Reflection on sensible adjustments for students with special needs through different perspectives Adrijana Biba Rebolj
Summary: There is a lack of a theoretical basis in the professional literature to enable the formation of a concept regarding adjustments for students with special needs, which is why when adjusting the study process for students with special needs, we often encounter ambiguity and predicaments. An incorrect understanding of the meaning of adjustments, a fear of lowering academic standards, a feeling of incompetence when planning, and implementing adjustments, inexperience of the pedagogical staff, on the one hand, and the insecurity of students on the other are only some of the issues surrounding adjustments. When discussing adjustments for students with special needs, one can roughly divide them into two dimensions: adjustments on the declarative or macro level and adjustments on the interpersonal or micro level, which is the topic of this paper. The concept of adjustments for students with special needs on the micro level is understood as an interaction between a member of the pedagogical staff and the student with special needs, which is marked by the viewpoints and expectations of both participants as regards adjustments. Two perspectives are considered—the academic standard perspective and the perspective of the promising student—which can help us to understand adjustments. It has been found that the idea of adjustments within an individual perspective can be understood in various ways, which can lead to conflicts, and consequently, to adjustments that do not serve their purpose. Through the presented different perspectives of adjustments for students with special needs on the micro level, we attempt to explain why such ambiguities occur, and thus contribute to the search for fair, sensible, efficient, and useful adjustments for all of the participants involved in the process.