A well-prepared and qualified special education teacher is crucial to the performance of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). The prominent educators and federal government encourage the use of extended field experiences in preparing qualified special education teachers. The study examined the strengths and weaknesses of extended field experience in terms of the perceptions of the prospective teachers and teachers of students with EBD. Both individual interviews and a focus group were used to collect data. The results revealed that extended field experience benefits prospective teachers in showing the reality of the teachers' world, self-motivation assessment, and professional development. However, there were some improvements that could be made, including more placement selections and more practical knowledge.

Staff development, which is designed to help individuals grow personally and professionally in a supportive environment, is an important responsibility of supervisors in state and local education agencies. For teachers entering the field, staff development is particularly important since beginners often find the first years of teaching difficult and overwhelming. However, research related to the training needs of beginning special education teachers is limited. The purpose of this study was to: (a) identify competencies which beginning and experienced teachers of students with mild disabilities (emotionally disturbed or ED, educable mentally retarded or EMR, and learning disabled or LD) perceive as being necessary for effective special education teaching and (b) determine differences in training needs among beginning and experienced special education teachers. Survey methodology was used to gather information to answer the research questions. A staff development questionnaire was developed that contained 80 items under 7 broad categories: assessment/diagnosis, individual educational programs and planning, integration and collaboration, curriculum, instructional strategies, behavior strategies, and advocacy issues. The questionnaire was based on Virginia certification requirements, the professional literature, teacher interviews, and expert reviews. Teachers were asked to judge the relevance of the 80 skills to their teaching positions and to rate the extent to which they felt a need for additional training in each of the skill areas. Questionnaires were mailed to 1,056 ED, a EMR, and LD teachers in Virginia. Six hundred two teachers responded for a response rate of 57%. Data were analyzed* using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Major findings of the study include the following: (1) special education teachers perceived that the 80 competencies were extremely relevant to their jobs; (2) both beginning and experienced teachers indicated moderate training needs in the seven areas; (3) beginning LD teachers rated the need for IEP skills higher than experienced teachers; (4) experienced EMR teachers perceived that 5 of the 7 broad categories were more relevant than did beginning EMR teachers; and (5) EMR teachers rated need for training in curriculum higher than LD teachers. Implications for educational agencies, such as information on training priorities and teacher preparation programs are discussed. / Ed. D.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Education

Despite a national and international focus on the effective implementation of inclusive education, there remains a discrepancy between the desire to provide inclusive education and the realities of providing such an education. Whilst there has been wide-scale teacher development workshops offered by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, the ability of these workshops to provide teachers with meaningful insight into how to implement inclusive education practices in their classroom has been limited. This training has been criticized for being too theoretical and providing teachers with few practical strategies to deal with learners who have barriers to learning. In addition to this, much of the training that has taken place has been aimed at primary school teachers and there is much confusion amongst the teaching body as to how inclusive education can be implemented in the high school. This research studies the state of inclusive education in 6 affluent schools, both government and independent, in the greater Durban area, in terms of the teacher development that has taken place and the level of confidence amongst teachers in providing support to learners with barriers to learning, especially those learners who have learning disabilities. The schools researched are of the privileged few who can afford to invest in teacher development programmes over and above what is offered by the provincial department of education. In spite of this, teachers in these schools have been poorly prepared to meet the needs of learners with barriers to learning in their schools and they have little confidence in their own abilities to teach these learners. Subsequent interviews with senior staff members in these schools reveal that in reality, learners are not receiving the level of support that is being marketed by the Department of Education. Through this research it becomes clear that schools which have successfully implemented inclusive education are those that have taken the initiative to embark on teacher development within the school. The research conducted and an extensive literature review is used to suggest ways of narrowing the divide between the theory of implementing inclusive education and the actual practice thereof. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

A qualitative case study of critical consideration for the SMT in developing inclusive schools is reported in this study. The study was conducted in one rural district in the south coast area in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The aim of the study was to determine the SMT’s understanding of inclusive education and to establish what they consider as important in ensuring that their schools are inclusive. Lastly, it sought to identify the challenges that they faced in making their school inclusive. This was a single case study. The study targeted 5 SMT members who were involved in a focus group interview. Data analysis in the study influenced by systems theory. The two concepts defined are inclusive education and school management teams. Both the theoretical framework and the theory were used as lenses to understand the critical considerations for the SMTs in developing inclusive schools. The findings gathered from the study indicate that the SMT had very limited and often distorted understanding of the policy of inclusive education. It was also clear that they are not sure of what they consider critical for them as the SMT in the process of developing inclusive schools. At the same time they were able to indicate many challenges that they are faced with in their school. The findings suggest that this might be lack or inappropriate training on inclusive education as well as misunderstandings on inclusive strategies. The study concludes that the introduction of policy processes that requires implementation should ensure that all stakeholders involved are brought on board. It is important to get buy in from other educators to embrace diversity and understand the purpose. The process of paradigm shift is difficult to individuals especially when there are so many changes in the system, people tend to resist change. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The rationale of my research was to make sure that all learners are treated as equals in the education afforded to them. The researcher noticed that not all educators in mainstream schools facing learners experiencing learning problems could deal with the Curriculum and that many had difficulty in coping in an inclusive classrooms setting. Furthermore, the researcher noticed that many educators percieve that they did not have the knowledge and skills to identify and support learners experiencing learning problems. Consequently, the educators felt that they could not effectively help these learners in their learning progress. While the educators struggle to cope, learners ended up having to repeat a grade or being promoted to the next grade without having attained the neccesary skills yet. The researcher set out to research what the available literature stated about how educators could be empowered to cope with teaching learners experiencing learning problems in an inclusive classroom situation. For this research study, a qualitative approach was followed, as it best matched the type of interactive investigation considered necessary. Due to time, financial and resources constraints, purpose sampling was used as the most effective method of yielding data. The qualitative approach embraced a multi-perspective approach, in terms of which methods of data collection were used, such as collection questionnaires, conducting interviews and using observations. The researcher trusts that her understanding as presented in the research findings and the recommendations made will benefit not only herself, but will empower all educators coping with the stress of teaching learners experiencing learning problems and improving their skills and self-esteem in the educational environment.

