Accommodations are an essential part of education for students with differing needs. In order for many students to reach their full potential and to succeed in education, there are a variety of different accommodations that the Canadian school system provides to help support all students. This study will explore how the Chinese education system supports students with special needs, compared to the Canadian education system. This research is contextualized in Dr. Shijing Xu’s Reciprocal Learning Program between University of Windsor and Southwest University China and Xu and Connelly’s larger SSHRC Partnership Grant Project. According to Xu and Connelly (2013-2020), their research takes as its starting point the idea of a global community in which ideas, things and people move between countries and cultures. This research in conjunction with the larger partnership project will provide an understanding of the differences and similarities that exist between how the Chinese and Canadian educational systems support students with disabilities. Through observing student success as a result of different forms of individualized education this research aims to gain understanding of effective support for students with special needs.
The aim of this study is to understand the similarities and differences that exist between the Canadian and Chinese support for students with special needs in high school classrooms. High school students are the focus of this study because they are at the stage in schooling where students take final exams, and are placed in a big school managing multiple subjects. The goal of this research is not to determine which country has the better system for students with disabilities, but rather to explore both systems and to see what either country can learn from each other. Looking at student success as a result of different forms of individualized education will help to gain understanding of effective support for students with special needs.