly because of poor teacher-student relations that arise due to the teachers’ mentality. The individuals in this field should as well develop important strategies that will lead to the success of the special needs education system. The government and the parents of these students are the ones in charge of making sure that they do not lack any of their needs. When these students see that they have their attention, they will see themselves as being normal. This will increase their chances of good performance and succeeding in life.

Introduction

Special education is a type of learning provided to students with special educational needs. Specially trained teachers who know how to properly deal with the students’ special needs normally teach these students. This special training alone cannot be enough to make this job an easy task. It takes more than having the training history essay help. This has proven to be a challenge in the special needs education sector. Many students miss these opportunities.

Teachers are to encourage and develop the students’ gifts and abilities positively. Success and development in the acquisition of knowledge by the special education students therefore facilitated. Having low expectations of a student also affects the teachers’ performance. This is because the teachers will tend to ignore some aspects of what they teach. More so, the individuals will have to do their best to display their abilities, but this may be contrary to the teachers’ expectations thus they end up giving it a blind eye. We need to try to get rid of the low expectations all teachers have for special needs students. These students with disabilities can do well than what most people expect. They must try to change their low expectations of students with disabilities.

Before I joined college to study special education, I did not know anything about people with special needs. At the time, I did not realize they required a different kind of education. After I joined college and majored in Special Education, I discovered that it is quite different. They are not sick but they have a disability. One of the reasons I chose this major was because my uncle has special needs and I sympathized with him and at the same time, I was afraid of him. He became sad after he realized this. No one really understood what he would say. He would sit alone because he felt he was different from the rest of us. Our low expectations for him made him always sit alone and his language skills became worse. Everything has changed now because I am a special needs teacher in the making. Just because they have special needs, does not mean they cannot learn. Special needs of different students vary. Researchers found that teachers who have low expectations of their students do not interact with them to develop their skills. Teachers always give more time for high expectation students to answer during class recitations than they give to low expectation students. This is a clear sign of discrimination against special students. Teachers also give the higher expectation students more chances to improve their class performance than they give the lower expectation students. “The teachers also give more attention to higher expectation students and don’t call on their students with low-expectation while in class” (Downey, 2009).

Different students have different needs. The teachers need to understand that the student’s mentality also changes constantly to different levels and this greatly influences his/her concentration in different classes. It is important that all the teachers’ pay a lot of attention to the unique and varied student needs to avoid neglect and psychological torture on the students’ part.

Literature Review

Well, concerning special education programs, it is often made of many different kinds of participants such as administrators, teachers, students and the learning environment. As a result, each participant has a different role to play in the special education program; hence it leads to a culture of mixed ideas such as high and low expectations. According there has been an anxiety that most of the students at the classroom level, learn more that they are expected. As a result, their lecturers or teachers develop low expectations towards them, because they have been struggling with high levels of poverty (Tomlinson & Javius, 2012). Therefore, it is important for the lectures or special education teachers to separate them into different small groups to enhance a direct interaction with the students since teaching is not only to provide high-quality experiences for students who are only excelling but also to those students that are slow learners.

According to (Tomlinson & Javius, 2012), the two author proposes, particular care should be taken when creating groups so as to separate students since, the groups could create a further gap between those who struggle to excel from those who are top achievers. Low expectations such as students failing not to reach their targets or goals at class level could undermine the teacher's efforts in the classroom since some students feel that they are not at the same level with those who are fast learners hence teachers, should, therefore, understand different interventions to use to avoid a fallout. Fundamentally, diverse cultures and human differences are some of the low expectations that special education teacher experience, in the process, the teachers often underestimate the abilities and capabilities of their students from those that they anticipate.

Additionally, it is crucial that special educators make a proper judgment on the student so as to ensure that the decisions are right and based on facts. It is also vital that the learning environment provided is enabling and supportive to all students regardless of their performances in tests. Developing a whole growth mindset alleviates learning environment issues since teachers have a high expectation because one the greatest barriers in special education programs are not what the student knows but the teacher’s expectation. It should be noted that human differences are not only desirable but also standard.

History Assignment Help

“The expectations of a teacher are definitely a component of school wide expectations and these expectations influence student outcomes in the school and in the rest of their lives. Also, Teacher expectations can affect students' achievement and attitudes as well can limit students' learning and self-concept development. Many expectations from younger students keep them under pressure more than adults” (Cotton, 1993). The more the expectations from a special need child, the higher the pressure exerted on them to meet these standards. Teachers form attitudes towards them if they fail to meet these expectations. This results in lower class performance.

