The primary purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which teaching efficacy, a motivational construct derived from Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, is related to the referring of students for special education services. Secondary purposes were to gather information on the validity of The Teacher Efficacy Scale (Gibson, 1983) and to obtain a better understanding of the construct of teaching efficacy, and how it is manifested in high and low efficacy teachers. A three-phase study was designed to investigate the problem. A survey of all first, second and third grade teachers in a mid-size urban school district in Virginia resulted in individual referral numbers and a volunteer sample of eighty-one teachers. After elimination of ten of those respondents, a second survey was conducted to gain a measure of efficacy and potentially related environmental variables. Scores from the second survey defined a sample for the interview phase of the study. Findings suggest that high efficacy teachers refer fewer students to special education than do low efficacy teachers. Variables which appear to be related to a teacher's sense of efficacy include support from the administration, assistance I and personal support from the principal, type of school (high or low SES), successful experiences with low-achieving students, and a personal need to be successful with all students. Implications for building teachers' sense of efficacy indicate a two-pronqed change effort: assuring that teachers have the skills to be successful with a wide range of learning needs, and creating an environment which enables teachers to be decisive, independent professionals. / Ed. D.

A continuum of services model exists which reflects the least and most restrictive special education environments available to provide services to all handicapping conditions. Associated costs increase significantly as the special education student requires more structure and intense services to benefit from individualized instruction. Per student cost to local education agencies (LEAs) and program variables in the areas of social skills curriculum and parental involvement for students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed (SED) and served in (1) self-contained classrooms operated by LEAs; and (2) regional (separate day school) programs operated cooperatively by the LEAs in Virginia are examined in this study. Costs to the LEAs for self-contained instruction were determined by using the Larson Model (1985), as revised by Kienas (1986). In Virginia, costs to the LEAs for placement of SED students in the regional programs were determined by the tuition rate approved by the Virginia Department of Education. State reimbursements for placement of SED students in both environments were considered in final cost calculations. The existence of certain program components in the areas of social skills curriculum and parental involvement were examined by a survey developed and distributed to Special Education Directors in the two described environments. A study of special education placements was conducted in Montgomery County, Maryland in 1982 to compare the costs and characteristics of programs used by that school division for school-aged handicapped students. Montgomery County was concerned over the cost of private placements and wanted to determine if alternative programming should be explored. It was concluded that the regional day program was cost effective when compared to other more restrictive environments, i.e., more costly residential treatment programs. Additionally, that special education program variables were similar in both environments. Other special education finance studies have also concluded that special education costs vary considerably within a given category of handicapping condition and that this cost may not reflect the service levels within programs. LEA expenditures for SED programs and selected program variables in LEA self-contained and regional programs in six LEAs located in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia are described in this. study. The research question to be considered was: Are program administrators’ perceptions of program quality, as measured by the existence of certain social skills curriculum and parental involvement program components, related to LEA costs for self-contained and regional (separate day school) programs for seriously emotionally disturbed students? While findings indicated a slight difference in net expenditures in favor of regional programs, this difference may not be significant based on quality of cost data and consideration for placement in the least restrictive environment. Net expenditures are based on reimbursements to LEAs from the Virginia Department of Education for SED students placed in these two environments. Survey results indicate that regional program administrators perceive higher incidences of quality descriptors in their social skills curriculums and parental involvement programs than the LEA self-contained program administrators perceived in their programs. / Ed. D.

This study investigated costs of inclusive special education. Specifically, there were three areas of study: a) changes in special education costs in eight school divisions before and after implementing an inclusive special education program (Group A); b) changes in special education costs in two school divisions, one inclusive and one not, when using a more precise calculation (Larson method) of special education costs (Group B); and c) a comparison of total special education costs for all school divisions in the state (where data were reported) before and after a state project to encourage inclusive special education (Group C). All calculations compared 1987-88 costs (pre-inclusion) to 1990-91 costs (post-inclusion), after adjusting 1987-88 costs to 1990-91 values. The study found that in the eight inclusive school divisions, six of the eight reduced the percentage of special education costs when compared to total costs. When looking at reported per pupil costs, only two of these eight divisions reported the cost of elementary special education at a lower level after inclusion. For secondary education, two different divisions of the eight reported the special education costs at a lower level after inclusion. None of the eight reported reduction in both secondary and elementary; half reported no reduction in either level after inclusion. The case study data found that the inclusive school division had an increase in special education costs, while the non-inclusive school division had a reduction in special education costs during the same time period. Recalculation using the Larson method showed that special education costs were approximately one and one-half times those reported by standard reporting procedures. The study also produced a more accurate method for determining regular education costs for special education students by calculating time special education students spent in regular education, using individual student data to determine the percent of time reported in special education. In all school divisions in Virginia reporting data, the study found a reduction of special education expenditures occurred during the three-year period, while the enrollment of special education increased during the same period of time. / Ed. D.