Manisah Mohd Ali

Inclusive education in Malaysia: policy and practice

Malaysias move towards inclusion was given impetus by its participation in workshops and conferences set up under the auspices of the United Nations (UNESCO 1990; UN 1993; UNESCO 1994). Inclusive education was introduced in the Education Act 1996 as part of the continuum of services available for children with special needs. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the interpretation of policy pertaining to inclusion, its contradictions and its translation into practice within the Malaysian context; and to share experiences on how the national context explains and constrains inclusive practices. This paper examines the problematic issues associated with the interpretation and implementation of inclusive practices at community and school levels. Barriers to inclusion are also discussed from the perspective of conceptualisation and meaning of ‘special educational needs’ and competing priorities of the school system.

Kemahiran Tingkah Laku Sosial Peringkat Asas dalam Kalangan Murid Berkeperluan Pendidikan Khas Ketidakupayaan Penglihatan (Basic Social Behavior Skills among Students with Visual Impairment)

Ketiadaan maklumat visual menyebabkan kanak-kanak yang mengalami masalah penglihatan mempelajari tingkah laku sosial menerusi deria yang lain. Maklumat audio, bau, rasa dan sentuhan yang diterima adalah sangat terbatas berbanding maklumat visual yang diterima oleh kanak-kanak tipikal. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti penguasaan kemahiran sosial peringkat asas dalam kalangan murid berkeperluan pendidikan khas ketidakupayaan penglihatan (MBPKKP). Tiga aspek kemahiran sosial peringkat asas yang dinilai ialah kemahiran bahasa badan, kemahiran komunikasi dan kemahiran bekerjasama. Kajian ini merupakan kajian deskriptif secara keratan rentas mengikut kumpulan umur sampel kajian. Pengumpulan data menggunakan borang soal selidik. Pemilihan sampel kajian untuk murid MBPKKP (n = 167) adalah secara pensampelan bertujuan dan murid tipikal (n=315) adalah secara rawak sitematik. Kajian dijalankan di enam buah sekolah yang menawarkan program pendidikan khas untuk MBPKKP di dua buah negeri. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa penguasaan kemahiran tingkah laku sosial murid adalah bertambah dengan pertambahan usia bagi kedua-dua kumpulan MBPKKP dan murid tipikal. Namun terdapat perbezaan corak penguasaan kemahiran tingkah laku sosial antara MBPKKP dengan murid tipikal. MBPKKP menunjukkan tahap penguasaan yang paling rendah bagi kemahiran bahasa badan (min = 3.36) berbanding kemahiran komunikasi (min = 3.64) dan kemahiran bekerjasama (min = 3.66). Sementara murid tipikal menunjukkan penguasaan yang paling tinggi bagi kemahiran bahasa badan (min = 4.5). Walaupun kemahiran bahasa badan seperti tenungan mata dan ekspresi muka mudah dipelajari secara tidak sengaja melalui pemerhatian di dalam persekitaran, namun kemahiran tersebut sukar dikuasai oleh MBPKKP kerana ketidakupayaan untuk melihat dan meniru tingkah laku tersebut. Hasil kajian memberi implikasi terhadap keperluan latihan dan intervensi untuk meningkatkan kemahiran tingkah laku sosial MBPKKP. Kata kunci: Murid berkeperluan pendidikan khas ketidakupayaan penglihatan; murid tipikal; kemahiran tingkah laku sosial; maklumat visual The absence of visual information causes children with visual impairments to learn social behavior through other senses. Audio, smell, taste and touch information received by these children are very limited compared to visual information received by typical children. The purpose of this study is to identify acquisition of basic social behavior skills among students with visual impairments. The three aspects of basic social behavior skills assessed are body language skills, communication skills and collaborative skills. This study is a descriptive cross-sectional study based on the age group of the samples. The data was collected using a set of questionnaire. Purposive sampling was used to select samples of students with visual impairments (n = 167) while systematic random sampling was used to select samples of typical students (n = 315). The study was conducted in six schools offering special education programs for students with visual impairment in two states. The findings show that the mastery of the students’ social behavior skills increases with the age for both students with visual impairments and typical students. However, there are differences in social behavior skills proficiency between students with visual impairments and typical students. Students with visual impairments show the lowest level of ability for body language skills (mean = 3.36) compared to communication skills (mean = 3.64) and cooperative skills (mean = 3.66). While typical students demonstrate the highest level of body language skills (mean = 4.5). Although body language skills such as eye contact and facial expressions are easily learned by observation in the environment, the skills are difficult to master by students with visual impairments because of their inability to see and imitate the behavior. The findings have implications for training and intervention requirements to improve students with visual impairments’ social behavior skills. Keywords: Students with visual impairments; typical students; social behavior skills; visual information