Teachers need to change their negative expectations towards their students. Creation of awareness among the teachers concerning this issue is a good place to start. They should be told that they need to change their expectations and that they should expect nothing short of the best from their students. The special needs students need to be encouraged in order for them to gain confidence to better their strengths and eliminate their weaknesses. Teachers can train on how to change negative expectations concerning their students, with disabilities and those without. They can also be trained on behavior in order to gain new skills that can help them eliminate any negative attitudes or expectations (Spiegel, 2012). “The best option is to change their behavior. If you want to change the way someone perceives something, words might not be enough” (Spiegel, 2012). https://historyassignmenthelp.com/

“Distinct recommendations for improving teachers' attitudes toward included students with hidden and obvious disabilities are offered” (Cook, 2001). Teachers have been known to form varied expectations for students with disabilities depending on the extent of the students’ disabilities. However, students with both hidden and obvious disabilities area at a risk of being treated differently as compared to regular students. Most times, these students are secluded and not offered opportunities to display their abilities. Some locked out of co-curricular and other main events in school. All this happens due to the teachers’ disbelief in special students. They doubt their ability to perform certain tasks satisfactorily. The physically challenged barely get a chance to display their talents and skills. This is a major barrier to talent development in special needs students.

There are some serious consequences of having low expectations of the special students such as stress, depression, and trauma. These consequences are mostly psychological problems that affect the student. Some teachers find it hard to pick a special student to carry out a certain activity or to encourage him/her to take part in various school events. Instead, they always discourage the student. This causes the student to feel unwanted and some serious problems may arise. The feeling of underestimation causes a chain of negative results.

The moment the student is underestimated, there is a negative shift in any interest, and passion the student had for the area of specialization. The way the teacher interacts with the student also plays a major part in attitude formation towards the course. Underestimating the student will instantly kill the self-drive and the motivation to work hard. Special needs students require a lot of attention from their teachers compared to a normal student with no disabilities. This will result in good class performance as well as a greater chance of success in the future. Once the student has developed a good attitude towards education, further studies may be given. Developing attitudes, helps awaken new dreams in individuals with special needs.

Just like other students, special education students possess skills and talents that are important to the society. Giving them a chance to exercise these skills is vital. The teacher should give opportunities to the students to serve in the society and develop more interest and invest more time on their education. This improves the students’ skills and knowledge in fields of interest as well as career development.

On the other hand, the teacher should also get a chance to develop the students. This will allow for change of attitude by the teachers towards the students. Development of these students individually based on their interests is important and the special education teacher does it. No interference at all that can change the teacher’s expectations should occur between the special needs teacher and his/her students. The teacher’s expectations become low when the students’ caretakers or parents give strict limitations to the special needs teachers and not allowing them to interact with their students.

The Ministry of Education should also help the teachers by providing the entire support in the special education sector. This will help improve the standards of education and further the level and quality of education offered to the students. Provision of resources useful for educating these students as well reduces the challenges faced by these teachers. As a result, this fosters high expectations of the special education students.

Co curriculum activities should as well be used as a means of bringing special education students together. Their interaction helps them develop a sense of belonging. They get to know that they are not the only ones in that situation. They also get to find out their areas of potential and develop their skills outside the classroom. The students identify as part of the society and can find places or niches to occupy in various employment firms. The key factor here is talent discovery as well as exploitation (Richardson & Powell, 2011).

The society should get involved in the special needs field to encourage the teachers as well by creating teacher support programs and funding the education of these teachers. The exposure that will result from their further studies will enable them to improve on how they handle the students as well as giving required treatment to those affected. It will also foster exchange of information among them as they interact. The outcome will be improved service to the student, production of highly qualified individuals in various fields as well as great intellectual capability.

Greatness is in value. Putting value in the students in this field is the main thing that can boost them as well as their teachers. If the society expects less of a student, then the teacher will also expect less from the student. Therefore, it is upon the society to put in more effort into making the special education sector better as well as increasing their support they offer the sector to enable the teachers to serve the students well. They also determine the efforts put into teaching the basics to the students. Changing the teachers’ attitude towards the disabled and challenged students will lead to achievement of unrealized goals.

A more burning issue is the practical ways of dealing with the results of students. As per this, the teacher should put students in practical sessions on various bases in order to determine what best suites the student within the academic arena. Realization of special student abilities cannot be happening theoretically but practically. Therefore, practical sessions are important as they foster hands on skills of individuals in various fields of education. A firm foundation’s basis is on discovery. The teacher can gauge and tell what he/she expects from every student by this major way. Basic and clear expectations are only available if one invests time in discovering the potential of an individual.

Serious allegations and low expectations may as well be driven by the old day culture that gave less attention to special need individuals. They believed that a physically or mentally challenged individual cannot achieve anything and ended up secluding and discriminating them (Farrell, 2010). As a result, there were increased rates of illiteracy and crime (Farrell, 2010). This was due to lack of income generating foundations for the physically challenged in the society (Farrell, 2010). Their struggle in getting daily income drives them to turn to a life of crime and some other serious and disregarded behaviors that affect the society negatively (Farrell, 2010). They end up depleting their own society’s growth. Incidences like these are a disgrace to the society (Farrell, 2010).

Ancient beliefs should be gotten rid of in order to pave way for serious development and achievement among the special needs students. Different awareness programs created to empower the special needs teachers and the society to help the students get to their final destinations in life (Skiba, et al., 2008).

The guiding and counseling sector should also be actively involved in this issue. They approach individual teachers and give them supportive advice on how to handle the students as well as giving them fair treatment both in class and outside the class. They should also be encouraged to remain focused and concerned with the education of their special students. One of the supportive advices should lie on the expectations of the teachers from these students. They should make it a habit to encourage the students and giving them hope of the future success and achievement in the society (Farrell, 2010).

