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OF EDUCATION
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Received: June 02, 2017 Accepted: August 18, 2017
Theresa Adrião PhD, Professor, Faculty of Education of UNICAMP, São Paulo, Brazil.
Coordinator Group for Studies and Research in Educational Policy (GREPPE),
UNICAMP.
E-mail: theadriao@gmail.com
Teise Garcia PhD, Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters at Ribeirão Preto,
USP, Brazil.
Coordinator Group for Studies and Research in Educational Policy (GREPPE),
USP.
E-mail: teiseg2@gmail.com
Juliana Azevedo Senior Clinical Psychologist, Associate Researcher of the Group for Studies
and Research in Educational Policy (GREPPE), Ireland.
E-mail: julianaazevedo@hotmail.com
DEVELOPING PSYCHOPEDAGOGICAL AND
METHODICAL COMPETENCES IN SPECIAL /
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION TEACHERS
Valentin Cosmin Blândul, Adela Bradea
University of Oradea, Romania
E-mail: bvali73@yahoo.com, adelabradea@yahoo.com
Abstract
In a general sense, competence represents a higher nality which ensures the transfer of acquired
theoretical knowledge to effective teaching practices. In the teaching profession, there are three types
of competences: professional (they show the teacher's theoretical knowledge), psycho-pedagogical
(they concern the teacher's ability to know their students and to establish interhuman relationships with
them) and methodical (concerns the teacher's ability to teach effectively the elements of the didactic
content). Due to the particularities of special / inclusive education, teachers involved in this form of
education should possess mainly psycho-pedagogical and methodical competences so that they can meet
successfully the educational needs of students with disabilities. The aim of the research was to identify
the psycho-pedagogical and methodical competences of special / inclusive education teachers, as well
as ways to improve them using continued professional training activities. The sample consisted of 225
teachers, who work in various forms of special education in Bihor County, Romania. The instrument
consisted of a questionnaire with 21 items. The research was conducted in April 2017. The results of the
research showed that special education teachers are more empathetic and use a more diversied range
of didactic strategies, while inclusive education teachers are concerned with continued professional
training in the eld of special education.
Keywords: didactic competences, people with disabilities, special / inclusive education.
Introduction
The term competence has a polysemantic nature. Out of the great number of denitions
(Boutin, 2004, Tardif, 2003, Aubret & Gilbert, 2003, Chiş, 2006, Potolea & Toma, 2010,
Wahlgren, 2016 and others), the one which is complete and functional in connection with
the training for the teaching career could be chosen: competence is the proven capacity to
adequately choose, combine and use knowledge, abilities and other acquisitions consisting
of values and attitudes to successfully solve a certain category of work or learning situation,
as well as to achieve professional or personal development effectively and efciently. In
this sense, the structural elements of a competence are: the professional roles or the work /
learning tasks which should be carried out, performance standards, the context, the knowledge,
the abilities and personality / attitude characteristics. These structural elements concern not
only the development of professional training programmes, but also their implementation and
evaluation (Potolea &Toma, 2010, 2013).
Teachers' competences are structured in three types: (1) scientic / professional
competence, which means thorough knowledge of the subject taught and, at the same, an
excellent cooperation capacity with other experts; the capacity to engage the affective and ethic
components of the didactic process along with that of detailing, sustaining and arguing for topics
related to the eld of knowledge; (2) methodical competences – the capacity to know the students
and to take into consideration age specic requirements, as well as individual characteristics,
in the process of planning and implementing instructive-educational activities; the capacity to
shape, to develop the main personality components of each student; the capacity to communicate
with the students, to inuence and motivate them to learn; the capacity to make accessible the
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content of the subject taught, to understand the subjects of the didactic relationship; the capacity
to train the students for self-training and self-education. (3) psycho-pedagogical / psychosocial
competences – the capacity to optimise the interhuman and interpersonal relationships required
in the didactic process: assuming the set of roles needed for this process; establishing easily
relationships with the partners of the process; the capacity to organise the students with regard
to the tasks of training and to establish cooperative relationships, an adequate climate within the
group of students and to resolve conicts; the capacity to assume responsibilities; the capacity
to guide, organise and coordinate, advise and motivate, to take decisions depending on the
situation; the capacity to communicate easily, effectively, to use in a proper way power and
authority along with understanding; the diversity of styles used to make the students aware
of the necessity of learning, as well as to establish effective relationships with beneciaries,
parents, communities and other institutions.
