Teacher Training and Learners with Special Needs in the U.S. and Poland – the COVID- 19 Experience

Abstract

The 2021 transition to teaching online and to virtual environment due to COVID-19 was challenging for many educationalists, teachers, students and pupils all over the world. However, it was particularly difficult for teachers of learners with special educational needs, school therapists and counsellors. They had to provide highly individualized teaching and service without (or with limited) face-to-face contact. This article looks at teacher qualifications necessary to provide ICT based education for learners, particularly for learners with special needs (from the American and Polish viewpoint). The Authors analyze the context of preservice teacher training in the COVID-19 conditioned environment with the particular focus of teachers of English as a Foreign Language (who wish to obtain teacher qualifications to teach in Polish public schools).