fbpx

Professional Diploma in Special and Inclusive Education

Introduction

The three-level programme embodies an in-depth and research-based approach to the field of Special and Inclusive Education. This programme is grounded in the latest research, evidence-based practices, and supported by case studies to help students understand theories and practice. The experts in this programme bring extensive knowledge and practical skills to guide and support students, enhancing awareness and deep learning in each module.

 Course Objectives:

Students will develop critical skills while exploring historical and contemporary issues related to Special and Inclusive Education policies, teaching methodologies, and accessibility designs to address learning disabilities and disorders. This level will serve as a pivotal milestone for students to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to address daily life issues related to special and inclusive  education.

ERCI runs its classes on a lecture-tutorial system. The average teacher-student ratio for lectures and tutorials are as follows:

  • Lectures – 150 Students to 1 Lecturer
  • Tutorials – 35 Students to 1 Tutor

 

COURSE DELIVERY

 

Course Delivery

Students undertaking the Professional Diploma in Special and Inclusive Education programme will be expected to complete 12 modules of academic study. This programme is available on both full and part time basis and will take 36 months and 40 months respectively to complete. Full-time students will attend classes 5 days a week on weekdays for 3 hours each day, while part-time students will attend classes 3 days a week on weekdays and/or on weekends for 3 hours each day.

 

Course structure

Course Modules

Year 1

Module 1: Child Development (120 hours)
Module 2: From Special Education to Inclusive Education (120 hours)
Module 3: Universal Design (120 hours)
Module 4: Human Cognitive Abilities (120 hours)
Year 2
Module 5: Screening for Referral (120 hours)
Module 6: Difficulties, Disabilities, and Disorders (120 hours)
Module 7: Collaborative Consultation in Special and Inclusive Education (120 hours)
Module 8: Treatment in Special and Inclusive Education (120 hours)
Year 3
Module 9: Assistive Technology in Special and Inclusive Education (120 hours)
Module 10: The Business of Special and Inclusive Education (120 hours)
Module 11: Current Trends and Issues in Special and Inclusive Education (120 hours)
Module 12: Graduate Research in Special Needs and Inclusive Education (120 hours)

 

Module Descriptions
 Module 1: Child Development

To understand that there is universality of innate changes but also environmental influences that can change the trajectory of development accounts for variances and outcomes unique to each child. This unit will focus on the work of the following developmental theorists: Piaget (cognitive development theory), Kohlberg (moral development theory), Erikson (psychosocial development theory), and Vygotsky (sociocultural theory).

 Module 2: From Special Education to Inclusive Education

To understand that Inclusive education (IE) means educating learners with special educational needs (SEN) in regular education settings. It is more than just placement. It includes implementation of an entire suite of provisions (i.e., adapted curriculum, adapted teaching methods, modified assessment techniques and accessibility arrangements). In recent years, the very concept of IE has been broadened to encompass all children; as expressed by UNESCO (2009), IE is “a process that involves the transformation of schools and other centres of learning to cater for all children – including boys and girls, students from ethnic and linguistic minorities, rural populations, those affected by HIV and AIDS, and those with disabilities and difficulties in learning” (p.4).

 Module 3: Universal Design

To understand that Universal design (UD) is the design of environments, processes, products, and services so that they can be accessed, understood, and used to the greatest extent possible by all people, regardless of age, disability, or other factors (Centre for Universal Design, 2014). In inclusive and special education (ISE), UD is focused on removing barriers to learning and participation in order to facilitate inclusion and to optimise learning. UD and inclusion are inherently contingent on accessibility. This includes access to assistive technologies, content, curriculum delivery, digital platforms, physical spaces, etc.  Identifying and removing as many barriers as possible creates a more equitable learning opportunity that fosters an inclusive experience.

 Module 4: Human Cognitive Abilities

To understand that intelligence is a complex construct with varied definitions and theoretical understandings. Still debated on what defines intelligence within the circles of psychology, theories evolved from proposing intelligence as a single construct to a collective of cognitive skills and abilities within a hierarchy of complexity. While cognitive abilities are the common skill markers of all individuals, the multitude of variances that can be presented for each and every ability is what makes intelligence and intellectual functioning unique to each individual. The ability to measure intelligence (i.e., IQ = intelligence quotient) is controversial. Some psychologists contest that it is not quantifiable or that “there is no such thing as a single measure for IQ or a measure of general intelligence” (Owen, 2012). Others argue that not only can intelligence be measured but it is important to do so as “it is the single most effective predictor known of individual performance at school and on the job, as well as aspects of well-being” (UK Essays, 2018). Understanding the biological and environmental determinants of intelligence contribute to the variances observed in all learners.