Another vital part of this issue is the students. They should be motivated to cope with their situations. They should learn how to conduct themselves. Most importantly, they should be free to converse with the teachers and as well be flexible. This will change their teachers’ expectations of them.

The importance of general behavior of students related to the class work should be emphasized. The student should not take advantage of the situation and misbehave in this case. They should do what the teacher expects them to do. Going by this rule, the expectations of teachers will eventually rise. Teachers have a higher expectation for students who abide in the rules. Achievements are directly proportional to what an individual does right. The way in which they do their work says a lot about the future handling of similar work.

Make freedom of interaction as a right to the teacher as well as the student. This will keep them in contact with various situations that may be crucial for their mental development also intellectual skills. Maximum exposure creates good relations, innovation, creativity, and general public awareness.

Some teachers with disabilities can also be a way of encouraging the students and providing an example for them. A disabled special needs teacher will know how to handle the students since at some point in their lives they were also in the same position. They will not force the students to do what they are not able to do and as well, they cannot stand in the way of students taking part in given developmental activities within the school. They know how to handle the individual student’s needs. Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. The teacher with almost the same needs as the student will know exactly what the student requires and will treat the student according to his/her disability without major hiccups.

Furthermore, various teachers may also learn how to treat the students in the right way from their disabled colleagues. This will eventually change their low expectation of the students. They will follow what the others do to make it possible for the students accomplish certain tasks for their various fields of study and specialty. The other teachers will then learn from the experience of their colleagues and go by the flow of events according to what he /she will observe.

A lot of attention is given to these students and this can make some feel that they cannot handle various tasks on their own. The student develops a negative mentality and thus believes that he /she cannot do anything on his/her own. For this reason, some of these students will become over dependent on their teachers. The teacher will begin to develop low expectations on the students’ potential. It gives doubt to the teacher and drives every effort away from the student. Just because the student needs, special education is not reason enough to keep him/her away from chores that others do. They should be part of all work done to develop efforts and skills in working individually. At school, that particular student will be more competent in accomplishment of tasks and as well collaborate with the school authorities. This will also encourage teachers to give more attention to the student (Gersten, Schiller, & Vaughn, 2000).

Conclusion

Being disabled does not mean that one is unable to do anything. A student enrolled in the special education program is equal to the one enrolled in the normal curriculum program. Both of them possess potential to exploit as well efforts of success, achievement, and development. The teachers should change their attitudes towards these students and as well encourage them to partake on their studies with a lot more effort.

All the students have the same ability irrespective of their physical characteristics as well as mental wellness. Given a chance, special needs individuals can perform tasks in a much better way compared those who are considered fit for the chores. The efforts that they apply to do work are similar to the normal student and have no restriction in terms of exploration.

Different disabilities vary and hence the form of education offered may as well vary depending on what the student needs. The student with eye disability may not receive the same treatment as the student with a physical arm or leg disability. They have completely different needs that the teacher needs to go by in order to associate the student with the correct expectations.

The special students should as well not exploit their needs. They need to accept the situation and change the perception of their teachers on what they should hope for from them. They should undertake their tasks with a lot of seriousness in order to diminish the doubts that they cannot perform certain school based activities. The students will then come off as responsible to the teachers.

All of the teachers need to be given counsel on how to deal with the special education students. This is due to the challenges that they may come across as they serve the students. Psychological support will enable them have an easy time in dealing with the students and delivering the correct content to the students. Mental awareness is the main point in the strategy for controlling the emotions and expectations of an individual of the other one.

Any form of support given to the teachers in terms of information, home treatment, behavior, as well as the capabilities of the students will determine how the teacher understands the student in a class. Their relationship depends on how they relate with each other and handle certain issues of specialty. They are directly proportional.

References

Cook, B. G. (2001). A Comparison of Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Their Included Students with Mild and Severe Disabilities. The Journal of Special Education, 34(4), 203-213.

Cotton, K. (1993, March 31). School improvement research series. Retrieved from ERIC - Education Resources Information Center: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED361876

Downey, C. J. (2009). 50 Ways to Close the Achievement Gap. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Farrell, M. (2010). Debating special education. London: Routledge.

Gersten, R., Schiller, E., & Vaughn, S. (2000). Contemporary special education research: syntheses of the knowledge base on critical instructional issues. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates.

Richardson, J., & Powell, J. (2011). Comparing special education: origins to contemporary paradoxes. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Skiba, R., Simmons, A., Ritter, S., Gibb, A., Karega Rausch, M., Cuadrado, J., & Chung, C.-G. (2008). Achieving equity in special education: history, status, and current challenges. Exceptional Children, 74(3).

Spiegel, A. (2012, september 17). Teachers' Expectations Can Influence How Students Perform. Retrieved from Shots Health News From NPR: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/09/18/161159263/teachers-expectations-can-influence-how-students-perform

Tomlinson, C., & Javius, E. (2012). Teach up for excellence. Educational Leadership, 69, 28-33.