Chapter 4 Research Findings
4.1.2 Implementation in Taiwanese School Cases
國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
may be invited to participate in the team. Parents of the student concerned may invite other individuals if necessary.
- Article 19
The individualized education program described in the previous article shall be developed by the school within one month after the semester begins and shall be subjected to review and conducted at least once per semester.
4.1.2 Implementation in Taiwanese School Cases
Two schools, based on Professor Li-Yu Hung‟s recommendation described in Chapter 3, agreed to participate in this research project. Both of these schools are located in Taipei City. The school for lower secondary education wished to remain anonymous while the upper secondary education school did not choose this option. Therefore, the lower secondary
education school participating in this research project will from here on be referred to as
„Taipei Junior High School‟. The school case for upper secondary education was Nan Gang Senior Vocational High School. The research sites were visited in October and November of 2010.
Taipei City
Taipei City, Taiwan‟s capital, is located on the northern tip of Taiwan. It is the largest city in Taiwan with Taipei City‟s population (not including the Taipei County districts) being over two and a half million. Taipei City hosts the government of Taiwan and it has been the centre of economic development.
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Taipei Junior High School School background
This public junior high school is situated in one of the oldest districts of Taipei City.
It has a total population of just under 200,000 people.
The school was founded more than fifty years ago. Across the three grades, it has sixty-five regular education classes, three special education classes, and two resource room program classes. The total population of students is over 1,900 with the number of staff members servicing them being more than 180.
Among the facilities of the school are ICT centres and classrooms, a sports field, an activities centre, a conference room, and various student support offices.
Research participants
Taipei Junior High School was visited in October of 2010 and the school‟s special education coordinator was the first person to be interviewed. She subsequently identified two other key informants in the process of individualizing education for mildly mentally impaired students at the school. The total time of the interviews was over 200 minutes. The
participants were:
1. Special education coordinator (特殊教育組長)
The main responsibility of the special education coordinator in the process of individualizing education is controlling the financial budget of the educational programs.
The special coordinator holds a masters degree in special education. She worked for more than ten years in the school‟s resource room program as well as the special education class. She currently is the special education coordinator, a position which
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
2. Special education class mentor (特殊班導師)
The responsibilities of the special education class mentor are assisting the students during class, addressing behavioural aspects of the children, and communicating with the parents. A mentor also holds the position as case manager. A case manager is responsible for the Individualized Education Program (IEP) of about three to four students.
The special education class mentor interviewed holds a bachelors degree in special education and has worked at the school for five years. In the school, she has held the position of subject teacher (專任老師), and special education coordinator before being employed at her current position of special education class mentor of the seventh grade.
3. Resource room guidance teacher (認輔老師)
A resource room guidance teacher is responsible for teaching resource room students the academic subject of either Chinese, English or maths. A guidance teacher also holds the position as case manager. A case manager, therefore, is also responsible for the Individualized Education Program (IEP) of a few students.
The resource room guidance teacher has both a bachelors and a masters degree in special education. She has taught at the school for over twelve years, of which she spent the first eight years as a mentor in the special education class. Currently, she teaches English in the resource room class, and she is a case manager for seven students with either learning disabilities or autism. While she is currently not a case manager for mildly mentally impaired students, she has had experience as a case manager for this population of students in the past.
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Direct quotes from any of these four participants will be written in italics in the following sections followed by a reference as to who was quoted.
The school’s programs for mildly mentally impaired students
The school both services students with mild mental impairment in the resource room class as well as in the special education class. There are currently three mildly mentally impaired students in the resource room program. Two are in the seventh grade and one is in the eight grade. The special education class program has three mildly mentally impaired students. They are divided over all three grades: one in the seventh, one in the eighth, and another student in the ninth grade.
Since both educational programs are quite different from each other, they will be discussed separately. However, the process of individualizing education has significant similarities in both programs and therefore the description of this process is combined and, when needed, with clear references as to which educational program it applies to.
The resource room program
The resource room is the educational environment which the Taiwanese government believes is most suitable for mildly mentally impaired junior high school students. Taipei Junior High‟s resource room program is of the non-categorical type. Students with various types of disabilities are serviced there at the same time. The majority of the students are either learning disabled, mildly mentally impaired, or autistic.
Mildly mentally impaired students follow the nine-year integrated curriculum outline but the learning material is adapted to their level. The pace of teaching is also adjusted.
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Mildly mentally impaired students are only pulled out of the regular classes for the subjects of Chinese, English, and maths. For the other classes, the students join their regular education classmates.
We let them take all classes with the regular class students, except Chinese, English, and math. We let them have classes such as physical education and music class together but also, for instance, social studies. For the students we could then, if necessary, lower the standard.
