OriënterenInternational studentsMinor Special Educational Needs

Special Educational Needs

Develop a personal vision on special educational needs!

In this video one of our international students tells about her experiences with the minor Special Educational Needs.

The aims for the international program Special Educational Needs are focussed on special educational needs and the conditions and circumstances associated with such needs in an international context.

Students can apply for the course if they can show a stipulated level of English and if they master the basic principles of doing research. The language of the course will be English.

Different aspects of the field of special educational needs will be offered. The following aspects are part of the program:
Students develop a personal vision on education for children with specific needs.
Knowledge about different learning- and behavioural difficulties (f.e. literacy, numeracy, oral language & communication, behavioural and psychiatric problems, for example ADHD and autism)
Systematic educational strategies to implement conditions and circumstances associated with such specific needs.
Doing research into a current dilemma within the field of special educational needs. Dilemma’s can come from political or the current developments. Central main point is the statement of Salamanca, a European declaration concerning the rights of children from 1994. All participants of the program conduct a common investigation.

Assessment and exams

Vision: an evaluation on the argumentation of the vision of an individual student
Action research: the assessment of an individual research, in which a student examines literature and translates these theoretical results into practice.
Group research: a group of four students is critically assessed on a didactical, as well as content based assignment.
Transfer: the way a student is able to transfer the thing he has learned, to his situation home.

Semester Program minor Special Educational Needs

When?

Autumn/winter semester; you will have to study at the Marnix Academie in Utrecht during the autumn/winter semester until the Christmas Holiday. In January you will have to possibility to attend consulting meetings with the lecturer online.

Deadline to apply for the programme: 1 May

Who?

This exchange programme is open to you if you meet the following requirements:

You are in your second or higher year of a teacher training college.
Your English language skills are at CEFR-level B2 or higher.

SEN Research / educational design (15 EC)

This program focusses on special educational needs in inclusive education at primary schools. The students learn all about related aspects of this topic and perform a research and
educational design in the Dutch primary education system. Objectives are:
– At the end of this course students can describe, explain, compare and analyse different visions on special and inclusive education. Plus: students can formulate and substantiate their vision on special and inclusive education.
– At the end of this course students will be able to reflect on SEN specific competences and will be able to identify and reach a personal learning objective by doing action research.

The following subjects are part of the SEN-program in the Netherlands:

Visions on special and inclusive education
Special Needs Education (in the Netherlands)
Policies and support structures with regard to special and inclusive education.
Evidence-based teaching strategies in special and inclusive education (for example: peer tutoring and social skills training)
Strategies and methods for children with special educational needs (for example reading difficulties, math problems, behavioural and psychiatric problems such as ADHD and autism )
Action Research (competence based) in the field of special educational needs in education.

We encourage students to do research from different points of view (society, school, teacher, pupil, learning environment and class management) and to strengthen their competences on creating education which is more suited to children with SEN.

Classes and/or coaching sessions are two times a week, with a total of 5 hours a week. In some of the classes they will meet and work alongside Dutch students studying the same course (SEN). Besides classes students have time to work by themselves or in small groups on their assignments.

Students make a digital assessment-file covering all parts of the SEN minor assignment.

Internship (6 EC)

The students will go to a Dutch primary school for their internship. They will go there al least one day a week depending on the possibilities in the school. The students are able to see the Dutch education system in practice and teach children about the English language, arts and crafts, sports, music and drama. For these five subjects international students will attend additional classes at the Marnix Academie. This way students will get ideas and develop skills to include these subjects into their internship practice.

The educational design is closely related to the internship and the students perform their educational design in the internship school.

Students make a report on their internship and have an assessment conversation with the teacher and the coordinator of teacher training in the school of internship.

Dutch Language and culture (6 EC)

The students are encouraged to investigate aspects of Dutch culture and share information with fellow students. Discussion about these aspects is an important part of the Dutch Culture classes. Students are stimulated to visit places of interest in the Netherlands. During the course, we visit for instance the Rietveld-Schröder House and
the governmental city of The Hague. Also, students are challenged to discover Utrecht and its surroundings in their free time. The students will take Dutch lessons. In this small course (14 education weeks, one hour a week) students will learn to introduce themselves in Dutch and understand and participate in a small conversation in internship.
Reading aloud a children’s book is trained in class and performed in the school of internship. Part of the language course is self-study with DuoLingo. (Students may propose alternative apps, please contact the teacher about this.)
Students make a digital assessment-file of several parts of the Dutch Language and Culture assignment.

Study Coaching (3 EC)

In the coaching sessions we will discuss the progress of minor activities and internship. The expectations of studying in the Netherlands and the wellbeing of the students is often a conversation topic. Together we reflect on
experiences in internship. Students make a digital assessment-file of several parts of the Study coaching assignment.