The purpose of this study was to describe the content and frequency of interactions that occurred in an electronic mentoring program involving beginning special educators and their mentors. In addition, the characteristics of mentors’ and mentees’ and perceived outcomes of mentees’ were provided. This study sought to address questions about the types of support that new special educators seek and receive. A mixed method research design was utilized to explore the archived transcripts of mentors’ and mentees’ discourse as well as mentees’ and mentors’ post-surveys. Data were analyzed through the use of quantitative and qualitative methods and interpreted through the use of Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium standards, How People Learn framework, and documented needs and concerns of beginning special educators based on a review of literature. Surveys responses included descriptive information and perceptions of beginning teachers concerning their levels of preparedness at the completion of the pilot program. This study provides an understanding of electronic mentoring within one program in order to inform efforts for mentoring and induction of beginning special educators.

Administrative support plays a vital role in the self-efficacy of special education teachers (Otto & Arnold, 2005). In order to meet the education needs of special education students and comply with Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004) and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB, 2002), education leaders and policy makers need to be aware of the correlation between stronger administrative support and special education teacher self-efficacy (Thornton, Peltier, & Medina, 2007). Research shows that one of the most important administrative tasks is to demonstrate an understanding of the special education teachers’ role (Otto & Arnold). Given the consistent positive impact of teacher self-efficacy, it is imperative to identify constructs that increase perceived self-efficacy or that act in concert with self-efficacy to obtain positive results (Nir & Kranot, 2006). This paper examines the construct of administrative support as a factor in the self-efficacy of special education teachers by focusing on the relation between special education teachers and building-level administrators of special education. This type research is needed in order to provide building-level administrators in this central Virginia school system with definitive leadership strategies to use in their efforts to support special education teachers. Recommendations for future research are offered.

Autism now affects a significant number of students in schools. It is well documented that the unique learning characteristics of these students differ widely from other learners requiring teachers to possess specialized skills (Simpson, 2005). Despite advancements in instructional practices for students with autism (Iovannone, Dunlap, Huber, & Kincaid, 2003) little attention has been given to examining the qualities of special education teachers who deliver services to these students.This dissertation evaluated special education teachers' knowledge and implementation of educational practices critical for the improvement of students with autism and determined areas of training needs. The study was conducted with special education teachers employed in the Virginia Department of Education Region I. A survey instrument titled the Needs Assessment of Special Educators who Serve Students with Autism was created specifically for this research project. The survey evaluated the teacher's knowledge, implementation, and training needs of the Virginia Skill Competencies for Professionals and Paraprofessionals Supporting Individuals with Autism Across the Lifespan. The survey was distributed electronically to special education teachers. A total of 498 responded. This equated to 21.3% of special education teachers from Region I. Participants reported a low to intermediate level of knowledge as well as implementation of practices. They reported the greatest knowledge in general autism, and the least knowledge in sensory motor development. The greatest level of implementation was in individualization and support strategies and lowest in social skills. Participants indicated an intermediate need for training. The most frequently reported was a need for training in social skills development and the least frequently reported was training in individualization and support strategies. Relationships between the level of knowledge, implementation, and training needs and teachers' occupational characteristics were explored. Numerous occupational characteristics were found to have a relationship with level of knowledge and implementation, including area of endorsement, educational level, educational setting, number of students with autism taught, and student learning characteristics. There were no relationships found between the need for training and occupational characteristics. The results of this study have important implications for designing personnel preparation initiatives for current and future special educators.

M.Ed. / Internationally in countries such as the United States of America and Australia, there has been a shift in focus over recent years from essentially content based education curricula towards education curricula which offer the opportunity for all individuals to realize their potential, and that are capable of producing productive, contributing members of society. According to the United States Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory's most recent regional needs assessment (www.nwrel.org/planning/rna2000.html), "helping students become self-directed learners who take responsibility for their own academic performance" was ranked near the top of identified priorities. The focus on developing responsible and selfdirected learners extends beyond application to learning as cultivating responsible and self-directed behaviours is clearly intended to equip learners with responsible and self-directed behaviours and skills that in time will translate to their emergence as responsible and self-directed adult members of society. This is significant when considering the South African educational context, which also forwards educational goals that reflect the values of the society and that encapsulate the type of member of society that the educational system envisages producing. Given the legislative framework of South Africa, the resulting educational policies, as well as the importance of preparing learners to participate and contribute to a democratic society, it becomes clear that the development of responsible and self-directed learners is relevant to the South African context. Self-directed learning encourages individuals to take control of the learning experience. This means that learners are given choices and encouraged to make decisions as well as accept responsibility for associated consequences. Various characteristics, attitudes and behaviours of self-directed and responsible learners have been forwarded by various researchers in the field. Jones, Valdez, Nowakowski, and Rasumssen (1995) suggest that responsible learners exhibit behaviours such as setting goals and choosing tasks, and have the ability to plan effectively and think ahead. Responsible and self-directed learners have been identified by Long (in Hiemstra,1994 ) as having typical, common internal personality traits or characteristics as well as characteristic external behaviours, attitudes and responses. In addition to certain personality traits, specific kinds of cognitive skills are identified by Long (in Hiemstra, 1994) as being particularly important in successful self-directed learning. Self-directedness in learning is then a term recognizing both external factors that facilitate a learner taking primary responsibility, and internal factors that predispose an individual to accepting responsibility for learning-related thoughts and actions, which are characterised by particular traits, and skills that are demonstrated by responsible and self-directed behaviours.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2004.

Thesis (M. P. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (D. Ed.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

This study employed a survey design. 5,000 special education teachers were sampled across the nation to determine their perceptions of knowledge of substance abuse, and instructional and behavioral management skills to address students with disabilities who are abusing substances. The following research questions were addressed: (a) What are special education teachers’ perceptions of substance abuse intake among their students; (b) What are special education teachers’ perceptions of their knowledge of different substance abuse areas; (c) What are special education teachers’ perceptions of their classroom knowledge in addressing instructional and behavioral management issues of special education students abusing substances; (d) Are there differences in the teachers’ perceptions of their substance abuse knowledge and related classroom pedagogy skills across: (i) school levels kindergarten/elementary, middle, high school), (ii) school locations (rural, urban, suburban), and (iii) teacher disability assignment (as determined by their students’ primary disability). Descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) repeated measures, and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to analyze the data. The results revealed that although special educators perceive their students abuse substances, they think it is only by a small percentage of students. Significant differences were noted in the teachers’ perception of knowledge in the six substance abuse areas assessed. Significant differences of the teachers’ perceptions of knowledge were also noted across school locations and teacher disability assignments. Future studies should focus on conducting more extensive research in this limited area of study. / text

This study examined implicit and explicit attitudes of teachers toward the Emotional Disturbance (ED) label, the strength of association between implicit and explicit ratings, and the variance in attitudes between different types of teachers or among teachers in different settings. Ninety-eight teachers (52 regular education and 46 special education teachers), from a mix of urban and rural school districts in central Indiana, completed three computer-based attitudinal measures: an implicit association test (IAT), a Social Distance Scale (SDS), and the Scale of Attitudes toward Disabled Persons (SADP). Results indicated that teachers possess a significant preference for the category of Learning Disability (LD) compared to ED, and the correspondence between implicit and explicit attitudes toward those two labels was strong. This data supports the notion that the ED label is perceived far too negatively by educators to serve as an effective category of services for children with serious mental health issues. / Department of Educational Psychology