 Module 5: Screening for Referral

To understand that the pivotal roles of observation and documentation and the strategic importance they play during daily routines at school and how they support intentional teaching.  Such practice can also support educators to identify if a screening assessment is warranted for a learner who may exhibit difficulties in any of a variety of ways, including achievement in any curricular subjects, social interactions with educators and/or peers, ability to attend and concentrate effective communication, and/or behaviour or emotional regulation. This practice is most often applied to early education, however, any educator, at an level, may implement these measures as good practice for intentional teaching.

 Module 6: Difficulties, Disabilities, and Disorders

To understand that It is common practice to refer to school-related challenges, be they with the curriculum, social interaction, attentional, behavioural, or physical, as disabilities in general. Typically, a label is assigned, and a list of symptoms associated with the diagnosis provides the foundation to work to support a learner with such a diagnosis and symptoms. However, this is no longer an efficient way of identifying and treating disabilities/disorders (Chia & Camulli, 2017). A structured nosographical framework that categorises learning or behaviour disruptions based on a triad of symptoms and co-morbidities (if present) provides a more accurate identification of learning or behaviour disruptions. In this way, intervention planning can identify and treat the disabilities/disorders from a strategically informed manner.

 Module 7: Collaborative Consultation in Special and Inclusive Education

To understand that collaborative consultation can be summed up by the Whakatauki Maori proverb Ehara taku tao i te tao takitahi, Engari he toa takitini (“Success is not the work of an individual, but the work of many”). In inclusive education (IE), collaborative consultation is an interactive process, or service-delivery model, that enables multiple stakeholders with diverse expertise to contribute pragmatic, even innovative, solutions to defined learner needs. The interests of the learner are at the centre of the collaborative consultative process. The outcome is, therefore, enhanced and results in solutions that are different from those that the respective experts would not produce independently (Idol, Paolucci-Whitcomb & Nevin, 2010).

 Module 8: Treatment in Special and Inclusive Education

To understand that learners with disabilities and special needs can also include those with temporary or situational challenges that may require different forms of treatment. Injury, illness, crisis, or trauma can create situations that require treatment that often take the form of rehabilitation. Lifelong and severe disabilities are often ‘managed’, which refers to strategies to support a learner without the expectation that the learner will overcome their difficulty. Intervention, most commonly used in inclusive and special education, is a treatment model that aims to identify and intervene as early as possible with the goal of preventing worsening of the condition/symptoms and of improving skills and abilities to expected levels. Where, when, what kind, and with whom treatments occur is dependent on the needs of the learner and the resources available.

 Module 9: Assistive Technology in Special and Inclusive Education 

To understand that as part of the right to education, appropriate supports must be provided to learners with disabilities to maximise academic and social development (UN CRPD, 2016). This includes assistive technology (AT). It is just one way of eliminating barriers that prevent full participation for learners with disabilities in the classroom. There are many benefits to the use of AT with learners with disabilities or special needs, including: 1) inclusion, 2) accessibility to school and curriculum, 3) autonomy and independence, 4) improved teaching-learning process, 5) social skills, 6) participation, and; 7) motivation (Fernandex-Batanero, Montenegro-Rueda, Fernandez-Cerero, and Garcia-Martinez, 2022).

 Module 10: The Business of Special and Inclusive Education

To understand that the consequences of reading failure cannot be overstated. The inability to attain reading proficiency negatively impacts not only reading development but also other cognitive abilities (i.e., declarative knowledge, ability to synthesise and infer, and vocabulary development) as well as a multitude of personal benefits including mental and emotional well-being, empathy, stress reduction, etc. The ‘Matthew Effects’ of reading widens the gap between good and poor readers (Stanovich, 1986). Drop-out and gainful employment rates are significantly and negatively affected for learners who have not mastered reading by third grade (Education Consumer’s Foundation, 2014), the point at which they no longer are learning to read but are reading to learn. In non-alphabetic written languages, such as Chinese, dyslexia/reading disorders are understood to rely more on visual and verbal memory due to its ideographical orthography (Camulli, 2015) but have other similar short and long-term negative impacts to poor readers of alphabetic languages. Blindness/low vision and deafness/impaired hearing are linked to low reading levels and also manifest negative outcomes. There are many different factors that can put a learner at risk for reading difficulties, some of which are preventable, others that can be addressed with early intervention to mitigate the extent of difficulties. These topics will be discussed extensively during this unit.

