Educating Students with Special Needs Through Information Communication Technology (ICT)

The achievement of an inclusive education system is a major challenge that countries around the world are facing. Inclusive education is now firmly established internationally and nationally as the main policy, crucial for children with special educational needs. Students are able to accomplish a greater range of tasks independent of physical assistance from others, and are able to enter a greater number of academic fields with increasing success. Technologies are now allowing people with disabilities to participate in society more fully and exert greater control over their own future. These developments have made it possible for more people with disabilities to realise their educational and employment aspirations. One section of the populace that possibly could have benefited from the progress made in information technology is people with disabilities. Technological advances are reducing barriers, but for people with disabilities the impact is more profound. The ever-increasing ranges of assistive devices are all contributing to minimising and managing the effects of a “disabling condition”. Inclusion requires a shift away from “need” with a discourse of “expertise” towards “productive pedagogies” in which issues of social justice and fairness are tackled initially. Such pedagogical practices are, in turn, dependent on reflective professional development which results in sustainable “communities of knowledge” constantly engaging in systemic changes conducive to the needs of all pupils. This paper discusses the different strategies for educating the students with special needs with the help of ICT.