Mentoring Program for Teachers of Inclusive Elementary Schools
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
ABSTRACT
This mentoring program was conducted because we found several issues faced by teachers of inclusive schools. Some of which are the difficulty in detecting a child’s special needs and the psychological issues that affect students’ learning, as well as the lack of teacher’s ability in constructing learning programs that suits the child’s needs. This condition causes inadequacy in providing educational services, which are often unsuitable for students with special needs studying at inclusive schools. Therefore, the learning capabilities of students with special needs are not optimized. This program aims to increase the quality of education services for children with special needs who are studying at inclusive elementary schools. The mentoring involves two elementary schools located in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Research results: a) formulation of Identification Tool for Children With Special Needs, which include Observation Sheet for Children With Special Needs and Psychological Impediment Detection Sheet for Children With Special Needs as instruments for identifying students’ special needs and psychological impediments that can be used by teachers in inclusive schools; b) observation using impediment detection sheet for children with special needs conducted was helpful for teachers when understanding students’ psychological characteristics; c) teachers are able to better understand characteristics of children with special needs; d) trainings on Individual Learning Plan (ILP) benefited teachers, by helping teachers to formulate ILP based on specific psychological characteristics and needs of the students; e) the school acquires the profiles of children with special needs.
KEYWORDS
teacher, inclusive education, detection tool, psychological impediments, ILP