Incidental Learning, Reading Skills and Social Behavior of Non-Graded Learners with Intellectual Disability

Imagine a world where every encounter, every seemingly insignificant moment, holds the potential for profound learning. For individuals with intellectual disabilities, these incidental experiences can be pivotal in developing essential skills, particularly in reading. This study explored the extent of the implementation of incidental learning through the Individual Education Plan as an intervention to enhance the reading skills of learners with intellectual disability. To address this challenge, incidental learning has been proposed to enhance the reading skills of learners with intellectual disability. The study employed a descriptive research design and used a purposive sampling technique to determine its respondents, which included Special Education teachers and identified Grade 7 non-graded learners with intellectual disability in the General Santos City SPED Integrated School. The main instrument used was an adapted and modified questionnaire from the outlined indicators of the Individualized Educational Plan and an adopted Early Grade Reading Assessment. The study results showed that incidental learning was frequently implemented in the identified learners with intellectual disability. The application of incidental learning was highly recommendable as it gained positive feedback in helping learners develop their skills, not just in reading but development as a whole. The study’s findings suggest that incidental learning can effectively enhance the reading skills of learners with intellectual disability. Hence, data were analyzed using mean, median, and Mann-Whitney U test analysis. The study showed that incidental learning is effective for teaching reading to learners with intellectual disabilities, but further research is needed.