Readiness of Faith-Based Community towards Adopting Special Education Program

Abstract

In the increasing number of students with special needs, it was reported that less
than 3% of Adventist schools have direct provision of special services and only 6%
of Adventist schools reported access to Adventist Special Education Services in the
United States. In the Philippines, there is no concrete special education program in
all Adventist schools. This study focused on the exploration of the readiness
towards adopting special education program that dug into the subject of
administration, facilities, teaching, funding, the challenges and solutions that might
be faced in Faith-Based Community (FBC). The researchers employed multimethod and purposive sampling. The respondents were the administrators, teachers,
and finance personnel of Faith-Based Community and the participants were chosen
based on the criteria set by the researchers. For the quantitative, the data were
gathered through survey questionnaires and checklist which revealed that FBC is
not ready in terms of facilities and personnel who are equipped in handling the
program. Thematic analysis was utilized in collecting qualitative data through indepth interview. The researchers found out that the challenges towards adopting
special education program that the participants mentioned are: lack of qualified
teachers, community awareness, scarcity of training, classroom management,
administrative support, lack of facilities and curriculum. While, the solutions that
popped out to address these challenges are Individualized Education Program,
comprehensive seminars or trainings, provision of facilities, fund allocation,
supportive administrators and spirit-filled personnel. Based on the findings, the
community is ready to adopt the program but the knowledge about the program is
limited. Moreover, the researchers recommend that the community needs more
involvement in seminars and trainings related to special education.