Roles and Responsibilities of General and Special Needs Educators Toward Supporting Transitions into Primary Inclusive Classrooms in Malaysia: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

This paper presents a conceptual framework to support the development of a guideline on the roles and responsibilities for general and special needs educators toward supporting inclusive transitions in Malaysian primary schools. Various studies have consistently reported that Malaysian general and special needs educators are assuming multifaceted roles and responsibilities in inclusive education without proper direction, counsel or instructions. Along with the statistical increase in the enrolment of students into inclusive classrooms (MoE, 2016a), literature has also shown major shifts to the role of the educators are also evident with the introduction of new instructional methods, curriculums, and assessments (Rouse, 2008). Despite the widespread support for inclusion at a philosophical level, minimal guidelines are currently available to support these novel roles and responsibilities in the inclusive transition process. Numerous studies in local literature have consistently demonstrated that the shifts in roles have caused educators to feel that they are not fully equipped to support inclusive transitions, are out of their depth, and are assuming new roles without proper regulations and guidelines for their roles (Sukumaran et al., 2014). Therefore, the central thesis of this conceptual paper is that clear roles and responsibilities are vital in supporting better transitions and educational outcomes; that a full understanding of expected roles and responsibilities will produce more effective implementation of inclusion. Based on Schlossberg’s Transition Theory, Danielson’s Framework, and several theories on roles, the concepts central to the framework are explained.