The system of standards developed observes the provisions of the Romania law, which
states that "the continued training of teachers is based on the model of competence approach
and on the concept of cumulative development of the teaching staff's level of competence"
(art.6.) and concerns: "professionalization of the teaching career; placing of the training system
in the European context of continued professional development / lifelong learning and training,
and orientation of the training system towards mobility and evolution in career and professional
development" (art. 90, Methodology of continued training).
Problem of Research
Teachers' competences should be a means to serve the development of children, students
and other beneciaries of the teaching process. Developing, and from time to time updating,
professional standards concerning evolution in the teaching career has been and should be
determined by the idea that professional standards do not represent just a technical problem,
but they should also be associated with the values of education (Potolea & Toma, 2013).
The very system of values is what guides teachers' professional competences towards
a direction or another (Pânișoară, 2009). In the teaching, learning and evaluation processes,
teachers, regardless the educational stage they are active in, should respect the principles and
rules of professional ethics, promote a responsible attitude towards the teaching activity, respect
the students' rights, their personality and uniqueness, as well as the parents' rights in their
relationship with their children, supporting and encouraging them. The acknowledgement and
respect of diversity and multiculturalism are correlated with the acknowledgement and respect
of individual differences and the rejection of any form of discrimination, and it is proved by
prosocial behaviour and civic participation.
The training of teachers is a continued process which includes two compulsory stages:
the initial training, which enables those graduating from various forms of institutions which
provide qualications (pedagogical high schools, universities) to join the education system, and
continued training, which is performed through courses addressed to teachers after they have
joined the education system. In Romania, the initial training focuses mainly on specialisation
in a certain eld and less on the methodical aspect. The importance of the latter one for the
teaching career is apparent and it entails acquiring knowledge about modern teaching methods,
cooperative learning, class management and conict resolution. Thus, university graduates in
Romania are very good experts in the subjects they have studied, buy they are not equally good
as teachers. They need a long period of practical training before they can join the teaching
profession. Continued training was initially provided primarily by universities and, therefore, it
was mainly theoretical and did not take into account the changes brought by the reform of the
pre-university education. For that reason, after some public debates concerning the reform of the
training of teachers, the Ministry of National Education set forth the objectives of pre-university
teachers' initial and continued training: professionalization of the teaching career in Romania,
changing the ratio between the theoretical and practical components in the training curriculum
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of teachers by extending the route of initial training to the moment of obtaining a teacher /
primary school teacher diploma by passing a „professional certication” exam, developing a
„market of the continued training programmes” based on fair competition, correlating structures
and moments of the teaching career with educational standards and ensuring the dynamics of
the profession by using the system of professional credit transfer, as well as the development
of modern institutional structures in order to optimize teachers' continued training activities.
Research Focus
There are many teachers who consider that a child's failure is entirely their fault because
they have not been able to meet the requirements of the system: they believe that it is a child's
duty to reach the standards imposed by the system. Few teachers understand and accept the fact
that a child's failure is also the teacher's failure and that school should adjust itself to the child's
needs and not the other way around. Some teachers are capable of changing and are open to
change, which means they are willing to adopt an individualized working style, focused on the
child's needs. All Romanian citizens have the same right to education, at all stages and in all
forms, regardless their gender, race, nationality, religion or political afliation and regardless
their social or economic status. Education is free in the public educational institutions and
the state guarantees the right to education on behalf of the individual and on that of society.
In Romania, children with disabilities have access to different forms of education and can
be enrolled, depending on the degree of the disability, in the special education system or in
the mainstream education. Children with moderate deciencies, with learning difculties
and speech disorders, socio-emotional disorders or behaviour problems are integrated into
mainstream school, where they can benet from educational support services.
