Academic and Functional Curricula for Students with Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities: Teachers’ Perceptions

Abstract

Students with intellectual and multiple disabilities face the question of whether they are taught using an academic or a functional curriculum. Previous writings on this issue have emphasized that the choice of curriculum has critical consequences for how these students will acquire the foundation for living and engaging successfully in community life. This study examined the extent to which academic and functional curricula were currently provided for students with these disabilities in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It provided novel data on this question by examining the extent to which specific needs of these students were being met by both types of curriculum. The researcher conducted the quantitative design model, and the total sample of the study included 209 special education teachers. Where the meeting of these needs was concerned, it was found that provision of an academic curriculum in Riyadh schools ranged from weak to average levels, while provision of a functional curriculum ranged from average to high levels. Limitations and implications were presented..