Students with special needs require a unique approach based on the learning challenges that they face both in the school setting and when completing home assignments. Therefore, teachers need to adapt their strategies to suit children with special needs. However, the presence of a rigid curriculum with set standards for learning and teaching does not offer enough room for creative approaches to teaching to learners with special needs. Therefore, it is the essential responsibility of a principal to incite change. As a school principal, one can boost the quality of education substantially by introducing instructions that are more flexible, as well as delineating clear guidelines for teachers to adhere to when assisting children with special needs in the process of acquiring vital knowledge and skills.
Making educators aware of the specific requirements that they have to meet when encouraging learning in children with special needs is another step that a principal should undertake in the described scenario. For this reason, a set of clear instructions outlining the vital points that educators must keep in mind when shaping their approach toward children with special needs is required. As a school principal, one is capable of controlling the process of outlining the said rules and establishing them at the school level, simultaneously ensuring compliance with the new standards (Farkas & Morgan, 2018). Moreover, as a school principal, one should assume the position of a leader who will guide teachers toward change and promote the acceptance of alterations to the school setting. Since teachers are expected to resist the change for various reasons, including the unwillingness to accept additional responsibilities, it is the duty of a principal to convince educators to accept the proposed change.
Apart from school-level policies, a principal can also encourage change in the quality of the academic process aimed at students with special needs by making sure that the required materials and equipment are supplied to expand the range of learning opportunities for the target audience. Namely, students with specific impairments must be provided with an opportunity for easy access to learning resources along with the rest of the learners (Kauffman et al., 2017). Although the described step would require revisiting the school budget and cutting other costs, it will help to establish equity for all learners, including those with special needs.
Finally, as a principal, one should also facilitate and reinforce closer communication between educators and parents so that the former could have a clear and accurate understanding of the essential needs and characteristics of the children whose learning process they will have to shape. Although general guidelines received from organizations promoting support for children with disabilities offer the bulk for creating appropriate strategies and changes to the school policies, communication with parents is what will help customize the learning process to students’ needs (Herman & Reinke, 2017). Namely, learner-specific issues will be delineated, and challenges that students with disabilities typically have to face in the school setting will be included in the analysis when updating it accordingly.
By focusing on the development of instructions and changes to the curriculum that would offer students more flexibility in their learning process, a school principal can provide students having special needs with the necessary range of resources and learning opportunities. Moreover, a principal can promote the changes that will provide teachers with a greater range of options for education strategies, a well as a wider extent of opportunities for parent-teacher cooperation. The detailed changes will help to create the setting that students with disabilities will recognize as comfortable, educational, and suitable for their needs.
References
Farkas, G., & Morgan, P. L. (2018). Risk and race in measuring special education need. Contexts, 17(4), 72-74. Web.
Herman, K. C., & Reinke, W. M. (2017). Improving teacher perceptions of parent involvement patterns: Findings from a group randomized trial. School Psychology Quarterly, 32(1), 89. Web.
Kauffman, J. M., Anastasiou, D., & Maag, J. W. (2017). Special education at the crossroad: An identity crisis and the need for a scientific reconstruction. Exceptionality, 25(2), 139-155. Web.