In the master's thesis, we focused on the inclusion of selected groups of students with special needs (hereafter SN) in design and technology classes (hereafter TIT) in a regular elementary school. The purpose of the work is to determine how we are prepared for inclusion in Slovenia, how well TIT teachers in public primary schools are trained for the inclusive inclusion of SN students and how much of this knowledge future TIT teachers have or acquire during their studies. In the theoretical part of the master's thesis, we defined the concept of SN students and presented groups of SN students, and we focused on four selected groups of SN students, i.e. physically challenged students, students with autistic disorders, blind and partially sighted students, and deaf and partially deaf students. We were interested in adaptations of forms and methods of work, evaluation of achievements, motivation for work in TIT classes of SN pupils. We obtained information about this with the help of a purpose-designed questionnaire, which was also used to determine what kind of adaptations SN pupils receive in TIT lessons and how teachers implement these adaptations in the learning process. We also conducted a questionnaire among future TIT teachers, with which we obtained information about how competent they feel to work with SN students. We also asked the parents of all students, both those with SN and those without SN, for their opinion on how they cooperate with SN teachers and what they think the organization and methods and forms of assessment in SN lessons are.
In the empirical work, we used a quantitative-qualitative research approach. The sample includes TIT teachers, future TIT and parents of SN students and parents of students without SN. The central method is a non-experimental causal method, where we used a survey questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed using the statistical program SPSS 23.0. We have shown the frequencies, percentages, minimum, maximum, average values and standard deviations of the responses. The Shapiro-Wilk normality test was used to check the distribution of scores. The non-parametric Mann-Whitney test was used to search for statistical differences in scores between two groups, and the non-parametric Kruskall-Wallis test was used to search for statistically significant differences in scores between three groups. If it confirmed statistically significant differences, we then performed the Dunn-Bonnferoni test. We also calculated the strength of the effect with the help of formulas. Then, with the help of the obtained results and theoretical work, we answered the research questions and verified the achievement of the set goals. When assessing the suitability of methods and forms of assessment of selected groups of SN students, we confirmed statistically significant differences between future teachers and teachers and between future teachers and parents. For both, the strength of the effect was medium strong (0.3 < r < 0.5). Regarding the research question regarding the opinion on the competence of teachers and future teachers in working with SN students, we also confirmed several statistically significant differences. Regarding specific skills, we found that teachers have a good opinion of their specific skills, while future teachers feel less competent in this area. The strength of the effect is high (r > 0.5). The same is found for skills and skills in TIT lessons (the strength of the effect is high for one of the aspects and medium high for the other two, but close to the value of 0.5). Regarding the attitude and acceptance competence, we detected statistically significant differences in two of the seven statements. Teachers are more likely to agree that it makes sense to evaluate the achievements of SN students in the same way as other students, while future teachers are more likely to agree that it makes sense to prepare special learning content for SN students. For both claims, the strength of the effects is medium. Statistically significant differences in the competence collaborative environment are shown in three out of six statements. The teachers somewhat less agree that the teacher should only be responsible for teaching students without SN, but we must emphasize that both groups do not agree with this statement (the strength of the effect is at the limit of the medium value r = 0.35). On average, teachers also agree more with the fact that the material available so far (written and multimedia) is already sufficient for an in-depth study of SN students at TIT (the strength of the effect is medium r = 0.44). Therefore, teachers are less likely to agree that they need more training for teaching SN children (the effect strength is medium). When assessing the functionality of information and communication technology (hereafter ICT), we also detect statistically significant differences. We found several statistically significant differences in the group of students with autism. Teachers and parents find YouTube videos, movies, robotics learning environments, e-mail, Wikipedia, 3D modeling, and coding/programming functional or moderately functional, while future teachers do not deem them functional (the strength of the effect is strong).
With the master's thesis, we want to influence the field of inclusion of selected groups of SN students in TIT lessons. The resulting master's thesis can be a good starting point for further research in this field, and it can also be a good basis for the renewal of the curriculum of the TIT course, in terms of including selected groups of SN students.
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