(Resource room guidance teacher)
In the two resource room classes, there is a team of three subject teachers (專任老師) who teach Chinese, English, and maths. All of these three teachers are also guidance teachers (認輔老師). The guidance teachers are also case managers (個案管理老師). Among the guidance teachers, one person is selected as a convener (召集人). Besides the resource room guidance teacher, every student in the resource room also has a regular education class mentor.
The fact that students are normally pulled out of Chinese, English, and maths class doesn‟t mean that the students cannot take these three classes in the regular classroom. If the student‟s ability on one of these subjects is good, he or she can take this subject in the regular education class.
Since there are only three options for the teachers to pull out students, arranging class time is considered a difficulty. The school currently has the resource room program organized into two classes. One class services one part seventh graders and the other part eighth graders while the other class has seventh and ninth graders. This is organized in this way due to time restrictions.
It is very hard to organize the curriculum in the resource room. Therefore, we mostly have two different grades taking class at the same time. It is hard for the teachers because students
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
are scattered over the classes. It is hard to divide the classes according to student level.
(Special education coordinator)
The case managers in the resource room organize the timetables. They try to teach a subject to a group of students simultaneously. If students are pulled out of Chinese class, they do not necessarily have Chinese class in the resource room. Social skills, social adjustment, and behavioural classes are also added to the resource room curriculum. The school, however, does not provide vocational classes in the resource room program. Resource room programs in some other schools in the surrounding areas do have such classes and if students want to take a vocational class, they can attend one at a neighbouring school. These classes could be in the field of cooking, the beauty parlours industry, or ICT.
The resource room students take tests which are tailored to their specific level. The students normally also take the regular class test as well as the resource class test. The difference in grades shows how the student compares to the regular class level. In the past, the resource class test score was the official one.
We encouraged the students to take the regular class test. It will let the parents and the student know which level can be attained with hard work. (Special education coordinator) This school year, the test system has changed and the resource class test score and the regular class test score are combined and a decision on the student‟s final grade is discussed in the IEP meetings.
The special education program
Compared to the resource room, the special education class has more mildly mentally impaired students who are also autistic. The resource room tends to have mildly mentally impaired students who are not diagnosed with other disabilities. The special education class
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
mentor currently has one seventh grade student who is only diagnosed with mild mental impairment.
This student studied in a special education class in elementary school so the resource room program is too hard. The regular classes would be at an abstraction level that is too high. It would be best for the students to have the opportunity to study in an inclusive environment in elementary school. (Special education class mentor)
The other mildly mentally impaired student in the seventh grade is also autistic.
The special education class does not (yet) have to follow the nine-year integrated curriculum outline. The curriculum is completely written by the teachers themselves and is mostly functional in nature. Regardless of the level of mental impairment, all the students take social skills and daily living education classes at the same time. However, the curriculum is mainly written for mildly and moderately mentally impaired students. The severely
mentally impaired students only attend parts of the classes.
There are three special education classes with each ten students. These classes are separated into A, B, C, and D levels for the subjects of Chinese, English, and maths. In the eighth and ninth grade, mildly mentally impaired students normally are in the A-level classes.
In the seventh grade, they can be in both A- or B-level classes depending on the ability of the student. The A-level classes normally have the highest number of students while the D-level classes have the fewest. The students have homework but they do not get grades for this. The amount of material studied for the basic academic subjects such as Chinese, English, and maths is based on a student‟s personal ability.
Mildly mentally impaired students [in the special education class] can pretty much learn all the material offered. (Special education class mentor)
In the special education class the students learn very basic social skills like basic conversation skills, introducing oneself, telephone etiquette, etc. Mildly mentally impaired
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
students can act as the teacher‟s helpers and implement the social skills they have learned involving contact with other people, such as ordering lunch boxes.
The transition from primary education to secondary education is considered a big step.
Students need to adjust to their new environment in the first year.
The difference between primary school and lower secondary school is big. In the first year we want the children to get used to the daily routines. (Special education coordinator)
Besides this, social interaction skills are emphasized from the start. In the second year, the students should have adapted to their new environment so the teachers can focus more on the educational part. In the third year, the students start preparing for their transition to a senior high school. They practice for the upcoming ability assessment (能力評量) and teachers emphasize improving the students‟ knowledge for the various academic subjects.
Comparatively, students in the special education class have more behavioural problems than in the resource room classes.
