2. Jack
A film about Jack Powell, a
healthy ten year old boy
enters fifth grade with the
appearance of a forty year
old man due to an unusual
aging disorder.
3. Jack
An aspect of inclusion is evident when his social learning
environment consisting of his teacher and classmates provide
him with a sense of belonging.
Jack gets to engage in many activities with his friends be it to
play basketball or have sleep over sessions.
With an optimal learning environment both at home and in
school, Jack takes the opportunity to acquire more knowledge
and skills and does not let his condition hinder achieve his
desire.
4. Conditions that Children with
Disabilities are Educated in Singapore
Special Education and Mainstream schools.
Integrated Childcare Centre Programme (ICCP)
Special Schools
Mainstream Schools
5. Conditions that Children with
Disabilities are Educated in Singapore
Integrated Childcare Centre Programme (ICCP)
Child care centers that run ICCP are funded by the Ministry of
Community Development, Youth and Sports
Catered for children aged 2 to 6, mild to moderate
hearing, visual, physical /speech impairments /developmental
delays
Maximize potential of these children who can benefit from an
education in a mainstream setting by learning and playing with
their peers at the centers
6. Conditions that Children with
Disabilities are Educated in Singapore
Integrated Childcare Centre Programme (ICCP)
Prepare children with special educational needs to enter primary
education at a later stage with a natural environment for them to
learn, play, socialize and grow up in.
7. Conditions that Children with
Disabilities are Educated in Singapore
Special Schools
Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is drawn up for every pupil
Provide educational programmes for children and young adults
with disabilities between the ages of 6 to 16 years
In a number of these schools, younger children are provided with
preschool programmes
8. Conditions that Children with
Disabilities are Educated in Singapore
Special Schools
In the case of some special schools, children who join the Early
Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) can be
admitted almost immediately after birth when their disability is
diagnosed.
e.g. Balestier Special School and Margaret Drive Special School
and Asian Women’s Welfare Association
9. Conditions that Children with
Disabilities are Educated in Singapore
Mainstream Schools
Allied Educators (Learning and Behavioral Support)
[AEDs(LBS)], previously known as Special Needs Officers, are
deployed to support children with mild special needs
In order to support students with mild special needs, AEDs(LBS)
work with teachers and other school personnel such as Allied
Educators for Counseling
Every primary school has been staffed with at least one AED(LBS).
10. Public Views’ on Inclusive Education
• inadequate support in mainstream schools for children with
disabilities
• effective inclusion could be made possible when there are
sufficient support and resources
• still depends on the child whether he/she is able to cope in a
mainstream setting
• giving more training to special education teachers in mainstream
schools
• Singapore still requires some time to ensure inclusion practices
are being carried out effectively
11. What is Inclusion?
National Association for the Ministry of Community Ministry of Education,
Education of Young Children Development, Youth and Sports Singapore (MOE)
(NAEYC) (MCYS)
• Exemplifies values, policies, and • Opportunities provided for • advocates that every learner
practices people with disabilities is provided opportunities
• advocate every child’s right to • become active and “contributing • to acquire “knowledge, skills
play a part in most activities and members of society” (MCYS and attitudes to live healthily”
contexts Enabling Masterplan, 2012) (MOE Holistic Health
Framework, 2012)
• Effective Early Intervention and
education for children with special • strengthen teachers’ and
needs para-educators’ competencies
• and eventually have equal
opportunities to work and be
“contributing members of society”
in future
12. Benefits of Inclusion for ALL children
o Exhibit increased positive reception and diversity
o Develop better communication and social skills
o Show greater development in moral and ethical
principles
o Create warm and caring friendships
o Enhance self-respect and esteem
o Children model good behaviour of one another
13. Benefits of Inclusion for Teachers
o Portray acceptance for diverse learners in class
o Gain apt knowledge about using different resources to
meet the needs of all learners
o Maximise capabilities to plan lessons for all learners
and as they grow in experience, they get better in it
14. 4 Pedagogies / Principles / Practice:
Towards Inclusion
1. Universal Design for Learning: Curriculum Development that give all individuals
equal opportunities to learn.
Source: National Center on Universal Design for Learning, CAST 2012
2. Differentiated Instruction: the practice of modifying and adapting
instruction, materials, content, student projects and products, and assessment to
meet the learning needs of individual students
Source: Differentiated Instruction, Curriculum, Assessment by DR Susan Allan
3. Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Using a multi cultural approach notion to teach all
learners
Source: National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems
4. Understanding by Design: Focusing on the process to design an effective and holistic
learning environment
Source: http://www.grantwiggins.org/documents/mtuniontalk.pdf by Grant Wiggins &
Jay McTighe, 2004
15. Problems / Challenges towards Inclusion in
Singapore
Teachers’ lack of trainings and professionalism to implement inclusion
effectively.
Efforts towards inclusion but concurrently more to integration in the local
pre schools.
No specific law or policy as a tool to change education of children with
special needs.
Singapore schools focus more on elitism (Schools ranking) despite the
strategy "Teach Less Learn more”. With that, schools are still focusing on
standardized education system.
Typically developing children may or may not be able to see the significance
and benefits of inclusion due to the lack of exposure and awareness.
Society’s perception: differences becomes a form of handicap when they
identify difference as a problem.
16. Problems / Challenges towards Inclusion in
Singapore (cont’d)
Early Intervention starts at an older age (6-7) in Singapore and thus
preschool teachers could not accommodate to a child's needs that includes the
resources, lessons and strategies used in teaching.
Government initiated the funding for special education but it is not apparent
as of yet.
The structure of preschool education in Singapore has high student teachers
ratio, teachers lack of resources, support and time to meet the needs of
children with special needs.
