Enhancing Students' Engagement in Learning: Implementations in a Special Education Classroom

Abstract

Teachers’ attempt to improve academic achievement and social development is an essential goal of classroom management. When students do not have high self-esteem or are unaware of what is expected from them, teachers should pay more attention to motivate and engage them. Otherwise, they may demonstrate challenging behavior other than an academic task to obtain teachers' and peers’ attention. Therefore, especially for students with special needs, effective strategies should be considered to keep their attention and engage them in academic and social learning environments. The aim of this study to examine the classroom implementations of special educators to enhance the engagement of students with special needs in learning. This study uses a qualitative descriptive research design by involving one special education classroom with ten students who have developmental disabilities and one headteacher and one paraprofessional in the classroom. The data was gathered through observations and semi-structured interviews in an elementary school, which is a public school in a town that is located in the Midwest of the U.S. Four main themes emerged from the data of this study as giving clear instruction, maintaining attention, considering students’ needs, and arranging the environment.