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Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are spending greater amounts of time in inclusive classroom settings. The perceptions of teachers regarding the educational placement of children with ASD are a critical topic of study, since teachers are primarily responsible for the implementation of inclusion (Soodak, Podell, & Lehman, 1998). While there is a substantial research base that has examined the attitudes of teachers about inclusion, less research has focused on ASD that compared the attitudes of general and special education teachers. As reported in the literature, there are multiple barriers that prevent successful inclusion, particularly in high-poverty, urban districts. Since teachers are key stakeholders in decision-making processes for students' educational placement, their attitudes are important to assess as they may act as either barriers or facilitators of inclusion. These high-stakes decisions inevitably alter students' trajectories in terms of developmental outcomes, and therefore warrant further examination. Identifying teachers' specific resource needs is also crucial in determining how to make inclusion more successful for this population of students. Two similar surveys were developed and administered to 27 Autism Support (AS) and 28 general education (GE) teachers who presently had students with ASD in their classrooms. The surveys included quantitative items presented through a Likert-type scale, as well as open-ended items. They were designed to gather information on teacher demographics, students' current and recommended placement, teachers' perceptions of child and context-related variables found in the literature to impact inclusion, and resource needs. Overall, both AS and GE teachers felt their current students' placement was appropriate, though AS teachers' ratings of appropriateness were significantly lower. AS teachers reported they were likely to recommend more time in the general education setting for a majority (70%) of their students with ASD. While GE teachers believed a majority of their students (86%) should be included for most or all of the school day, they recommended less time in general education for 27% of students. GE teachers also expressed more concerns about the functioning of their students with ASD than they did about their own ability to teach those students or aspects related to the classroom context. AS teachers, on the other hand, felt less confident in the supportiveness and prior experience of the general education teachers at their school, whereas they felt their students were prepared to meet general education classroom demands. For both groups of teachers, their beliefs about child-related factors were associated with their recommendations for more time in an inclusive classroom. Identified barriers at the classroom and school-wide levels differed significantly for AS and GE teachers, with AS teachers focused more on skill development among general educators, and GE teachers indicating a greater need for external supports (e.g., classroom assistants, paraprofessionals). AS teachers also indicated a need for a more inclusive climate and greater acceptance than did GE teachers. Findings provide insight into the unique perspectives of AS and GE teachers, in terms of their perceptions of inclusion and their identified resource needs. Results indicate that the survey measures had good internal consistency α = 0.86) and a factor structure that clustered roughly as intended, despite the small sample size. Thus, this measure may be a valuable tool for use in future research on this topic. / School Psychology

I used teacher data from the Study of Personnel Needs in Special Education (SPeNSE) to compare the characteristics, qualifications (e.g., credentials, preservice preparation, self-efficacy, and induction) and work conditions (e.g., school support, work manageability and induction support) of early career special education teachers in high- and low-poverty districts and the effects of these variables on teacher commitment. Organized as a set of thee articles, this research presents findings from a nationally representative sample of 935 early career special education teachers. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, factor analysis, reliability analyses, and logistic regression. Significant differences were found in the credentials and preparation of teachers working in high poverty vs. more affluent districts, with those in high poverty schools having fewer credentials and less preparation. In contrast, the two teacher groups reported similar induction opportunities and gave themselves comparable ratings on both self-efficacy and in skillfulness in various work tasks. Teachers in high poverty districts also reported less desirable work conditions than their counterparts in more affluent districts. When compared to teachers in low poverty districts, those in less affluent districts viewed their principals and colleagues as less supportive, perceived less involvement in school decisions, reported having fewer materials, and indicated higher and more diverse caseloads. In contrast, the two teacher groups reported similar professional development and induction opportunities. Finally, logistic regression results suggest that problems with work manageability were negatively related to teacher commitment, whereas positive school support and good match between preparation and assignment positively influenced teachers' commitment. However, district level of poverty, district support, and perceived helpfulness of induction support were not significantly related to teachers' commitment. These studies draw attention to inequalities in the education of students with disabilities in high poverty districts; and emphasize the critical need not only to recruit and prepare qualified teachers for high poverty schools, but also to address disparities in work conditions. Policymakers and educational leaders concerned with fostering teachers' commitment should consider developing supportive work environments, involving teachers in decision making, and creating manageable work assignments. / Ph. D.

The study addressed three basic problems. First, the effectiveness of incumbent special education administrators in Virginia had not been assessed. Second, the qualifications of incumbent special education administrators in Virginia had not been determined. Third, requirements for special education administrators in Virginia had not been developed, despite the recommendation of Berquist, et al., (1987) following their evaluation study of special education programming across the state. The study was designed to assess effectiveness by gathering perceptions of the quality of the knowledge and skills demonstrated by special education administrators. The study was designed to gather information on special education administrator's status in regard to two standard qualifications for positions in educational agencies, i.e., endorsement(s) held and amount of position-specific coursework taken. The study was designed to generate recommendations regarding requirements for special education administrators based upon the results of an analysis of effectiveness (demonstrated knowledge or demonstrated skill) by qualifications (endorsement and coursework [in administration and supervision of special education]). / Ed. D.

