Experiences and Needs of Special Education Support Center Teachers Regarding Selection of Students with Severe and Multiple Disabilities

The purpose of this research is to present what systematic supports special education teachers demand with reference to evaluation, diagnosis, and selection of students with severe and multiple disabilities as well as the actual administration at Special Education Support Centers. It has been due to the partial revision of Enforcement Decree of Act on special education for persons with disabilities, etc., and therefore the establishment of an additional clause to include severe and multiple disabilities as one of the criteria for Article 15 of the Act. Qualitative methodologies were used for this research, conducting individual interviews of five special education teachers who had experiences in administering assessments and evaluations of students with severe and multiple disabilities in order to determine their special educational needs. The transcribed data of the interviews were then analyzed with the constant comparative analysis. The research findings were categorized into 4 categories, 9 subcategories, and 19 semantic units, the 4 categories being 1) awareness and experiences of special education teachers in relation to severe and multiple disabilities, 2) the process and actual administration of evaluation and diagnosis of the disabilities at Special Education Support Centers, 3) challenges in evaluation and diagnosis of students with severe and multiple disabilities, and 4) systematic supports that special education teachers demand to overcome the challenges. In conclusion, in the process of evaluating and diagnosing students with severe and multiple disabilities, special education teachers deal with various challenges such as ambiguity of legal requirements for diagnosis and selection, lack of awareness in teachers about the legal selection criteria for the students, and the absence of clear guidelines. Therefore, they strongly demand administrative and financial supports that are more practical.