Nowadays, a lot of researches and methodologies are directed for improving and supporting the lives of students with exceptionalities. It is obvious that they are in need of special treatment during the process of teaching. In this research, the current methodologies will be provided. The relationship between the research methodology and social change will be described. Also, this paper will propose different ways to create better conditions for such students in order to encourage them to study. In this research, the attention will be paid to such points of improving the conditions as peer support and the relationships inside the classroom, the role of parents’ work with the children, and how positive attitude can support our aim.
Research methodology provides various approaches in order to make some changes, to make something work, or to call for action. The peculiarity of the research methodology is that it has a systematic structure to solving some problems and making a change. It is widely used to define the plan of the work that will be made for the research. It is important because it helps to define appropriate methodologies to the problem discussed, to determine the efficiency, and so on (S. Rajasekar, et al, 2013).
Today, we see research as a particular action which implies analysis, information, and decisions that will lead to some change. A research may also have various purposes. The result of the research is tightly connected with the future expectations (Jethro Pettit, 2010). In our case, the main purpose of the research is to make a shift in the methodology of teaching children with disabilities. The aim is to make a difference in order to lighten the process of studying, make it more easy and pleasant.
The research made by E.W. Carter dwells upon how pupils with the severe disabilities can operate in the general education classroom. It describes the support of the peers that is needed in order to accomplish the process of education successfully. The main emphasis was put on the describing the change that peer interaction can make. The approach supports social participation as well as academic one. Three students with severe disabilities were provided with two peers for each one. The results were the following. Every one of three students immediately increased the percentage of social interaction. Paraprofessionals concentrated their attention mostly on the academic help. The research showed that such kind of interaction provides a lot of personal benefits both for the children with disabilities and their peers (e.g. new friends, understanding of the problems that students with disabilities have, and of course improvement of social relationship. The students with disabilities, in their way, improved their attendance, they became more during classes and became friendlier both in the in-class and out-class environment (Carter, et al, 2011).
The second investigation dealt with the parents’ role in helping children with significant disabilities. The results of the research showed that nowadays parents moved away from dealing with the problems of children stay and progress in general education establishments. They do not go to the conferences concerning these problems and face-to-face interaction is still important despite technological development. So to say, parents should re-evaluate their position in order to increase the success of their children who have significant disabilities at school (Jan Nespor, David Hicks, 2010).
The last research dealt with the positive behavior intervention and support in order to help students with their academic and social problems. This can also be implied in our own research in order to provide better conditions for the children with disabilities.
Using research methodology we should define what methods we will use in our own research. In the modern society, it is of an urgent importance to ensure that our youth is ready to work. In order to accomplish this, we should take into consideration the children with significant disabilities. The ratings of students with disabilities who graduated from high schools and started postgraduate education are really low. Only 34 percent of adolescents with disabilities who started working their four-year degree could accomplish it within 8 years (to 51.2% of all population) (Newman et al., 2011).
The first step in our program will be encouraging parents to take an active part in the process of improvement. That is why they should attend meeting with social workers and psychologists to decide what will be the best way for their children. The next step is to provide a child with disabilities with the opportunity to study of the same rights as other students. This point concerns the schools and their readiness to work with such children. The authorities of the school should provide these children with proper attitude and professionals who will organize a work in class in a proper way. Also, we believe that it is quite useful to inspire children without disabilities to help those who have. The peer work has already shown the positive results in the case of social purposes, so why don’t we use it in every school? We should make an effort to create a positive atmosphere in-class, between the students. And after creating the friendship environment we can start to encourage children with severe disabilities to achieve academical success.
In a nutshell, this research puts emphasis on the problem of the children with disabilities visiting and studying in the general schools. We used research methodology to create a step-by-step plan of our research. The first step of our research concerns the work with parents. The next step is a preparation for schools to accept students with disabilities. And the last step is to create a positive environment in class. This is the most important step because right treatment of such children at class collective will guarantee successful accomplishing of social and academic plan.
References
Rajasekar, S., Philominathan, P. & Chinnathambi, V. 2006. Research methodology. Ar XIV Physics [Online].
Pettit J. (2010). Learning to do Action Research for Social Change. Internatioansl Journal Communication 4. [Online],
Carter E. W., Colleen K. Moss, Alicia Hoffman, Yun-Ching Chung, Lynn Sisco, (2011). Efficacy and Social Validity of Peer Support Arrangements for Adolescents With Disabilities.
Nespor Jan & David Hicks (2010) Wizards and witches: parent advocates and contention in special education in the USA, Journal of Education Policy, 25:3, 309-334
Newman, L., Wagner, M., Knokey, A.-M., Marder, C., Nagle, K., Shaver, D., et al. (2011). The post-high school outcomes of young adults with disabilities up to 8 years after high school: A report from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2.
