Difficulties In Assisting Students With Special Educational Needs In Armenian Schools During History Lessons

Abstract

Inclusive education in Armenia has changed quite much over the years, which were stipulated by various historical, socio-political, and economic changes. The system of inclusive education is oriented toward mainstreaming students with special needs into the common educational process in schools with an equal attitude toward providing all of them with appropriate education. This study is aimed at analyzing the present situation, obstacles, and management peculiarities of inclusive education in Armenia during the History lesson from the viewpoint of the history teachers. Within this frame, the current study used qualitative research methodology as a content-based approach to combine thought, emotions, ideas, and attitudes. It was intended to understand the experiences of history teachers in working with students with special educational needs and go deep to have a richer understanding of the research question. The findings of the study revealed that Armenian inclusive schools are facing various challenges in appropriately supporting students with special educational needs in the History learning environment. These areas of difficulty involve inadequate teaching differentiation to cater to the different learning needs, failure to cope with various students' comprehension levels, and lack of one-on-one attention in a mainstream class. Inadequate resource provision, limited teacher training, and poor specialized support complicate the effective delivery of history education for such learners even further.