Vice Dean of the Faculty of Educational Foundation at the University of Cape Coast, Professor Emmanuel Kofi Gyimah has called on Special Education Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) to collaborate with internal and external agencies in the discharge of their duties.
According to him, it is when the Special Education Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) collaborate with students, school psychologists, the Department of Social Welfare, the Ministry of Education among others that they will be able to effectively meet the needs of those entrusted into their care.
Speaking at a day’s training workshop for 22 Special Education Needs Coordinators in the Southern Ghana organized by the Resource Centre for Alternate Media and Assistive Technology (R-CAMAT) and the Faculty of Educational Foundation here in the University of Cape Coast (UCC) in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service, he said the diverse nature of today’s classroom does not give room for teachers to meet the needs of all the children.
“It calls for working together with other people…. It has to do with acknowledging the contribution that other people bring on board”, he indicated.
Dr. Irene Vanderpuye, coordinator of R-CAMAT, stressed the need for Special Education Needs Coordinators to work closely with the parents of children with special needs.
She said the role of the parent is critical adding that “without them it becomes difficult to actually engage the children and help them in any way.”
Dr. Vanderpuye said it is critical that the SENCO knows how to collaborate with parents.
She therefore urged SENCO to show trustworthiness and professional dedication to their work to unearth the right potentials of the children.
The workshop, under the theme, “Collaboration in the implementation of inclusive education: The role of the Special Education Needs Coordinator” tackled topics such as collaboration with internal and external agencies, collaboration with parents as well as professional ethics of the Special Education Needs Coordinators (SENCOs).
Source: Rosemond Asmah and Benedicta Arthur/ ATLFMNEWS