A limited number of mainstream schools have integrated so far children with special
educational needs (SEN). In Romania, inclusive schools do not yet exist in the true meaning
of the word, the educational support services are barely developed and ineffective, and the
community's mentality has not really improved regarding the inclusion of all children in
any school. For all that, in recent years, some NGOs have implemented several projects to
establish inclusive schools in Romania. Despite these efforts, the Romanian society still has a
segregationist approach to people with disabilities and the above mentioned examples could not
be extended at national level. However, the Ministry of Education has promoted some projects
at country level with the aim of creating the starting points of a coherent and effective reform.
Unfortunately, mainstream education teachers are not yet prepared to work with children whose
performances are different. They have not been trained to adjust their teaching to children
with different levels of intellectual development or to help children with poor performances to
improve their results. The Ministry of Education has made signicant efforts, with the support
of NGOs, to ensure the continued training of mainstream education teachers in order to help
them understand and accept the differences between children, to adjust the curriculum and
working methods to the needs of children and to adopt an inclusive approach in the class.
Taking into account the things mentioned above, the current research focused on the
training level of special education / inclusive education teachers, that is, on their professional,
psycho-pedagogical and methodical competences which enable an effective personalized
approach to the students with SEN.
Methodology of Research
General Background
Summarizing the things presented above, it can be said that a successful teacher is a
person with an excellent professional knowledge, capable of teaching the theoretical knowledge
they have acquired, as well as of establishing constructive interhuman relations with their
Valentin Cosmin BLÂNDUL, Adela BRADEA. Developing psychopedagogical and methodical competences in special / inclusive
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students. Due to the psycho-individual particularities of students with SEN – which quite often
limit their cognitive possibilities to acquire higher level didactic contents – Gherguţ, Frumos
and Raus (2016) recommend that special / inclusive education teachers develop rst of all
their psycho-pedagogical and methodical competences, insisting on the emotional aspect of the
teaching process. In light of these considerations, the aim of this research was to identify special
/ inclusive education teachers' development level of didactic competences, as well as those
ways by which they can be optimized. The objectives of the research were the following: (1)
analysis of teachers' perception of the development level of their own general competences to
teach children with SEN; (2) self-assessment of the development level of specic competences
(psycho-pedagogical and methodical) needed by teachers working in the eld of special
education, as well as (3) identifying the need for continued professional training in the case of
this category of teachers. The specic hypothesis of this research was: there are no statistically
signicant differences between the development level of competences needed to teach children
with SEN in the case of special education teachers and in that of special inclusive education
ones.
Sample
The sample of research consisted of 225 special / inclusive education teachers from
Bihor county, Romania (N = 225), of whom 113 (50.22%) are special education teachers, and
112 (49.88%) special inclusive ones. The narrative presentation which follows is based on the
need of giving an overall picture of the entire sample. 69.9% of the total number of respondents
were females, and 30.1% males. 55.3% of them had bachelor's degrees, and 44.7% master's
degrees. Regarding their years of teaching, they belonged to the following categories: less than
5 years – 23.8%, between 6 and 10 years – 9.2%, between 11 and 15 years – 18.7%, above 16
years – 48.3%. 48.6% of them teach in rural areas, and 51.4% in urban ones. Regarding the
school stage, 8.7% teach in preschools, 30.4% in primary schools and 60.9% in secondary and
upper-secondary schools. The simple random sampling procedure was used for choosing the
respondents, which represents approximately 22% of the active teaching staff of Bihor County,
Romania.
Instrument and Procedure
The instrument used in this research consisted of a scale-based questionnaire which was
devised to enable the self-assessment of the professional knowledge, psycho-pedagogical and
methodical training levels of special education teachers. The instrument included 21 multiple-
choice items grouped in several categories, of which, for this research, only those were used that
referred to the self-assessment of the development level of the general didactic competences
needed in special education, of the psycho-pedagogical and methodical competences, as well
as of those about the interest in their continued professional training. The self-assessment scale
had 6 levels, with „1” meaning „Strongly disagree”, and „6” – „Strongly agree”. The instrument
was prepared by the educationalists who participated in an Intensive Programme on Special
Education held in the rst half of 2017 at the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda, Portugal within
the project „Teaching and Learning in Special Education with ICT” – www.teleseict.org –
(Erasmus+ KA2). It was printed and each respondent lled in their copy individually in March-
April 2017.