Mildly mentally impaired students are better than their classmates at academic subjects like Chinese, English, and maths. The difference in level in the class is very big. The mildly mentally impaired students have a lot of self-confidence and are willing to help the other students. They also have some behavioural difficulties. They are more prone to hit and bully other students because they are smarter and therefore naughtier. (Special education class mentor)
Just like in the resource room, every special education class has three subject teachers (專任老師). One of these is the mentor (導師) and the other two are guidance teachers (認輔 老師) who are responsible for providing assistance. The guidance teacher also helps with the administrative work. All three subject teachers are also case managers (個案管理老師) and each person is responsible for three to four individual cases. The role of the mildly mentally
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
The mildly mentally impaired students in the special education class act as the teachers‟
helpers. They are the smarter ones in the class. (Special education coordinator)
Mildly mentally impaired students in the special education class also have to take tests to practice for their entrance examination for a comprehensive vocational program at a regular education senior high school.
The test scores are not so important in the special education class. We just let the students experience these kinds of tests because they will need to take an entrance exam for senior high school. Although the teachers might not care so much about the test scores, the parents do care. (Special education class mentor)
Post-lower secondary education perspectives students
The teachers at the school recommend that mildly mentally impaired students
continue their educational career by studying at a comprehensive vocational program instead of a regular senior vocational education class. Almost all the students who graduate from this school will eventually go to a comprehensive vocational program.
The comprehensive vocational program will prepare a student for employment. At a regular education class it will be [academic] tests, tests, tests. It‟s a waste of time if they don‟t learn employment skills. (Resource room guidance teacher)
We have found that the comprehensive vocational programs really suit mildly mentally impaired students better. Their subjects and their vocational skill training really help the students. (Special education coordinator)
In the seventh and eighth grades the teachers do not yet emphasize the transition to the comprehensive vocational program yet. This really starts in the ninth grade. Students that are the worst performers in entrance examinations for senior high school comprehensive vocational programs end up in special education schools since all the classes are full in the
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
regular schools. This means that the entrance exams are highly competitive and a source of pressure for the students to perform.
Parents start being nervous in the eighth grade and they are very nervous in the ninth grade.
(Special education class mentor)
Individualizing education
Participants in the student’s individualized education process
It is important to note that the teachers at Taipei Junior High School often have multiple staff positions. Therefore, this person could have multiple tasks in the process of individualizing education for the students.
Case manager (個案管理老師)
The case manager is the main person responsible for writing the Individualized Education Program (IEP), writing the guidance record, and communicating with the parents.
Each of the three special education class subject teachers for one grade, is also the case manager of three to four students. In the resource room, she communicates with the regular classroom teachers about the student‟s situation. Apart from this collaboration, the case manager also communicates with the other two subject teachers.
Student counsellor (輔導老師)
This person is the regular education student counsellor. So, this person only services mildly mentally impaired students in the resource room, not the special education class. The main task of a student counsellor is the counselling of ten students covering behavioural aspects.
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Mentor (導師) and convener (召集人)
In the special education program, the mentor arranges the time table, classes, and other activities for every semester. This is done in coordination with the other mentors. The resource room program‟s convener does this for the resource classes while communicating with the guidance teachers / case managers.
Guidance teacher (認輔老師)
The guidance teacher specifically looks at behavioural issues a student might have and provides assistance in overcoming such difficulties.
Special education coordinator (特殊教育組長)
Often the special education coordinator represents the administration department at an IEP meeting. She is in charge of the financial budget of the programs.
Regular classroom mentor (普通班導師)
If there are academic or social adjustment issues in the regular education class, the regular classroom mentor communicates this to the student counsellor and the resource room teachers.
Therapists
If a student requires therapies for their specific special education needs, this student will be referred to a therapist. This could be a physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, hearing therapist, or clinical psychologist. Information related to such a condition needs to be taken into account for each individual case.
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Parents
The parents have a very important role as the final decision makers in educational planning for their child. The zero-reject policy in Taiwan empowers the parents to have the final say in which classroom environment their child will be educated. The parents also have a lot of say in what their child studies in school.
The wishes of the student are normally the parents‟ wishes. For example, what does a student need to learn in the seventh grade? We respect the parents‟ wishes. (Special education class mentor)
Students
Each individual student‟s needs are taken into account in the process of
individualizing education. However, the various staff members of the school as well as the parents are the main decision makers.
Normally the students accept what is decided. They do not take on the role as decider themselves. (Special education class mentor)
System and tools for individualizing education
The system for individualizing education for mildly mentally impaired students at Taipei Junior High School has as its main tools the Individualized Education Program (IEP), Individual Transition Plan (ITP), and the guidance record. These are all written documents where relevant individual student information is recorded. Besides these three documents, the school also makes use of communication books and various unscheduled, informal student-teacher meetings.
‧
國立 政 治 大
立 政 治 大