 Module 11: Current Trends and Issues in Special and Inclusive Education

 

To understand that the COVID-19 global pandemic created more than a health crisis; multiple industries have been permanently impacted, some for the better, others with outcomes yet to be understood. The delivery of education was blindsided by the unprecedented and rapid decisions to move to online learning. The scramble of Ministries of education, administrators, educators, parents and learners meant figuring things out as the days passed. As mainstream education in developed countries began to establish an online routine, learners with disabilities or special needs globally were excluded like never before. School closures exacerbated the pre-existing inequities in learning outcomes for learners with disabilities (World Bank Group, 2020). Cessation of learning support services, therapies, access to assistive technologies, educators unable to cope with adapting and making online lessons accessible were but a handful of the overwhelming challenges experienced. Learning loss has been documented globally, with the greatest losses experienced by the marginalised groups (e.g., learners with disabilities, girls, living in poverty, refugees, etc.).  Although in-class instruction has resumed, long-term ramifications for all learners is not yet understood. This module attempts to highlight some of the complications, discuss solutions, and review lessons learnt.

 

Module 12: Graduate Research in Special Needs and Inclusive Education

 

To understand that One of the multiple roles of an educator, whether in mainstream, inclusive or special education, is to function simultaneously as both practitioner and researcher. The dynamics of teaching and meeting the needs of all learners is such that educators need to employ data-based or theory-based research using evidence-based strategies in order for findings to be informing and relevant to practice. However, there are sharply diverging viewpoints about the worth of educational research. While the popularity of teacher-conducted educational research has exploded in more recent years, in certain contexts, this type of research is discounted because it is judged not rigorous or because it does not generalize across contexts. A theoretical framework must support the research process, while careful data collection, management and analysis protect the accuracy and integrity of the process and give evidence of the findings.

 

 

 

COURSE AVAILABILITY
 Course Availability

Intakes for the Professional Diploma in Special and Inclusive Education programme are available 4 times a year. All applications should be submitted to ERCI no later than 1 month before the commencement date.

 Assessment Framework

The course is assessed by coursework. Unless otherwise stated, all modules within the Professional Diploma in Special and Inclusive Education programme are assessed based on individual assignment(s).

 Entry Requirements
 Academic:
  • Minimum 2 GCE ‘A’ Level Credits (Grade D and above)
  • Equivalent of Year 12 from the respective home country of the applicants
  • Mature Candidate: Minimum 30 years old with 8 years of working experience – in lieu of their academic qualification.
 Language:
  • Minimum C6 in English Language at GCE ‘O’ Level; or
  • IELTS 5.5 (Reading and Writing must be at least 5.5); or
  • Score between 70 – 85 in ERCI English Proficiency Test
 Remarks
  • Applicants should be at least 18 years of age (based on birth year) at the time of registration.
  • All applications are subject to the Institute’s assessment of eligibility for entry into the programme.
 Graduation Requirements

Students must pass all prescribed modules in the Professional Diploma in Special and Inclusive Education programme with a minimum grade of P (Pass).

 Course Fees

For a full listing of course fees and other charges, please select one of the following:

– Fees Payable for Local Applicants
– Fees Payable for International Applicants

Programme Enquiry

By submitting your personal information above, you have given your consent for a ERC Institute representative to contact you on offers, promotions and information for ERC Institute programmes.

Ms. Yen Ong
CEO, ERC Institute

Yen has a proven track record in various key business development & marketing roles involving evolution and change management. Her pilot roles in various media organisations of Cable TV (Singapore Cable Vision), Regional TV (MTV), Internet Advertising (China.com) and Digital Music (Soundbuzz & Motorola) at their nascent stages is a testimonial of her experience and expertise of driving businesses whilst embracing new technology. Her acumen and passion are evidenced in multiple “first to market” products and projects she has been involved in cutting across from media to digital products. Always pushing the concept of creative solutionism while building strong relationships with customers has translated to dynamic growth for the various companies. Being an ardent believer in change management to stay on top of ever changing economies, her current role as Chief Executive Officer of ERC Institute sees interesting forays leveraged on her experience.

TRAINING ROOM Enquiry

We will keep in touch with you soon after submitting the below form. 

By submitting your personal information above, you have given your consent for a ERC Institute representative to contact you on offers, promotions and information for ERC Institute training room rental. 

Thank You! Please check your mailbox. We have sent you the brochure.