Evaluating the effectiveness of special education classes in the United Arab Emirates

هدفت الدراسة إلى التعرف على مدى فاعلية فصول التربية الخاصة في دولة الامارات العربية المتحدة من وجهة نظر المعلمين. واشتملت عينة الدراسة على(132) معلماً ومعلمة منهم (25) من الذكور و (107) من الإناث. وقد تم استخدام مقياس أعد من قبل الباحثين للتعرف على مدى فاعلية فصول التربية الخاصة، واستخرجت دلالات صدق وثبات للمقياس، حيث دلت المؤشرات على أن المقياس يتمتع بدرجة عالية من الثبات والصدق، وكان معامل الثبات (0.90)، واشتمل المقياس على (57) فقرة، مثلت خمسة أبعاد وهى: البيئة التعليمية، والتشخيص، والهيئة التدريسية، والتعاون، والبرامج.وقد أظهرت نتائج الدراسة أن فاعلية فصول التربية الخاصة بمدارس وزارة التربية والتعليم الإماراتية بلغت 66% ، وذلك حسب استجابة أفراد عينة الدراسة، كما أظهرت نتائج الدراسة عدم وجود اختلاف في وجهات نظر المعلمين في مدى فاعلية فصول التربية الخاصة يعزى لاختلاف الجنس وسنوات الخبرة، وكذلك أظهرت نتائج الدراسة وجود ارتباط دال إحصائياً عند مستوى أقل من (0.05) بين البعد الأول والثالث، والثاني والثالث، والثالث والرابع، وارتباط دال إحصائيا عند مستو ى أقل من (0.01) على الأبعاد الأول والخامس، والثاني و الخامس، والثالث والخامس.This study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of special education classrooms in the United Arab Emirates from the view point of teachers. The sample of the study consisted of 132 teachers (male = 25; female= 107). An instrument was designed by the researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of special education classes, which consisted of 57 items in five areas; environment; assessment; faculty members; collaboration, and programs. The results indicated that the effectiveness of special education classes was 66%. The results also showed no significant differences between male and female teachers on their view-points of the effectiveness of special education classes. Also, there was no significant difference between teachers based on their years of experience. However, there were significant differences between the first and the third area; the second and the third area; the third and the fourth area; the second and the fifth area and the third and fifth area

Evidence-based strategies to support children's emergent literacy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries

This study was designed to examine teachers’ reported use of evidence-based strategies to support children’s emergent literacy in Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The study participants comprised 644 kindergarten teachers from four countries, including Saudi Arabia (n = 154), Qatar (n = 105), United Arab Emirates (UAE) (n = 190), and Oman (n = 195). The researchers designed a 29-items questionnaire that addressed five dimensions, examining evidence-based strategies that support emergent literacy: phonological awareness, knowledge and understandings of books and other texts, print awareness, knowledge of letters and words, and early writing. The results showed that teachers reported higher use of strategies concerning knowledge of letters and words, followed by those concerning print awareness. In addition, they reported lower use of strategies concerning early writing. Moreover, teachers in the UAE reported higher use of strategies in support of emergent literacy followed by teachers in Qatar and Oman, whereas teachers in Saudi Arabia reported lower use of evidence-based strategies. Finally, statistically significant differences were found regarding teachers’ use of emergent literacy strategies due to teachers’ demographic background. Implications for future research are discussed, and they include highlighting evidence-based emergent literacy strategies in early years settings in the GCC countries as well as expanding the scope of the study to include samples from different contexts.Scopu

Social and Emotional Challenges Encounter Jordanian Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The current study aims to identify daily social and emotional challenges encountered by parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and its relation to some demographic variables. The study sample consists of 223 parents whose children having a diagnosis of ASD and receiving services at special education institutions in Amman, the capital city of Jordan. A validated scale was developed to measure social and emotional challenges. Findings revealed that while the most common social challenges were lacking social support, anger and aggression were the parents' dominant emotional challenges in this study. The association between the severity of ASD and the level of challenges was positive, whereas it was negative between household income and challenges. Parents of girls with ASD tended to experience a higher level of challenges.</jats:p

The Role of the Jordanian Media in Addressing the Issues of Persons with Disabilities from the Perspective of their Families

The purpose of the study is to explore the role of Jordanian media in dealing with persons with Disabilities and adopting their problems as perceived by their families. A random sampling totaling (656) parents of disabled participated in the study to achieve its goal. A scale to measure the role of media in dealing with Persons with Disabilities issues was developed consisting of (50) items with (6) domains within Likert scale, then calculated validity and reliability. The findings of the study showed that the means of the items ranged from average to high degrees. Further, there were no significant statistical differences attributed to gender on the role of Jordanian media in dealing with Persons with disabilities issues; there were significant statistical differences attributed to working parents; there were significant statistical differences between families of children with severe disability and families of children with mild and moderate disability in favor of the first. Moreover, there were significant statistical differences attributed to scientific qualification in favor of master’s degree and above. Based on the findings, the researchers called upon media representatives to use the services of experts and specialized people in preparing programs that aim to improve the stereotype image in the minds of the audience; directing media to spread the public awareness of the issues of Persons with.</jats:p

The Effectiveness of Counseling Programs in Enhancing Quality of Life for Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Jordan

This study examined the effectiveness of a developed counseling program in enhancing quality of life of families of children with autism spectrum disorder and its relationship with selected variables, and thirty parents of children with autism spectrum disorder were selected randomly. The Quality of Life Scale (QOLS) was developed by the researchers and used before and after applying the counseling program. The findings showed statistical differences in the post-measurement in favor of the experimental group, demonstrating the program's effectiveness. In addition, there were no statistical differences found in the level of quality of life related to the severity of the autism disorder and social and economic status. The study concluded that having a disabled child in the family, regardless of social and economic level, imposes the family to consider their child’s situation and develop their abilities to the fullest extent through having the required information of the child’s situation and searching for educational alternatives to suit their abilities.</jats:p