Abstract
Dilemmas and struggles to implement inclusive education for students with special needs in Indonesia continues to exist due to teachers’ lack of knowledge and the unavailable trainings related to inclusive education. The purpose of this project was to develop a meaningful professional development on inclusive education. Perspectives on the necessary training topics and the preferred method for delivering professional development on inclusive education were collected using an online needs-assessment survey. Seventy-two participants consisting of teachers and school administrators from three school sites in Tangerang region from the Banten province of Indonesia completed the survey. Findings from the survey revealed the following seven categories of training topics that participants indicated teachers need to support their work in an inclusive educational setting: (1) managing the behaviors of students with special needs; (2) understanding different categories of students with disabilities, characteristics, and ways of helping them in the general education classroom; (3) inclusive education and its implementation; (4) teaching strategies in inclusive classrooms and Universal Design Learning (UDL); (5) collaboration with other teachers and peers to support inclusion; (6) autism spectrum disorder; and (7) communicating with students who have special needs. These findings led to the creation of the three modules on inclusive education professional development (IEPD). Module 1 focuses on the overview and historical context for disabilities, laws and regulations that promotes inclusive education for students with disabilities in Indonesia, and a school-wide effort to implement inclusion. Module 2 provides comprehensive information on different types of special needs, descriptions of high- and low-incidence disabilities with common characteristics and challenges, and ways of adapting instruction. Module 3 covers various types of adaptations and curriculum modification in inclusive classrooms, collaboration in classroom environment as well as managing challenging behaviors. Recommendations for expanding other professional development topics are addressed to continue improving the implementation of inclusive education by more teachers in Indonesia.