Maintaining and improving emotional connections of students with special needs during the covid-19 pandemic at the University of Ghana

Abstract

The COVID-19 has had and continues to have a far-reaching effect on students all across the globe. Students With Special Needs (SWSN) are bound to be worse hit on various fronts. This abrupt change has had a disproportionate effect on vulnerable groups, including SWSN since their emotional health is also affected because of the bond broken between them, their peers, and teachers physically which may have adverse effects on their learning outcome. This research seeks to assess how emotional connections (EC) were made in the online learning environment during the COVID 19 pandemic and to explore innovative ways they can be maintained and improved to enhance good learning outcomes among SWSN. The study adopted the interpretive approach because the researchers believed that reality is socially constructed and that there are many intangible realities as there are people constructing them. On this premise, the exploratory qualitative design was employed.  In-depth telephone interviews were conducted using 17 SWSN, conveniently selected from 146 SWSN. The interviews were recorded based on the consent of the interviewees and then transcribed, read through and organized. Themes were derived from the transcriptions which included maintenance of EC online and innovative ways of improving EC online. SWSN recommended email interaction groups with only SWSN, creating smaller groups in a Sakai class, creating social media platforms (with instructors inclusive), providing feedback to students and developing students’ complaint rooms as ways of improving EC online.