Abstract
Inclusive education in the Philippines has opened doors and opportunities for learners with special needs by integrating them into mainstream classrooms. This prospect for the SPED learners although promising has many challenges and opportunities, especially in subject like English. This qualitative multiple case study analyzed the journey of the Grade 10 SPED learners in the English mainstream classroom in one of the public high schools in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, Philippines. The purpose of this study is to explore and understand the SPED learners’ academic journey and their support system in the English mainstream classroom. The experiences of the two cases – specifically SPED learners with autism and intellectual disability - were examined using in-depth interviews. It was analyzed using thematic analysis resulting to six emerging themes on their English mainstream classroom experiences: initial emotional response, positive classroom experiences, challenges faced, coping strategies, teacher support in learning, and parental involvement. It revealed that SPED learners in the English mainstream classroom experience a combination of emotional responses, positive classroom interactions, academic difficulties, and different levels of support from teachers and parents. The two emergent themes for how the experiences of the SPED learners in the English mainstream classroom help shape their lives are comprised of: unique learning approaches, strengths and areas needing extra help. It shows that the experiences of the SPED learners in the English mainstream classroom help shape their lives as they are described as unique, adaptive, and resilient individuals. The two cases were similar in terms of the SPED learners’ experiences in the mainstream English classroom. As to how their experiences in the English mainstream classroom help shape their lives, both cases are similar in their unique learning approaches but different in strengths and areas needing help because SPED learners with Intellectual Disability explicitly recognize their weakness such as struggles with writing, communication, and English-speaking skills while learners with Autism focused mostly on their strengths and did not mention or failed to recognize areas that they need help.
