No abstract

<p>With the emergence of mobile technologies in education, the special needs students are gaining the infinite benefits that could enhance their learning sessions. Numerous studies are conducted on the usage of mobile technologies    among the special needs students including their acceptance towards the technologies, its advantages as well as the obstacles on the utilisation of mobile technologies. However, fewer studies are done on the usage of mobile technologies among the hearing-impaired (HI) students. There is a need for more studies on that as the number of hearing-impaired people are increasing continuously around the globe. Hence, the aims of the study are to explore the hearing-impaired students’ perspectives on the usa of mobile technologies in learning ESL. In-depth interviews are conducted among the selected ten hearing-impaired students from four different secondary schools in Malaysia and the notable finding demonstrates the majority of them believed that mobile technologies assist them in learning. This study provides the insights for the education stakeholders, especially the policy makers and inventors to create the solutions and improvise the features of mobile technologies that are more user-friendly towards the hearing-impaired students.</p>

This study identified teacher challenges in the implementation of the individualized education plan (IEP) for special educational needs (SEN) children with learning disabilities (LD). A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to identify and synthesize the literature on this topic. Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. Most of the findings indicated that teachers face challenges in all three aspects of competency challenges, that is knowledge, skill, and attitude challenges. Lack of knowledge on criterion-referenced tests (f = 3; 42%) can be considered as the biggest knowledge challenge faced by teachers. The biggest skill challenge was also found in the evaluation process, with teachers being less efficient in carrying out the evaluation process (f = 4; 57%). In terms of attitude challenges, the lack of motivation (f = 4; 66%) in implementing the IEP for LD children is the most common challenge encountered by teachers. Therefore, the results of the analysis and research carried out can serve as a guide and reference for educators, the Ministry of Education (MOE), and future researchers in an effort to solve teachers’ competency challenges in the IEP implementation process. However, additional high-quality research or an empirical study should be conducted to verify the validity of the conceptual framework formed by conducting a survey study in Malaysia.

This study intends to identify the perceptions of the undergraduate students of Special Education towards the use of information and technology (ICT) in teaching and learning the sign language. This study involved the perception of 200 undergraduate students of Special Education from 3 particular public universities. All 3 public universities offer both Special Education and the sign language course which are compulsory for the students. This study was conducted by distributing the questionnaire that consists of students' background and demography, as well as the students' readiness towards the use of information and technology (ICT) in teaching and learning the sign language. The data were then analyzed using Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. The findings have gathered that majority of the students have high readiness and interest towards the use of ICT in teaching and learning the sign language with the overall mean of 4.65 and standard deviation of 0.364. The overall mean has shown that the use of ICT is preferred by majority of the students. In conclusion, it is obvious that students are ready to use technology involved materials in the teaching and learning the sign language.

People with disabilities have the same right to access education and, therefore, the space and opportunity to study the Quran as other groups. However, there are some issues regarding the teaching of the Quran to students with special learning needs, such as from the aspects of the level of readiness of teachers, the mastery of Islamic Education among teachers who teach Special Education, and the use of teaching aids to teach the Quran. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the challenges, the need to develop a model of teaching and learning the Quran, elements to be included in the development of Quranic teaching, and a learning model for children with learning disabilities. A qualitative methodology was adopted using a case study design. The sample consisted of eight informants who volunteered to be involved in this research. The results show that there are seven main challenges in the teaching and learning of children with learning disabilities, i.e., a lack of stimulus materials, a lack of knowledge, limited time, uncontrolled behavior, traditional teaching, disabilities, and a lack of parental commitment. Thereafter, three themes arose in terms of identifying why it is necessary to develop Quran teaching and learning models for children with learning disabilities, such as the lack of an up-to-date model and the right to education. In addition, there were four themes concerning the elements that need to be included in the development of teaching and learning models for the Quran for children with learning disabilities, i.e., digital teaching aids, visual, audio, and kinesthetic learning styles, activities graded by the level of ability, and sensory support. It is hoped that this study will provide guidance to teachers to further strengthen the teaching profession pertaining to educating children with learning disabilities.