Readiness of Faith-Based Community towards Adopting Special Education Program

In the increasing number of students with special needs, it was reported that lessthan 3% of Adventist schools have direct provision of special services and only 6%of Adventist schools reported access to Adventist Special Education Services in theUnited States. In the Philippines, there is no concrete special education program inall Adventist schools. This study focused on the exploration of the readinesstowards adopting special education program that dug into the subject ofadministration, facilities, teaching, funding, the challenges and solutions that mightbe faced in Faith-Based Community (FBC). The researchers employed multimethod and purposive sampling. The respondents were the administrators, teachers,and finance personnel of Faith-Based Community and the participants were chosenbased on the criteria set by the researchers. For the quantitative, the data weregathered through survey questionnaires and checklist which revealed that FBC isnot ready in terms of facilities and personnel who are equipped in handling theprogram. Thematic analysis was utilized in collecting qualitative data through indepth interview. The researchers found out that the challenges towards adoptingspecial education program that the participants mentioned are: lack of qualifiedteachers, community awareness, scarcity of training, classroom management,administrative support, lack of facilities and curriculum. While, the solutions thatpopped out to address these challenges are Individualized Education Program,comprehensive seminars or trainings, provision of facilities, fund allocation,supportive administrators and spirit-filled personnel. Based on the findings, thecommunity is ready to adopt the program but the knowledge about the program islimited. Moreover, the researchers recommend that the community needs moreinvolvement in seminars and trainings related to special education.