Exploring Special Needs Fieldwork for BECHE & MASE Students

By Dr Aliza Ali, Dean, Faculty of Education

On 9 July, three other staff and I visited Ryan’s Special Needs Care Centre in Putrajaya. We wanted to learn more about the Centre’s special needs certification courses and explore fieldwork options for our students and potential collaboration opportunities.

The centre provides physical, speech, vision and occupational therapy for children with different types of special needs. It also equips special needs teenagers with living skills so that they can be more independent.

The Centre’s CEO Mr Danny @ Sophian Rosly, his partner Puan Irniza Mohd Lokman, and their staff welcomed our team, which included Dr Loo Fung Lan (Programme Director of Bachelor of Early Childhood Education/BECHE), Dr Rohaizat Ibrahim (Programme Director of the new Master of Special Education/MASE), and Ms Gowri M. Ramanathan (Manager, Centre of Excellence for Lifelong Learning).

Our visit began with an overview of the centre’s facilities and programmes. Mr Danny and his team provided in-depth insights into their specialised care and educational approaches. At present, they have 72 children with ages ranging from 4 to 20, coming in 5 days a week for reading, writing, gross and fine motor, sensory and physical skills education.

We were particularly impressed by the centre’s commitment to individualised learning plans and the use of a wide range of therapies such as arts, dance, yoga, swimming, equine, as well as recreation and other outdoor therapy.

The visit sparked our excitement about the potential for university-industry collaboration, especially since we are planning to embed fieldwork exposure in the BECHE special needs specialisation and MASE curriculum.

Collaborating with Ryan’s Special Needs Care Centre could provide our BECHE and MASE students with hands-on training to work in special needs settings. Experiencing the day-to-day realities of working with the children could prepare them for jobs in such settings.

Ms Gowri shared that we could even create short certification programmes that are not only academically rigorous but also practically relevant.

Meanwhile, Mr Danny and Puan Irniza saw this proposed collaboration as a step forward in enhancing the quality of special needs education they provide.

We ended the visit with a discussion on the next steps, including curriculum integration, student placements, and professional development certification.

We left feeling inspired by the possibilities this collaboration could bring, envisioning a future where our BECHE and MASE students gain invaluable hands-on experience and contribute to advancing special needs education in the country.