School General Education Teachers Research Articles

Parent, Teacher, and Student Perceptions of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation for Middle School Students

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to obtain perspectives of parents, teachers, and students about the contextual fit of conjoint behavioral consultation for supporting middle school students with emotional and behavior concerns. Participants were eight parents of middle school students with elevated behavior risk, eight middle school students with elevated behavior risk, and four middle school general education teachers. Participants responded to questions during focus groups and interviews regarding their perspectives about conjoint behavioral consultation. Results were analyzed using thematic coding to identify the themes from participant responses. Results suggested that parents, teachers, and students viewed aspects of CBC as relevant and useful. In addition, participants identified potential barriers to CBC implementation during middle school. Findings suggest implications for possible modifications to enhance CBC implementation during middle school. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.

High School General Education Teachers’ Perceptions of Students with Significant Disabilities in Inclusive Settings

Thanks to legislation that supports inclusion of students with significant disabilities in general education, general education teachers need to have appropriate knowledge, training, and self-efficacy in order to work successfully with these students in their classrooms. In this study, a survey of high school general education teachers investigated their perceived knowledge and capabilities specifically related to teaching students with significant disabilities. A range of subject areas, years of experience, and educational/training attained were surveyed. The findings support existing, recent research in highlighting the challenges of securing a high-quality inclusive learning experience for students with significant disabilities. Implications include the need for training and experience in special education topics for general education teachers to support their ability to teach students with significant disabilities in inclusive settings.

General education teacher preparation in core academic content teaching for students with developmental disabilities

AbstractWe used multiple probe design with probe trials across three teacher‐student dyads to examine the effects of a professional development on middle school general education teachers' accurate use of simultaneous prompting procedure and self‐monitoring as well as the effects of the simultaneous prompting procedure on acquisition of academic core content of middle school students with developmental disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Moreover, we investigated the maintenance and generalization effects of professional development on teachers' outcomes as well as simultaneous prompting procedure on students' outcomes. Last, teachers' and students' opinions regarding social validity of the study were investigated. Results showed that (a) teachers acquired using simultaneous prompting procedure and self‐monitoring with 100% accuracy, maintained the acquired teaching behaviors over time and generalized them across different conditions and (b) students acquired their targeted academic content, maintained them over time, and generalized them across different people. Moreover, both the opinions of teachers and the students were positive. Implication of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Elementary Content Teacher Perceptions Regarding Their ELL Instructional Practices

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the instructional practices of elementary English language learner (ELL) teachers and how those practices are perceived by the teachers to be aligned with improved ELL academic performance. The study is grounded in Ladson-Billings’ theory of culturally relevant pedagogy, which holds that student academic achievement and cultural identity should be affirmed. The research questions focused on exploring instructional practices used by teachers to support ELL learning and the teachers’ perceptions of how their practices are aligned with improved ELL academic performance. The qualitative descriptive study was limited to three elementary schools in an Eastern school district. We analyzed data from lesson plans and semistructured interviews with nine general education teachers who taught in an elementary school in the geographical area. Using a priori, open, and axial coding, we analyzed data from lesson plans and semi-structured interviews with nine elementary school general education teachers who taught in a school in the geographical area. The findings demonstrated that positive strategies for cooperative learning and varied instructional practices were in use, but there is a need to build culturally appropriate and collaborative relationships with teachers of speakers of other languages and create a welcoming learning atmosphere for ELLs. A policy recommendation paper was developed to improve ELL pedagogy in content classes. Improved instruction for ELLs will contribute to positive social change by increasing ELL students’ academic achievement.

