Students with Intellectual Disability in Special Needs School: A Qualitative Study

Although individuals with intellectual disabilities have limited intellectual functions and adaptations, teachers are expected to understand the uniqueness of students so that teachers are able to educate and teach students by developing ideas and innovations that they have. This qualitative descriptive study aims to describe the situation of students with intellectual disabilities in a special needs school. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 8 participants selected by a purposive sample method, who consisted of 3 teachers, 3 parents, and 2 students with intellectual disabilities. The data collected in this study was analyzed using thematic analysis. Therefore, there are 3 (three) themes resulted from the description of the situation of students with intellectual disabilities in the special needs school: 1) the barriers of children with intellectual disabilities; 2) the expectation for students; and 3) teaching methods in class. Thus, it is expected that teachers can understand the characteristics of each student with intellectual disabilities so that they can use right approaches in providing teaching to facilitate student understanding.