Supporting Primary School Students with Special Educational Needs

On 16 September 2020, the Office of Education Research (OER), in conjunction with the Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST), organised the OER-AST Research Webinar on “Supporting Primary School Students with Special Educational Needs (SEN)”. Due to prevailing social distancing measures, the seminar was hosted on Zoom and was attended by over 250 educators, educational psychologists, and allied educators (learning and behavioural support).

The webinar began with a keynote by Assoc Prof Kenneth Poon, OER Associate Dean (Education Research) and Co-Centre Director at Centre for Research in Child Development, and Associate Professor in the Psychology and Child & Human Development Academic Group (PCHD AG). Assoc Prof Poon addressed the subject of “Classroom support for students with special educational needs: What do we know and what else can be done?” He shared about the Tran-SEN project, which aims to yield insights into the profile and needs of children with SEN accessing both primary and special education in Singapore, and ideas on a framework to support children with SEN and their families.

After Assoc Prof Poon’s keynote, the webinar split into three concurrent breakout sessions.

- In Breakout Room One, Ms Sarinajit Kaur, Master Teacher in Special Educational Needs at AST, held a session titled “Show Me How: Helping students with special educational needs access learning”

- In Breakout Room Two, Assoc Prof Mariam Aljunied, Principal Educational Psychologist in the Special Educational Needs Division, Ministry of Education, spoke on “More than meets the eye: Bridging research with practice to meet the holistic needs of children with Dyslexia”; and;

- In Breakout Room Three, Asst Prof Nah Yong Hwee (Fei), Assistant Professor in the PCHD AG and Research Scientist at OER, discussed “Behavioural assessment of students with special educational needs”.

Participants then returned to the main Zoom session for the second keynote by Dr Sylvia Choo, Department of Child Development at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, on “Classroom support for students with special educational needs: Understanding the different profiles of learners”. Dr Choo explored the different types of SEN and learner profiles from a paediatric perspective and the identification and intervention journey a child may take before arriving at primary school.

The webinar concluded with an engaging panel discussion on the implications and applications for teaching practice, moderated by Assoc Prof Poon. Our speakers addressed many questions from the audience, including “How can we better engage students with negative mind sets?” and “How can schools support parents through their child’s diagnosis?”

Due to the overwhelming participation, the working committee is planning for a similar session targeted at secondary school students next year. 


Speakers: Dr Sylvia Choo (top left), Ms Sarinajit Kaur (top middle), Assoc Prof Kenneth Poon (top right), Asst Prof Nah Yong Hwee (Fei) (bottom left), and Assoc Prof Mariam Aljunied (bottom right)