English Language Learner Instruction in Middle School Mainstream Classrooms

In a southeastern state, Grade 7 and 8 middle school general education teachers were not implementing cultural and individual instructional strategies consistently to support the academic achievement of the growing population of English Language Learners (ELLs). The purpose and key research questions of this qualitative study were designed to (a) identify what cultural relevant instructional strategies Grades 7 and 8 middle school general education teachers implement, (b) identify what individual relevant instructional strategies, and (c) understand what perceptions teachers have regarding strategies to facilitate consistent implementation of cultural and individual instruction to support ELLs. The nine participants were middle school (i.e., Grade 7 and 8) general education teachers from a school district in a southeastern state. Data were gathered through semistructured interviews and the themes included teachers’ beliefs in their abilities to provide consistent instruction to support ELLs, use of varied individual instructional strategies to support ELLs, use of varied cultural instructional strategies to support the needs of ELLs, and their want of preparation and relevant professional development to instruct ELLs. The findings have implications for positive social change, including identifying areas where professional development and focused instruction on the cultural and individual needs of ELLs increase teachers’ knowledge, skills, consistency, and perceived ability to support ELLs in the local school district.

중고등학교 일반교사의 통합교육에 대한 은유 표현 분석

중고등학교 일반교사의 통합교육에 대한 은유 표현 분석

A Survey of Elementary School General Education Teachers' Beliefs on Inclusive Education and Mathematics Instructional Practices for Students with Disabilities and Learning Difficulties

A Survey of Elementary School General Education Teachers' Beliefs on Inclusive Education and Mathematics Instructional Practices for Students with Disabilities and Learning Difficulties

Response To Intervention: Research And Practice

Responseto Intervention (RTI) is a service model designed to meet the learning needs ofstudents prior to diagnosis and placement in special education settings. Results of a quantitative quasi-experimentalresearch study to investigate the relationship between the RTI plan andself-reported implementation practices among general education elementaryteachers in a Florida school district using analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealedno significant difference between demonstration school and comparable schoolgeneral education teachers self-reported practices, self-reported implementation success rates, orself-reported data collection responsibilities.Recommendations for professional development opportunities for allteachers, paraprofessionals, and administrators involved in the RTI process basedupon analyzed research study data are included.

Are we exacerbating students’ learning disabilities? An investigation of preservice teachers’ attributions of the educational outcomes of students with learning disabilities

While claims of the importance of attribution theory and teachers' expectations of students for student performance are repeatedly made, there is little comprehensive research identifying the perceptions preservice teachers have of students with learning disabilities (LD). Accordingly, 444 Australian preservice primary school teachers were surveyed using vignettes and Likert-scale questions, to ascertain their responses to students with and without LD. It was found that preservice primary school general education teachers held a negative attribution style towards students with LD. Preservice primary teachers perceived students with LD as a lacking ability in comparison to others in the class. Recommendations for research and training programmes conclude the paper.

Teacher Expectations of Students' Classroom Behavior across the Grade Span: Which Social Skills are Necessary for Success?

This study explored teachers' ( N = 717) expectations of student behavior along school level (elementary vs. middle vs. high), program type (general vs. special education), and school type (high risk vs. low risk). Results indicated that all elementary and middle school teachers shared similar views regarding the importance of self-control skills, whereas high school special education teachers viewed self-control skills as significantly more important than did high school general education teachers. High school teachers rated assertion skills as significantly less important relative to elementary or middle school teachers. Results also indicated that teachers at high-risk schools viewed self-control and assertion skills as more critical for success than did teachers at low-risk schools.

Teachers’ personal epistemological beliefs about students with disabilities as indicators of effective teaching practices

Teachers’ epistemological beliefs, that is, their beliefs about the nature of knowledge and how it is learned, appear to be highly influential in their classroom practices. To date, the exploration of teachers’ epistemological beliefs has been complicated by philosophical and methodological disputes. A method is presented here for inferring the epistemological beliefs of elementary school general education teachers through their descriptions of their work with students with disabilities. Evidence to support the reliability of this method is also presented. Differences in teacher belief constructs are related to differences in instructional practices – a relationship which holds for instructional interactions with both individual students and the whole class, and which predicts instructional practices for students both with and without disabilities. We therefore speculate that differences in teachers’ beliefs about students with disabilities might be related to their larger epistemological theories about knowledge and learning. In speculating about the source of differences in beliefs and practice, it is notable that the normative school beliefs, that is, the prevailing beliefs in a school about teachers’ roles and responsibilities for students with disabilities, appear to influence the beliefs of individual teachers. The potential for differences in teachers’ beliefs and practices to influence student outcomes is also considered, with some preliminary evidence from student self‐concept data.