Examining General Education and Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions on Self-Determination and Their Efforts to Promote Students’ Self-Determination

2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyojeong Seo
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pen-Chiang Chao ◽  
Yu-Chi Chou

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are differences in the teaching of self-determination between general and special education teachers in Taiwan. The participants were 380 teachers recruited from elementary schools nationwide in Taiwan. Among them, 128 were general education teachers, while the others were special educators providing services in either resource rooms (n = 125) or self-contained classrooms (n = 127). The Teaching Self-Determination Scale (TSDS) was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, t tests, analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) were employed to analyze data. Findings showed that both general and special education teachers’ level of teaching self-determination was in the range of “sometimes to often”. Nevertheless, general education teachers’ level in teaching psychological empowerment, self-regulation, and autonomous skills was higher than that of their special education counterparts. Additionally, general educators tended to focus the most on instructing psychological empowerment abilities, while the self-contained classroom teachers paid intense attention to the teaching of autonomous skills. Resource room teachers demonstrated a relatively balanced instruction of various skills. Findings of this study enabled us to further understand elementary school teachers’ level of teaching self-determination and its characteristics as well. Suggestion and implications are provided.


2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hala Elhoweris Elhoweris ◽  
Negmeldin Alsheikh

The objectives of this study were threefold: (a) to determine whether the Unit-ed Arab Emirates (UAE) general and special education teachers were making any specific testing modifications for students with disabilities; (b) to survey UAE general and special education teachers’ perceptions of testing modifications in terms of their usefulness, easiness, and fairness; and (c) to explore possible differences between general and special education teachers’ aware-ness and perceptions of testing modifications. Two hundred and eleven UAE general and special education teachers participated in this study. Results re-vealed that participants have a moderate level of awareness of testing modifications when assessing students with disabilities. Additionally, UAE teachers as a group perceived testing modifications as easy to make and fair. Statistically significant differences were found between general and special education teachers where special education teachers were found to be more informed than general education teachers.


1997 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 347-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Watson Moody ◽  
Sharon Vaughn ◽  
Jeanne Shay Schumm

The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of general and special education teachers' perceptions of grouping for reading and the types of grouping patterns that are implemented in classrooms in a diverse urban school district. Forty-nine third-grade teachers (29 general education teachers who had students with learning disabilities in their class for part of the day and 20 special education teachers) participated in the study. Individual and focus group interviews were used. The results of the interviews revealed that teachers value control over their decisions on how to group for reading. General education teachers indicated that they feel constrained by the demands of the district and school administration, whereas special education teachers believe they have more autonomy in their grouping decisions. The majority of the general educators reported predominant use of a whole class grouping format, whereas special education teachers used a more varied format. For the most part, general educators endorsed mixed-ability grouping arrangements for both social and academic reasons. Special educators, on the other hand, supported same-ability groups. The discussion provides insights into why teachers do not differentiate instruction when teaching in classrooms that have culturally, linguistically, and academically diverse student populations. The need for professional development in flexible grouping strategies is also addressed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Dewey ◽  
Paul T. Sindelar ◽  
Elizabeth Bettini ◽  
Erling E. Boe ◽  
Michael S. Rosenberg ◽  
...  

Demand for special education teachers grew continuously from the passage of Public Law 94-142 in 1975 through 2005, when this trend reversed. From 2005 to 2012, the number of special education teachers employed by U.S. schools declined by >17%. The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine factors that contributed to this decline. We parsed change in number of special education teachers employed into four constituent elements and found that these recent reductions were fueled by decreases in disability prevalence and the relative ratio of teachers to students in special versus general education, which favored the latter. These changes have important implications for teacher preparation programs’ efforts to adequately prepare special and general educators and for policies designed to improve teacher quality.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Y. Mngo ◽  
Agnes Y. Mngo

The opinions of general education secondary school teachers in seven select schools involved in a pilot inclusive education program in the Northwest Region of Cameroon were sought. The findings reveal that most teachers in Cameroon still prefer separate special education institutions to inclusive ones. These conclusions contradict earlier research which showed that resistance to integrated classrooms was emanating from beliefs and customs. Teachers with some training on teaching students with disabilities and more experienced and highly educated teachers were more supportive of inclusive education indicating that resistance to the practice is linked to inadequate or complete lack of teachers’ preparedness. Younger, less experienced teachers with no training in special education indicated less enthusiasm regarding the benefits of inclusion, their ability to manage integrated classrooms, and teach students with disabilities. The implication of these findings for future research, institutional support systems, institutional policies, and overall instructional leadership is discussed in this article.


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