Data Analysis
The quantitative interpretation of the results was performed by calculating the statistical
frequency of the answers given by the respondents. In addition, the answers given by the special
education teachers and those of the inclusive education ones were comparatively analysed.
Valentin Cosmin BLÂNDUL, Adela BRADEA. Developing psychopedagogical and methodical competences in special / inclusive
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The statistical processing of the values obtained was performed by calculating the χ2 (chi
square) criterion for the relations between the form of education – special or inclusive – and
the development level of the psycho-pedagogical and methodical competences in the area of
special education.
Results of Research
The results of the research are presented in the following tables, where the rows show
the answers from the entire sample, as well as from the two sub-categories (special education
teachers and inclusive education ones), and the columns include the 6 levels of the scale.
Table 1. Self-assessment of the development level of the general didactic
competences needed by teachers to teach students with SEN (%).
Score 1 2 3 4 5 6
I possess general competences to teach students with SEN
General answers (N = 225) 8 32 16 24 20 0
Special education teachers (N = 113) 0 7.7 23.1 38.62 30.58 0
Inclusive education teachers (N = 112) 17.09 57.92 8.33 8.33 8.33 0
The results in Table 1 show that the teachers have a rather low perception concerning
their own general level of training in the area of special education. The results for the entire
sample show that there is no polarization of answers around a certain value, but, on the contrary,
a distribution along the entire scale. Looking at the two sub-categories of the sample, it can
be seen that the special education teachers consider themselves somewhat better prepared
than their colleagues who teach students with SEN integrated in mainstream education. This
situation can be explained by the training provided to teachers who decide to choose a career
in special education. In order to be allowed to work as staff teachers in the special education
system, teachers need a qualication in the area of special psychopedagogy, which means a
bachelor's degree with a total of 180 ECTS (in 3 years of study) and, possibly, a master's degree
with 120 ECTS (2 years of study). On the contrary, teachers who want to teach in the special
inclusive education need a bachelor's / master's degree, regardless the eld of studies, but they
should also attend a postgraduate continued professional training course in the eld of special
school psychopedagogy, with a total of 60 credits. The differences between the professional
training levels of the two categories of teachers are obvious, although the job requirements
seem to be rather similar, a fact that can explain the uncertainty of inclusive education teachers
regarding the self-assessment of their own special education didactic competences.
Valentin Cosmin BLÂNDUL, Adela BRADEA. Developing psychopedagogical and methodical competences in special / inclusive
education teachers
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Table 2. Self-assessment of the development level of the psycho-pedagogical
competences of teachers who teach students with SEN (%).
Score 1 2 3 4 5 6
I possess psycho-pedagogical competences needed to establish an empathetic relationship in the educational envi-
ronment
General answers (N = 225) 0 4 12 28 40 16
Special education teachers (N = 113) 0 0 7.7 15.4 53.8 23.1
Inclusive education teachers (N = 112) 0 8.33 16.68 41.66 25 8.33
I possess psycho-pedagogical competences needed for effective communication
General answers (N = 225) 0 4 0 20 44 32
Special education teachers (N = 113) 0 7.7 0 23.1 38.44 30.76
Inclusive education teachers (N = 112) 0 0 0 16.66 50 33.34
I possess psycho-pedagogical competences needed to motivate students
General answers (N = 225) 0 4 0 12 40 44
Special education teachers (N = 113) 0 7.7 0 15.4 53.8 23.1
Inclusive education teachers (N = 112) 0 0 0 8.34 25 66.66
Table 3. Self-assessment of the development level of the methodical competences
of teachers who teach students with SEN (%).