There is little agreement regarding the identification procedures, characteristics and the definition of emotional disturbances even though the child-serving agencies often share the same clients and the same mandates. Because of these commonalities, a broad range of services are duplicated, lack coordination, and are provided by scarce personnel. The net effect may be no one receives services (LaCour, 1982). Interagency collaboration, touted as a management tool, is a vehicle by which lack of service delivery may be eliminated. According to state and federal mandates, interagency collaboration is to be used, whenever and wherever, services are needed to effectively serve students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed (SED). The purpose of this study was to identify the current level of interagency collaboration available to students within the Commonwealth of Virginia for students labeled seriously emotionally disturbed, ages 5-18, as perceived by special education directors and teachers serving students labeled seriously emotionally disturbed. A School Personnel Perceptions of Interagency Collaboration for Students Identified as Seriously Emotionally Disturbed survey was developed to measure the current level of interagency collaboration for this study. Items included were based on a review of the literature; information generated from informal interviews with special education administrators, special education teachers, and professionals in related fields; and, comments from expert reviewers. Questionnaires were mailed to a sample of thirty six school divisions, which translates into a total of 80 surveys sent to directors of special education and teachers of students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed. The sample was determined by: 1) designating school districts within the Commonwealth according to their Average Daily Membership into large-, medium-, and small- sized districts, and 2) selecting a sample from each size school district. Directors were then contacted and asked for the names of teachers within their school district currently teaching students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests and one way analyses of variance. Post hoc tests were used to determine which means were significantly different from each other. Major findings include: 1) special education directors and teachers of students identified as SED agree that availability of a variety of services is very important to the success of their students. Few significant differences between directors and teachers were found; however, differences did occur with services that focus on the family rather than the child. Teachers found these services to be more important to the success of their students than did directors. 2) While directors and teachers across school district sizes indicated a variety of services were currently available to students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed, there was little agreement between directors and teachers within district sizes as to how much any one service was currently provided. 3) Teachers and directors indicated that, in many cases, they did not know whether or not a certain agency provided a specific service to students identified as in need of services. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to determine special education teachers' perceptions of goals used to teach secondary mildly handicapped students and to identify hindrances to adopting these goals. A questionnaire was developed and attitudes were assessed by collecting data from secondary special education teachers who taught in the areas of learning disabilities, emotional disturbances, and educable mental retardation. A large suburban school district located in the southeastern united states comprised the survey (census) population. Repeated measure analysis of variance tested for significant differences across teaching exceptionalities toward perceived acceptance and implementation of selected goals. Chi-square analyses tested for any relationships between acceptance and implementation of these goals, as well as teacher relationships toward classification of goals. The findings of this study indicated that teachers of secondary mildly handicapped students exhibited very high acceptance for remedial, maintenance and functional goals for special education. Maintenance goals were perceived to be most important to LD teachers while functional ones were important to EMR instructors. Remedial goals were equally accepted by the LD, ED, and EMR sectors. There was a relatively high rate of implementation for remedial goals for all the teaching groups with no difference in the degree of implementation across the three exceptionalities noted. LD teachers implemented remedial and maintenance goals more than functional ones. ED instructors implemented remedial goals most often, while EMR teachers instructed the most in the functional area. In some instances, especially in the functional area, teachers did not implement specific goals which they perceived to be acceptable. Lack of time was the greatest instructional barrier for LD teachers while parent support hindered ED instructors the most. Diploma. requirements were the most formidable instructional hindrance for the EMR sector. Classroom teachers did not always classify instructional goals in the same manner as experts in the field, and this trend was noted more often in the classification of remedial goals. / Ed. D.

This study examined the link between special education teacher job satisfaction and its impact on teacher shortages. Covariation of administrative support and job satisfaction was evaluated with school sector also evaluated for relevance to special education teacher job satisfaction. A quantitative, cross-sectional research model was used for the data collection and analysis process. The population for the study was special education teachers, and data was extracted from the National Teacher and Principal Survey. Data was collected for this survey by the National Center for Education Statistics using paper documents and internet questionnaires. Multiple regression was used to test the relationships between special education teacher satisfaction and administrative support. The findings indicate as perceived supportiveness and encouragement from administration increased, a corresponding increase in job satisfaction from special education teachers occurred. The findings from this study showed no significant moderation effect of the school sector between public and private schools. These outcomes further suggested that the role of administrative support was crucial regardless of the public or private nature of the school. As a result, it is imperative for school administrators to focus on building a culture of support and encouragement, paying special attention to providing emotional and professional support to teachers. Additionally, schools should consider implementing policies that ensure equitable access to resources and support for all teachers, irrespective of their demographic characteristics. Lastly, considering the minor but significant role of gender in influencing job satisfaction, schools should be mindful of gender dynamics and strive to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all teachers, regardless of their gender identity.

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