Implementation and Evaluation of Effects of an On-the-Job Training Program Based on Teacher Collaboration at a Special Needs Education School for Children With Physical Disabilities: Designing Individual Teaching Plans for Jiritsu Katsudo

• Published in: The Japanese Journal of Special Education Vol. 59; no. 3; pp. 179 - 190
• Main Authors: UTSUMI, Yukari, ANDO, Takao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Association of Special Education 30.11.2021
• Subjects: individual teaching plans; Jiritsu Katsudo; on-the-job training; teacher collaboration; teachers at a special needs education school for children with physical disabilities
• ISSN: 0387-3374; 2186-5132
• DOI: 10.6033/tokkyou.59.179

The present study implemented an on-the-job training program for teachers at a special needs education school for children with physical disabilities that was based on teacher collaboration. The purpose of the program was for the teachers to learn how to design individual teaching plans for Jiritsu Katsudo, a specialized field in the national curriculum of special needs schools in Japan. Effects of the program were examined. The participants were 8 teachers with 2 to 3 years of experience, and 6 teachers with 13 to 35 years of experience. The training program was conducted several times in the form of practical training for groups of homeroom teachers. Its effects were examined with questionnaires completed by the participating teachers and interviews with them. Analysis of these data revealed that (a) it was possible for the teachers to learn how to design individual teaching plans and, in turn, understand each child's actual condition by participating in this on-the-job training, (b) it was possible to deepen the teachers' understanding of target children by having them visualize and organize information based on the procedure provided, and (c) it was possible for the teachers to understand a child's circumstances from various perspectives. In the future, the time burden for participants should be reduced (the participants pointed this out as an issue), and various processes should be discussed, such as implementing the program in classes and continuing to evaluation and improvement.