A Phenomenological Study on Teacher's Borderline Intellectual function Student Education and Guidance Experience and Support Needs

Objectives This study was conducted to explore the experience and support needs of borderline intellectual function student education and guidance for elementary and middle and high school teachers. Methods To this end, an in-depth interview was conducted with 20 teachers with borderline intelligence student guidance experience among elementary and middle and high school teachers located in C-do from July 4 to October 11, 2023. For the contents of the interview, the common experiences and support needs of the subjects were derived using phenomenological methodology. Results As a result of the analysis, first, the teacher's accurate understanding of the boundary line intellectual function students was insufficient, and there was concern about the use of terms for the boundary line intellectual function. Second, limited communication, poor academic ability, difficulty in emotional regulation, low self-esteem, and difficulty in peer relations were identified as the characteristics of students with boundary line intellectual function. Third, the necessity of customized teaching and learning methods and educational materials in the classroom, difficulty in communicating with parents, and difficulty in life guidance were reported as a result of the experience of education and support for students with boundary line intellectual function of teachers. Fourth, the demand for support for students with boundary line intellectual function emphasized not only the change of perception of students with the boundary line intellectual function, but also the strengthening of the basic education guarantee support project for the early screening system, teacher training, parental education, and voucher support. Conclusions This study is meaningful in providing basic data for customized support for each life cycle for borderline intellectual functioning students by exploring the experience of borderline intellectual functioning students' education and guidance for elementary, middle, and high school teachers and examining the need for support in detail.