Score 1 2 3 4 5 6
I possess methodical competences needed for the effective use of didactic resources
General answers (N = 225) 4 0 0 20 40 36
Special education teachers (N = 113) 7.7 0 0 30.74 38.46 23.1
Inclusive education teachers (N = 112) 0 0 0 8.34 41.66 50
I possess methodical competences needed for the personalization of the instructive-educational process
General answers (N = 225) 4 4 8 20 20 44
Special education teachers (N = 113) 0 0 7.7 15.9 15.4 61
Inclusive education teachers (N = 112) 8.33 8.33 8.33 25 25 25
The detailed analysis of the sub-categories of psycho-pedagogical and methodical
competences needed in special education shows that most of the respondents self-assess
themselves with „5” on a scale from „1” to „6”. Thus, regarding the psycho-pedagogical
competences, the results show that special education teachers have higher empathetic
competences, while their inclusive education colleagues have high levels of communication and
motivational competences (Table 2). On the other hand, as far as the methodical competences
are concerned, those who teach in the special inclusive schools have better developed abilities
in the management of available educational resources, while the special education teachers
Valentin Cosmin BLÂNDUL, Adela BRADEA. Developing psychopedagogical and methodical competences in special / inclusive
education teachers
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are successful in personalizing the instructive-educational process addressed to students with
various disabilities (Table 3). The explanation of this aspect may lie in the curriculum of
bachelor's / master's or postgraduate training programmes in special psychopedagogy. Thus,
the focus in the case of students who opt for the aforementioned major for their studies is on
knowing the psycho-individual characteristics of students with different types of disabilities,
as well as on the methodology of teaching in the case of these students, centred, mainly, on
developing personalized intervention plans. Such elements are less frequent in the curriculum
of other faculties which train future teachers and which insist on psychosocial contents
(understanding the student's personality, communication, motivation, relating to others within
the school community and so on), or on the teaching methodology for students without special
educational needs. That can explain why special education teachers are better prepared in
aspects related to methodology, while those involved in the inclusive education in psycho-
pedagogical and psychosocial issues.
Table 4. Self-assessment of teachers' motivation to participate in continued
professional training in the eld of special education (%).
Score 1 2 3 4 5 6
I am motivated to take part in professional training programmes in special psychopedagogy
General answers (N = 225) 0 0 0 4 32 64
Special education teachers (N = 113) 0 0 0 0 38.46 61.54
Inclusive education teachers (N = 112) 0 0 0 8.34 25 66.66
According to the results in Table 4, more than 60% of the respondents feel the need for
training in the eld of special psychopedagogy. The polarization of answers around the highest
level of the scale can be noticed in the case of both categories of the sample, which is due to the
complexity of working with students with SEN. Thus, regardless of learning in a special school
or being integrated into a class / school along with other students with no disabilities, students
with SEN have a number of physical, psycho-intellectual and psycho-emotional particularities
which require increased attention and support from their teachers. The most severe cases can be
found in the special education schools, while the students who can cope with the requirements
of mainstream schools have the possibility to study in special classes of public schools, or, in
well-justied situations, in regular classes, along with the other classmates. Nevertheless, the
work of teachers who teach such students with SEN will still be a very complex one, which
requires a thorough professional, psycho-pedagogical and methodical training.
Table 5. Statistical differences between the development level of competences
of special education teachers and the form of education they teach in.
Indicators: Teachers
Special education Special inclusive education
Differences between the development level of com-
petences of special and special inclusive education
teachers
χ2 = 10.53 χ2 = 13.28
p<.01 p<.05
Valentin Cosmin BLÂNDUL, Adela BRADEA. Developing psychopedagogical and methodical competences in special / inclusive
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The specic hypothesis of this research was that there are no statistically signicant
differences between the development level of competences needed to teach students with
SEN in the case of special education teachers and in that of the special inclusive ones. The
results presented in Table 5 show that the specic hypothesis was validated, as the statistical
differences are signicant at p<.01 in the case of special education teachers and at p<.05 for the
special inclusive ones. These results demonstrate a higher development level of competences in
the case of teachers belonging to the rst category, which can be explained by a more thorough
and longer time in professional training. The need for a comprehensive professional training
in the case of teachers who teach students integrated into mainstream education is apparent
again, as in this way they will be able to successfully cope with the challenges of an educational
activity of this type.
Discussion
The interpretation of the quantitative and qualitative results of the research makes it
possible to build the socio-professional prole of the special and special inclusive education
teachers. Thus, the former ones are people with bachelor's or master's degrees in the area of
special psychopedagogy, have competences in the evaluation, diagnosis, therapy, rehabilitation,
education, professionalization and monitoring the evolution of students with various disabilities.
