Legal Knowledge and Awareness of The School Teachers on The Educational Rights of Children with Special Needs in Malaysia

Abstract

Section 28 of Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 provides children with disabilities shall not be excluded from pre-school, primary and secondary schools on basis of their disabilities and should be treated equally with children without disabilities. Since they are disabled children, they need special treatment, special tools and facilities to accommodate their education and therefore they have been categorized as children with special needs. Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development are responsible for the education for these children. To provide education for children with special needs efficiently, the teachers must have legal knowledge and awareness of these children educational rights. Therefore, this research has been conducted to study the level of legal knowledge and awareness of the school teachers on the educational rights of children with special needs in Malaysia. This research adopts a mixed-method approach which involves the collection, analysis, and integration of qualitative and quantitative data. Questionnaires have been distributed to the teachers of the Integrated Special Education Program to examine their legal knowledge and awareness on the educational rights of children with special needs. Respondents have been selected randomly from several primary and secondary government schools in Selangor. The analysis of variables is categorized into demographic characteristics of the teachers and their knowledge and awareness on the rights of children with special needs on therapy, facilities, and special module. Result of this study reveals that the teachers have a moderate knowledge of the educational rights of children with special needs, but they are very aware of these children educational rights.