Recent special education is getting important in the middle of its changing from separate special education to integrated special education. The students at special education is likely to have narrow job choice because they have some disabilities. The...
Recent special education is getting important in the middle of its changing from separate special education to integrated special education. The students at special education is likely to have narrow job choice because they have some disabilities. They also need more time to prepare for their future. This is why they need transition education (academic and career counseling) significantly. But in the middle of the social demand for special education, the physical condition of special classroom is insufficient and more than 80% special education teachers express their dissatisfaction about the special education physical situation.
This study is designed to find types and problems of spacial layout of special education classroom. This study finds facilities and teaching equipments for transition education with characteristics of schools' level and figures out demanded spaces. And the findings will be synthesized and analyzed with lists special education teachers demand on each sector for transition education. The following is the results.
Elementary transition education needs various activities such as self management, counting, cooking, cleaning, computer operating, job searching as basic, life skills and job recognition. E type classroom which has fractionated activity spaces for various activities and dynamic activity space is preferred for elementary education. But this type is likely to face difficulties for transition education because it has insufficient working space as well as dynamic activity space. Therefore, it is required to install systematic facilities and teaching tools and space layout considering the practical order, home life > social life > leisure life > job life, and the order from domain analysis, learning space > dynamic activity space > working panel, computer set > cooking, sporting goods, static activity space, storage space, washstand > laundry, planting, heating, washroom.
Middle school needs effective working space and social adaptation training such as mobility, comsumer activities and experience activities as a stage of functional life centered and job searching. All facilities and teaching tools turned to be under the standard requirements except good learning space. To avoid the difficulties most transition education will face, all facilities and teaching tools should be installed in accordance with the practical order, social life > home life > job life > leisure life, and the order of domain analysis, learning space > dynamic activity space > computer set, working panel > static activity space > laundry, office equipments > sport goods, storage space > dressing room.
Transition education for high school increases 3 times in the number of essential elements of job life while decreasing in personal life compared with middle school because high school curriculum requires job preparation from job searching to job training and carrier counseling. The results of synthetic analysis shows the condition of computer set is normal and working panel and dynamic activity space is less than normal. The transition education for future preparation and job placement as a last stage of transition education (high school) is likely to face difficulties. So, systematic facilities, teaching tools and spaces should be installed according to practical order, job life > social life > leisure life > personal life, and the order from comprehensive analysis, learning space > working space > dynamic activity space > computer set > static activity space > laundry.
Transition education for special class should be systematic. The conditions for successful transition education are individualized transition planning (ITP) in stages from elementary school level and learning and activity spaces with proper facilities and teaching tools.