There is no fixed statistical figure on children with specific special needs and
people in the pre schools sectors have difficulty identifying and seeing the
notion of the high increasing problem(disabilities in Singapore) thus they have
lack of awareness about inclusion
17. Issues
1. Acceptance
Social:
stigmatism causes an individual with special needs to have less opportunities to
make friends
Educational:
unequal opportunities for children who are not in mainstream school thus limits
their potential to learn
cost for intervention or therapy are unaffordable for many average income families
thus unable to acquire the capabilities to learn. (For instance if the child cannot acquire
the basic skills to write, it will create a barrier for him or her to learn)
Food for thought – “What about children that comes from a low income family? How can
the government advocate this?”
Moral:
Due to lack of acceptance & empathy amongst society, child feels inadequate in
many ways which results to low self esteem
18. Issues
2. More of integration than inclusion in Singapore
Social:
child isolates himself/herself as no accommodation to child's needs
Educational:
academic performance is affected as child could not afford to accommodate to
the learning system.
difficulty to participate actively in learning due to specific disabilities
HOWEVER, Allied Educators in schools are evident examples of the effort MOE to work
moving towards inclusive education.
Moral:
Child gain a sense of guilt because of the ‘gaps’ between child’s performance
and peers’.
19. Narrative
We gained some insights about a
child’s, Raihan, by his pseudonym, current
experience.
Click ‘play’ to listen
20. A Child with Autism and His Experience at
School
Name of Child: Raihan (pseudonym) Age: 5
In-Class Observations
The child has been observed to...
• display positive enthusiasm in all the activities he does
•need a longer time in digesting and understanding the instructions he has been given
•practice independence while trying out the activities
•resist any form of external help or guidance
•require instructions that are specific and explicitly detailed
•take a longer time to complete the given tasks and activities
•able to learn quickly and follow routines very well
be relaxed and easy-going amongst his peers
21. A Child with Autism and His Experience at
School (Cont’d)
Challenges
Presently, the child has been facing difficulty in his...
• Social Development
No direct interaction with classmates
Has difficulty in verbally expressing his needs and wants
• Fine Motor Development
Adopts the Palmer Grasp in writing
Finds certain tasks challenging, such as buttoning or unbuttoning a shirt
22. A Child with Autism and His Experience at
School
What does the school do to help him?
Teachers use visual schedules or the Picture Exchange Communication System
in the classroom
This assists the child when he wants to express or communicate something to
others but has difficulty in doing so
They do this to minimize any anxiety that the child might have in experiencing
sudden changes in the day
Recommended the child for the Early Intervention Programme in the
school, of which the child is now attending
Recommended the parent and guardians of the child in application of
financial schemes the school has
23. A Child with Autism and His Experience at
School (Cont’d)
What does the school do to help him?
The school keeps Raihan's parent and guardians updated on his progress
through phone conferences and the communication book.
The school also invites Raihan's parent and guardians to a parent-teacher
meeting at the beginning and end of each semester.
At the parent-teacher meeting at the start of each semester, the teachers and
Raihan's parents discuss about setting certain goals for Raihan while at the
end, they discuss Raihan's learning development and advancement in meeting
those goals.
24. How do we image the collective experiences of individuals
with disabilities will impact Singapore in the long run?
Our Views on how Singaporeans view Individuals with Disabilities
• Society of Singapore has negative views on individuals with disabilities
• These views stem from lack of knowledge on the matter
• We imagine that these collective experiences will evoke
emotions of awe, respect, understanding and acceptance
amongst Singaporeans
25. How do we image the collective experiences of individuals
with disabilities will impact Singapore in the long run?
How We think the Collective Experiences of Individuals with Disabilities will
Impact Singapore
• Encourage Singapore to make an effort and work together in building a whole
new, positive perception of individuals with disabilities
• How? Through own efforts e.g. online research, conducting surveys and
interviews with individuals with disabilities
• Conclusion: The desire to make this change in Singapore starts with us, the
future educators
26. References
Antia, S.D., Stinson, M.S. & Gaustad, M.G. (2002). Developing
membership in the education of deaf and hard-of-hearing
students in inclusive settings. Journal of Deaf Studies and
Deaf Education, 7, 214-229.
Berg, S.L. (2004). The Advantages and Disadvantages of the
inclusion of students with
disabilities into regular education classrooms. Retrieved on July
24, 2012 from
www2.uwstout.edu/content/lib/thesis/2005/2005bergs.pdf
Centre for Enabled Living (2009). Integrated Child Care Centre
Programme Retrieved July 22, 2012, from
http://www.cel.sg/Services_Child_Integrated-Child-Care-
Programme.aspx
27. References
Lim, L., & Quah, M. M. (2004). Educating learners with diverse
abilities. Singapore: McGraw Hil.
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS).
(2012). Enabling Masterplan 2012–2016. Retrieved July 24, 2012
from
http://app1.mcys.gov.sg/Portals/0/Topic/Issues/EDGD/Enabling
%20Masterplan%202012-2016%20Full%20Report.pdf
Ministry of Education, Singapore (2012). Support for Children with
Special Needs. Retrieved July 22, 2012, from
http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/programmes/support-for-
children-special-needs/
28. References
National Association Education for Young Children (2009). Early
Childhood Inclusion.
Retrieved on July 24, 2012 from
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/
DEC_NAEYC_EC_updatedKS.pdf
Sharma, U., Ee, J., & Desai, I. (2003). A comparison of Australian
and Singaporean pre-service teachers’ attitudes and concerns
about inclusive education. Teaching and Learning, 24 (2), 207-
217. Retrieved July 24, 2012, from
http://repository.nie.edu.sg/jspui/bitstream/10497/322/1/
TL-24-2-207.pdf