Therefore, the socio-professional prole of these teachers includes elements such as: the
capacity to teach students with SEN in a personalized pace, adjusted to their needs, a good
capacity for empathy, knowledge and attention given to age specic requirements, support
given to students so that they can cope with school tasks and so on. On the other hand, the
special inclusive education teachers can have bachelor's or master's degrees in specializations
connected to special education or in any other eld of study, provided that they have completed
a postgraduate course in the eld of special school psychopedagogy. As a result, their training
in the area of special education might be without depth, their area of competences being limited
to recognizing the problems faced by students with SEN, to using didactic strategies which can
be applied to this category of students too, and to empathic communication within the school
community. It is necessary, therefore, to develop these psycho-pedagogical and methodical
competences of special education teachers, which can be achieved by involving them in projects
developed in this eld of specialization, or by completing continued professional training
courses (Fernández, 2013, Wahlgren, 2016, Mrnjaus, 2012).
The second important aspect worth discussing is the need for continued professional
training of teachers who work in the eld of special education. Romanian researchers (Gherguţ,
Frumos, Raus, 2016), argue that in order to successfully integrate students with SEN, teachers
should form and develop professional, psycho-pedagogical and methodical competences by
covering several distinct stages in time: (1) Raising awareness: in the rst stage the school
environment should be prepared, starting from the school leadership, and the teachers in
particular, by information actions. (2) Training: teachers should be included in a training program
so that they can learn about the students' specic problems and understand their behaviour and
learn principles, methods and techniques which are appropriate for the instructive-educational
activities carried out for children with deciencies. (3) Decision making: involves reorganising
the functional structures of the school and reviewing the attitude of all staff members towards
the new form of school organisation. (4) Transition: it is the most difcult stage, as it assumes
the implementation of the new working methods. Teachers should take into account that any
learning process (especially in the case of students with SEN) is more effective and easier to
understand if the information presented is demonstrated and applied in real life situations, with
a continuous feedback being provided. It is recommended that those who work in the eld of
special education should apply learning strategies which focus on cooperation, collaboration
and communication between students during didactic activities, as well as on interaction
between teachers and students. Therefore, many authors (Avramidis & Norwich, 2002, Newton
Valentin Cosmin BLÂNDUL, Adela BRADEA. Developing psychopedagogical and methodical competences in special / inclusive
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et al., 2014) recommend that special education teachers attend a number of professional training
programmes in order to develop these very types of competences. Unfortunately, there are
many schools where the teachers have not attended any training courses in this eld. As a result,
they are not prepared to face the problems which arise in their work with special education
students, they feel uncertain, ill-prepared, which leads to an ineffective didactic activity with
these children.
Conclusions
Integration of students with SEN into mainstream schools is a challenge for any country of
the world, regardless how much is invested in this process. This fact gives the school institution
the role of fundamental component of the social system, capable to give concrete answers to the
current imperatives set by the evolution of the contemporary society and to resolve a series of
problems related to the need for social acceptance / valorisation of each individual and to their
capacity to integrate into a continuously changing society. In order to full these expectations,
the effective teacher should also be concerned with the progress of their students, maximising
the time when students are engaged in their tasks and the school learning time. Several of the
teacher's personality traits leave their marks on the school achievement, therefore they should
be constantly concerned with their own professional training. A constant development of the
professional, psycho-pedagogical and methodical competences, coupled with a continuous
reection process, will improve the quality of their own didactic performance, as well as the
quality of training the young generation.
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Valentin Cosmin BLÂNDUL, Adela BRADEA. Developing psychopedagogical and methodical competences in special / inclusive
education teachers
PROBLEMS
OF EDUCATION
IN THE 21st CENTURY
Vol. 75, No. 4, 2017
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ISSN 1822-7864 (Print) ISSN 2538-7111 (Online)
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Received: June 15, 2017 Accepted: August 22, 2017
Valentin Cosmin Blândul PhD, Professor, University of Oradea, 1 University Street, Oradea, 410087,
Bihor, Romania.
E-mail: bvali73@yahoo.com
Website: www.uoradea.ro
Adela Bradea PhD, Associate Professor, University of Oradea, 1 University Street, Oradea,
410087, Bihor, Romania.
E-mail: adelabradea@yahoo.com
Website: www.uoradea.ro
Valentin Cosmin BLÂNDUL, Adela BRADEA. Developing psychopedagogical and methodical competences in special / inclusive
education teachers