Special Education Teachers’ Knowledge and Attitudes toward the Use of Assistive Technology for Disabled Children Management: Impact of an Educational Intervention

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an educational intervention on improving teachers’ knowledge and attitudes toward the use of assistive technology devices. Methods: A quasi-experimental research design was applied with 68 purposive samples of teachers selected conveniently from four settings located at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Three tools were used including participants’ demographic and personal data, knowledge scale and attitudes questionnaire. Results: A highly significant difference was reported between pre and post-test among studied teachers according to their total knowledge in pre-assessment (66.1 ± 11.4) compared with (72.9 ± 12.0) in post-test and attitude in pre (77.9 ± 11.2) compared with post total score (86.4 ± 11.2) at p-value Conclusion: The program is effective in developing the knowledge and attitudes of the participants with a highly statistically significant difference between the pre and post interventions. Therefore, a well-planned and structured educational program should be undertaken to improve the level of awareness of special education teachers.