The study focuses on the attitudes of teachers towards inclusive education that is phased in according to White Paper 6 on inclusive education. Since the first democratic elections in South Africa in April 1994, a general feeling of optimism and a common commitment to improving the quality of education has emerged and many changes have taken place. The basis of this change is laid by the constitution of the country and the Bill of Rights that ensures the rights of all civilians including those of learners towards education. Furthermore the rights of all learners towards their education is categorically emphasised in White Paper 6. White Paper 6 is a policy document which upholds inclusive education and is in accordance with international trends whereby all learners including those with barriers to learning have a right to an education of their choice wherever its practicable. White Paper 6 of 2001 makes reference to the need to remove these barriers in favour of effective learning for all learners irrespective of their barriers to learning. In the process of learning, teachers always play an important role. In much local and international literature where inclusion and teachers’ attitudes have been studied it has been found that positive attitudes in teachers towards inclusive education play an important role in the implementation process of inclusive education. It was also clear from the literature that negative attitudes makes teaching in an inclusive educational setting negative. In South Africa inclusive education is in the process of being implemented. Therefore, it is important to determine what the attitudes of teachers are towards inclusive education. Furthermore, the purpose of this study is to gain insight into teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education. The data gathered will be helpful in training teachers, policy implementation towards facilitation of the development of positive attitudes and process of inclusive education. In achieving this of identifying the attitudes of special school teachers towards inclusive education, one focus group and two individual interviews were conducted at two special schools. From the analysis of data, it was apparently clear that teachers demonstrated negative attitudes towards inclusive education. The transcribed data of the interviews were analysed through the constant data analysis method as a “process whereby data gradually evolves into a core of emerging theory” (Merriam, 1998:191). In the dynamic and complex process of meaning making of data, five themes were eventually identified among the separate sub-themes to establish the main patterns for the data. In an effort to establish more positive attitudes in general towards inclusive education it would probably be advisable for government to take note of these negative attitudes and train teachers towards a more accepting changing of roles. / Prof. J. Pillay

The problem of this study is to compile a list of professional terms, with their definitions, and a bibliography of reading material for the beginning teacher in special education.

For students with severe and multiple disabilities who generally need support after high school culminates, the post-secondary transition is a critical time period in which transition professionals and parents/guardians must come together to plan for the child’s future. Researchers from the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC) have identified secondary transition evidence-based practices (EBPs) that transition professionals can use to help students with severe and multiple disabilities develop critical skills that will enable them to be as successful as possible after high school. The present study utilized a mixed methods design to examine knowledge and implementation of secondary transition EBPs among transition professionals, including special education teachers and transition specialists. In the quantitative component of the study, a broad group of transition professionals who worked with students with severe and multiple disabilities reported on their levels of experience, professional development and training, university preparation, self-efficacy, and knowledge and implementation of transition EBPs. In the qualitative component of the study, semi-structured interviews were conducted among a smaller subset of special education teachers of students with severe and multiple disabilities to further understand their experiences and practices related to secondary transition EBPs and perceived barriers. Results of the quantitative component of the study revealed significant associations among professionals’ reports of self-efficacy and professional development and training, and their knowledge and implementation of transition EBPs. Findings from the qualitative component of the study revealed that special education teachers reported numerous responsibilities in their work with students with severe and multiple disabilities. Additionally, the following barriers were cited to implementing transition EBPs: priority given to academics, legal requirements, and lack of knowledge of transition and the adult service system. Together, both components of the study underscored the importance of continued work on this relatively under-studied population of students, those with severe and multiple disabilities, who are in need of effective post-secondary transition practices to improve their post-school outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether participation in an instructional module on procedures for individualizing instruction produced results different from those produced by a traditional education approach with respect to the performance, attitude, self-concept, and dogmatism of special education student teachers. The findings were (1) there was no significant difference between the experimental and comparison groups with respect to teaching-performance; (2) the experimental group's mean self-evaluation teaching-performance score was significantly different in a negative direction than the mean self-evaluation teaching-performance score for the comparison group; (3) both groups had positive correlations between teaching-performance scores and self-evaluation scores, but the experimental group had a significantly higher correlation; (4) there was no significant difference between the experimental group and the comparison group with respect to change in attitudes; (5) there was no significant difference between the experimental and comparison groups with respect to the degree of change in self-concept, and (6) there was no significant difference between the experimental and comparison groups with respect to degree of change in dogmatism.