This dissertation investigates the adaptation of a research-based professional development approach, Innovating Instruction, for special education teachers. This adapted approach uses assistive technology (AT) as a catalyst for helping teachers acquire design skills needed to include more inquiry-based practices. The adapted approach introduces effective teaching practices based on the learning sciences and demonstrates multiple ways to use AT to meet the needs of students. To address the “unexamined link between the use of design practices and the introduction of technology within a learning science framework,” (Meier, 2018, p.142), the Innovating Instruction© professional development framework (2018) at the Center for Technology and School Change provides a three-part approach to implement these changes: design, situate, lead. Two recent National Science Foundation grants have established the model’s positive impact on teachers’ ability to design projects, to shift from disciplinary to transdisciplinary project design, and to shift instructional thinking to include inquiry-based approaches. This dissertation responds to an important challenge in special education: the limited opportunities to prepare special education teachers to provide high-quality instruction to support all students. It uses technology as a catalyst to help special education teachers learn about design practices that engage students in inquiry practices that are culturally relevant and build on student strengths. The intervention introduced teachers to inquiry-driven design practices and used technology that supported new ways of understanding the capacity of special needs students through a six-month professional development program. The research design used was a convergent parallel mixed methods approach to analyze both qualitative and qualitative data to capture how special education teachers used AT to design inquiry-based learning. The analysis revealed a statistically significant shift over the period of the professional development, implementation, and reflection phases in terms of teachers’ ability to design inquiry-based projects that integrated AT. Also, the findings showed the importance of “situating” teachers’ needs, encouraging collaborative learning with colleagues, and developing a shared knowledge base of inquiry-based teaching strategies in special education classrooms. Findings from teacher questionnaires and interviews showed emerging leadership activities: teachers took more initiative to design projects and collaborate with other teachers in the school community.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2015, Texas special education programs were rated among the lowest in the nation. School districts in the state have a substantial need for effective and efficient staff training. In this study, researchers implemented TAPS: A Talk Aloud Problem Solving Approach Packet to teach active listener qualities to staff members in a life skills special education classroom. A multiple baseline across staff members was used to evaluate the effects of the TAPS training on the presence and absence of the staff members' active listener qualities during a pre-test, a post-test, and probes. The staff members that underwent TAPS training acquired all of the active listener qualities as a function of the TAPS training, and the effects of the training maintained during probe sessions. Additionally, TAPS training appeared to improve staff members' scores on the Whimbey Analytical Skills Inventory (WASI) Test and anecdotally improved the quality of staff and student tutoring interactions. Several areas of potential research and improvement are discussed.

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie studie is die opvoedingspraktyke van verskillende samelewings met betrekking tot verstandelik erg gestremde kinders histories-analities ondersoek. Die tendense wat telkens onderliggend aan veranderinge was, is geidentifiseer en aan die hand van pedagogiese kriteria geevalueer. In die antieke Griekse en Romeinse beskawings is 'n praktyk van uitwissing gevplg. Die Christelike godsdiens bet 'n meer verdraagsame houding meegebring, maar in die Middeleeue bet onkunde en bygeloof nog steeds hoogty gevier. Eers vanaf die agtiende en negentiende eeu bet groter kennis en 'n nuwe kindbeeld tot 'n meer rasionele benadering tot die verskynsel van verstandelike gestremdheid gelei. Pioniers, veral medici, bet na vore getree en die weg gebaan vir 'n beter bedeling vir hierdie kinders. Dit was egter eers in die tweede helfte van die twintigste eeu dat onderwys aan verstandelik erg gestremdes 'n werklikheid geword bet. Die beginsel van normalisasie is toenemend op dienste wat aan hierdie kinders verskaf is, toegepas en het tot gevolg gehad dat wetgewing met betrekking tot die onderwys aan verstandelik erg gestremde kinders tans in die toonaangewende lande en in SuidAfrika op 'n handves vir menseregte geskoei is. Hierdie bevindings bet segwaarde vir die huidige situasie ten opsigte van die beplanning van onderwysvoorsieninge vir verstandelik erg gestremde kinders in die Republiek van Suid- Afrika. / In this study the education practices with regard to severely mentally handicapped children of various societies have been investigated from a historic-analytical perspective. The trends related to a certain anthropologic view and a specific child image, which have been the cause of certain changes have also been identified and were evaluated according to pedagogic criteria. In the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations a trend of infanticide influenced the education of severely mentally handicapped children. The Christian religion brought a more tolerant attitude, but during the Middle Ages superstition and ignorance were still at the order of the day. It was only from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that more knowledge and a new child image brought about a more rational approach to this problem. Pioneers, mostly medical surgeons, came to the fore and paved the way for a better dispensation for these children. In the latter part of the twentieth century education for the severely mentally handicapped had for the first time become a reality. The normalization principle was increasingly applied to all services rendered to these children and this resulted in legislation regarding the education of severely mentally handicapped children in all leading countries and in South Africa being based on a declaration of human rights. These findings have an important meaning for the present situation with reference to the planning of education services for severely mentally handicapped children in South-Africa. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Historiese Opvoedkunde)