The Competence of Early Childhood Education Service Teachers in Providing Education Services to Children with Special Needs

Abstract

The competence of teachers in handling children with special needs, for instance, identifying, assessing and compiling programs will also determine the accuracy in providing services for children with special needs, especially in early children education units. However, the limited knowledge and understanding of early teachers on children with special needs has an impact on some teachers still equating teaching methods to all students because teachers do not understand the right methods in dealing with children with special needs. The purpose of this study is to describe the objective conditions of the competence of Early Children Education teachers in providing educational services to children with special needs. The research method applied in this research is descriptive with a qualitative data approach. The study population was 15 early childhood education (PAUD) teachers and the research sample was five PAUD teachers who had the criteria for teaching children with special needs in Cikalong district, Tasikmalaya regency. The results show that the competence of Early Children Education teachers in providing educational services to Children with Special Needs in Kindergarten, Cikalong sub-district is still low and there is a need for continuous improvement in competence according to the characteristics of children. The competency measured in the teacher, namely understand the characteristics and learning needs of children with special needs, developing a curriculum, participating in activities to improve competence.

Early Childhood Special Education: A Hope for Lost Oysters

“…Teachers face many challenges in developing literacy skills in the early years of the life of children with special needs (Kurniastuti, 2023). Special needs students' success is also attached to the competence of early childhood education teachers (Nurhayatun, 2021). Capacity building and in-service training of teachers to efficiently run ECE programs for children with special needs (Ncube & Sedibe, 2022).…”