"The purpose of this study is to make an analysis of the 1951-52 of class of fifth grade pupils to: 1. Find the cases of retardation. 2. Discover through study and research the underlying causes of the retardation. 3. Develop a keener understanding of retarded children. 4. Determine ways of working with these children more effectively"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1952." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Advisor: Virgil E. Strickland, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-75).

No description available.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to illustrate how experienced teachers of students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders (EB/D) working in middle school settings conduct their work. In the current context of public education, the work of teaching students with EB/D is considered stressful and undesirable by many individuals and has resulted in a shortage of adequately prepared and experienced special educators willing to teach this vulnerable population (Westat, 2002). In response to the shortage, school districts may resort to hiring improperly prepared individuals-- a practice that impedes the provision of an appropriate education to students with disabilities (Kauffman, 2001; Turnbull & Turnbull; 1998). In order to understand the work of those special educators who have remained in the field of teaching students with EB/D, this exploratory case study examined the work of four experienced special education teachers teaching students with EB/D in various instructional settings in middle schools in Virginia. Activity theory (Engeström, 1999) provided the conceptual framework in this study. The results of this study support the current research literature on the work of teaching students with EB/D. The teachers spent their workday (a) supporting their students’ progress in the general education curriculum, (b) developing their students’ prosocial skills, and (c) fulfilling multiple non-teaching related duties. Efforts to teach their students were impeded by (a) difficulties in working relationships with certain general education teachers and (b) meeting the complex responsibilities of being a special educator in the current context of public middle schools. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to provide a descriptive analysis comparing highly qualified and non-highly qualified special education teachers in the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey. It examined how the qualifications of special education teachers varied among K-12 public schools according to the urbanicity of the school and the proportion of students in poverty within a school. Variables included those related to teacher qualifications, demographic characteristics, and school characteristics. The findings demonstrated that there were differences in the demographic characteristics of highly qualified and non-highly qualified special education teachers. There were no statistically significant differences found for urbanicity alone. There were statistically significant differences found for poverty levels. Statistically significant differences were also found for both highly qualified and non-highly qualified special education teachers when poverty quartiles were analyzed by urbanity locales. The findings emphasize the need to provide targeted interventions to promote, retain, and supply all schools with qualified special education teachers. The findings also indicate there is an unequal distribution of highly qualified special education teachers within identified poverty levels and urbanicity. / PHD

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Education

High teacher attrition rates coupled with critical personnel shortages in special education have augmented the need for research in teacher attrition/retention. Retaining quality personnel in special education teaching is vital to assuring that students with disabilities receive an appropriate education. The purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth exploration of factors influencing urban special education teachers' career plans. To gain a better understanding of urban special educators' commitment, job satisfaction, and career plans, qualitative research methods were employed throughout this study's data collection and analysis procedures. Based on the results of a screening instrument from another study, sixty special education teachers in the Memphis City Schools (MeS) were selected to participate in this study. These teachers were divided equally into three groups of special educators (i.e., stayers, leavers, undecideds) with specific career plans and attitudes (e.g., commitment, job satisfaction). Face-to-face interviews were conducted with each of the special educators using an interview guide. Cross-interview analyses were used to analyze the interviewees' responses to each of the questions on the interview guide. Patterns and themes that emerged from the data were identified and discussed. Specific teacher examples and verbatim quotes were also included to illustrate the study's findings. According to interviewees, various job-related factors (e.g., support, work assignment, student factors, work rewards) were most important to their commitment, job satisfaction, and plans to remain in and leave special education teaching in MCS. Support was more often mentioned as a reason for wanting to stay than any other factor. Reasons for wanting to leave special education teaching in MCS clustered around two major factors, work assignment and support. These findings suggest that special attention to job related factors may be particularly important to prevent attrition among these at-risk teachers. By listening to interviewees' recommendations for improving work conditions in MCS and including these teachers in the decision making process, school administrators may positively affect teachers' career plans and better retain their special education teaching force. / Ed. D.