The duties and responsibilities of the resource room teacher as perceived by elementary regular classroom teachers, resource room teachers and building principals

The study was conducted to ascertain the extent and nature of differences of perceptions which exist between the elementary regular classroom teacher, elementary resource room teacher and building principal relating to the duties and responsibilities of the elementary resource room teacher.A questionnaire containing nineteen statements regarding the duties and responsibilities of the elementary resource room teacher was distributed to 40 building principals, 572 elementary regular classroom teachers and 21 elementary resource room teachers. hirty-four building principals, or 85 percent, completed the questionnaire and 370, or 64 percent of the elementary regular classroom teachers completed and returned the questionnaire. A total of twenty, or 95 percent, of the elementary resource room teachers also completed and returned the questionnaire.The results were analyzed by the chi-square test of independence at the .05 level of significance to test three null hypotheses in order to determine if perceptions of building principals, elementary regular classroom teachers and elementary resource room teachers were identical or different.A statistical difference in perceptions of the three groups was indicated with regard to elementary resource room teachers keeping the building principal informed of all aspects of the resource room program, including the referral process. The data also indicated a difference in perceptions among the three groups pertaining to the resource room teacher cooperatively implementing and coordinating with the elementary regular classroom teacher skill development tasks of the student which have been included in the individualized educational plan. A difference in perceptions between the three groups was also indicated with respect to the resource room teacher participating in case conferences and assisting in determination of criteria for placement of a child in special programs. Implementation of long term and short term goals for the mildly handicapped child cooperatively by the elementary regular class teacher and elementary resource room teacher was also perceived differently by the three groups as a duty of the elementary resource room teacher.Recommendations for Further Research1. A study should be conducted to determine whether the identified duties and responsibilities of the elementary resource room teacher are actually being performed.2. A study should be conducted to determine if the perceived duties and responsibilities of the elementary resource room teacherr have changed as the resource room concept has been utilized over a longer period of time.3. As the utilization of resource rooms increases in Indiana Public School Corporations, the study should be replicated, as a larger sample may add verification to the results.4. A study to determine whether years of professional experience of building principals, elementary regular classroom teachers and elementary resource room teachers can be identified as a factor regarding the perceptions of the duties and responsibilities of the elementary resource room teacher should be conducted.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/181292
Date03 June 2011
CreatorsSummers, Dale Edward
ContributorsSnyder, Jack F.
Source SetsBall State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Formatx, 116 leaves ; 28 cm.
SourceVirtual Press

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