New online course launches for teachers to better include students with disabilities

25 Sep 2012

A new online course is set to launch today for teachers and professionals in further and higher education to help them update their skills to better include students with disabilities.

The Association for Higher Education Access and Disability (AHEAD) has designed the course in collaboration with the Institute of Child Education and Psychology Europe.

Ciaran Cannon, TD, Ireland’s Minister for Training and Skills at the Department of Education and Skills, will be launching the AHEADSTART course today at the Helix at Dublin City University.

The online course will comprise five modules, covering areas such as how to carry out a needs assessment to identify the most appropriate supports for a student with a disability.

Prof Michael Shevlin from the School of Education at Trinity College Dublin said the course would benefit teachers in gaining an understanding of the needs of students with disabilities.

According to statistics from the Higher Education Authority, the numbers of students with disabilities entering further and higher education are increasing by around 17pc every year.  

Education image via Shutterstock

Carmel Doyle was a long-time reporter with Silicon Republic

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