Special Education Student Teachers Research Articles

Preliminary Investigation of the Sources of Self-Efficacy Among Teachers of Students with Autism

Teacher self-efficacy refers to the beliefs teachers hold regarding their capability to bring about desired instructional outcomes and may be helpful for understanding and addressing critical issues such as teacher attrition and teacher use of research-supported practices. Educating students with autism likely presents teachers with some of the most significant instructional challenges. The self-efficacy of 35 special education teachers of students with autism between the ages of 3 to 9 years was evaluated. Teachers completed rating scales that represented self-efficacy and aspects of the following 3 of Bandura's 4 sources of self-efficacy: (1) sense of mastery, (2) social persuasions, and (3) physiological/affective states. Significant associations were observed between physiological/affective states and self-efficacy, but no associations were observed for the other sources.

Working conditions as risk or resiliency factors for teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities

AbstractThis pilot study examined working conditions reported by special education teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) to identify factors common to teachers likely to leave their positions within the next 2 years and factors common to those likely to stay. Survey responses from an international sample of 776 teachers and related services providers indicated administrative support, availability of support personnel, access to curricula, adequate time for paperwork, years of teaching students with EBD, and behavior management approach used are significantly related to participants' intent to stay or leave. Physical injury by a student was among factors reported as not significant. This study is discussed in terms of its implications for addressing the current shortage of EBD teachers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Student Teachers in Special Education and Their Readiness to Work with Gifted and Talented Children

The paper is devoted to the review of our research with respect to the Polish special education student teachers' readiness to work with gifted and talented children. The research covered not only special education students but also their peers who represented other pedagogical specialisations. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the level of a pre-service teacher's knowledge and skills with respect to different forms of identification and education of gifted children in Poland. Some statistical facts and figures are provided.

Issues in Rural Special Education that Affect Students with Severe Disabilities

Rural special education teachers of students with severe disabilities and the institutions that prepare them often are faced with unique challenges. This article discusses the need for these teachers to be prepared as independent researchers, the need for a link between core content and functional skills in the curriculum that they teach, and the need for creativity in addressing transition options. In addition, the article discusses the need for personnel preparation programs in severe disabilities to have alternate routes to certification, distance education delivery, continued federal funding, and flexibility in meeting the law regarding the requirement that all teachers be highly qualified.

Curricular and instructional adaptations: Views of special and general education student teachers and their cooperating teachers

The study examined perceptions of general and special education student teachers and their cooperating teachers regarding the importance and use of various instructional strategies needed in diverse and inclusive classrooms. Participants responded to a 45‐item questionnaire. Major findings revealed similar rankings regarding the importance and frequency of use of many strategies. Ranked high on importance and use were strategies that focused on direct teacher interventions, practices that fostered an enabling classroom environment for teaching and learning, and positive behavior management interventions. Low‐ranked items included strategies that represented negative or punitive responses to students. Of the remaining strategies, differential rankings among groups were noted. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale

In this article, two studies that investigate the convergent validity of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS) are reported. In both studies, special education teachers of students identified as seriously emotionally dis turbed completed the BERS and a second mea sure of child functioning. In the first study, the five BERS subscales and overall strength quo tient were correlated with the five subscales and total score from the Walker-McConnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment-Adolescent Version. Correlations were generally moderate to high. In the second study, the BERS was correlated to the five com petence scales, the broad-band dimensions (i.e., Internalizing and Externalizing), and the Total Problem score of Achenbach's Teacher Report Form. Correlations were generally moderate to high for the competence scales and the externalizing dimension, but not for the internalizing dimension. Recommenda tions for use of the BERS are discussed.

Beginning Special Educators: Problems of Practice and the Influence of School Context

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of a study we conducted with our former special education student teachers during their first and second years of teaching. We investigated these beginning special educators' problems of practice and the influence of the school context on teachers' abilities to solve their problems. The results indicated that novice special educators were troubled by issues related to instruction and curriculum, understanding the system, mainstreaming and inclusion, and exhaustion. The results also indicated that these teachers received little support from their general education colleagues or administrators; most of their support came from other special educators. Implications for teacher education are discussed.

Homework-Communication Problems Among Parents, Classroom Teachers, and Special Education Teachers

The purpose of this study was to identify the communication problems that exist between home and school, particularly as these problems relate to homework given to students with mild disabilities in general education classes. Subjects for this study were 15 parents of students with mild disabilities, 14 special education teachers of students with mild disabilities, and 14 classroom teachers who taught students with mild disabilities in their classes. Nine focus groups were conducted: three with parents, three with classroom teachers, and three with special education teachers. Participants identified six major homework-communication problems. These involved initiation, frequency, timing, consistency, follow-through, and clarity and usefulness of communication. Other results, limitations of the study, and future research needs are also discussed.

Depression And Anxiety In Children And Adolescents With Learning Disabilities, Conduct Disorders, And No Disabilities

Depression and anxiety levels in three groups of children and adolescents, those with learning disabilities (LD), with conduct disorders (CD), and with no disabilities (ND), were measured with the student self-report scale and teacher rating scale of the Depression and Anxiety in Youth Scale. Results revealed highest self-ratings and teacher ratings in both depression and anxiety for the group with CD. Students with LD did not self-rate as more depressed and anxious than children without disabilities but were rated higher in depression by their teachers. Self-rating did not reveal, as teachers' ratings did, a progressive increase in anxiety and depression with age. Females self-rated higher than males in depression and anxiety; however, teachers rated males as more depressed and anxious than females. Special education teachers of students with CD and those with LD were more accurate than general educators in identifying students who self-rated as significantly depressed and/or anxious.

Critical Indicators of Effective Teaching for Preservice Teachers: Relationship Between Teaching Behaviors and Ratings of Effectiveness

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validiy of critical indicators of teaching effectiveness for preservice student teachers in special education. Critical indicators are behaviors that can be used to make decisions about the effectiveness of student teachers. In this study, the relationship between behaviors of preservice student teachers and ratings of their teaching effectiveness by a panel of observers is investigated. Ten preservice teachers (nine female and one male) completing their student teaching in the area of emotional disturbedlbehavior disorders participated in the study. Teachers were observed using the Pupil Observation Procedure form. The observation form is designed to sample both student and teacher behaviors, and focuses on behaviors that occur during instruction. Videotaped sections of participants' lessons were shown to eight raters who judged the effectiveness of each preservice teacher. Pearson product-moment correlations were calculated to determine the relation between teaching behaviors and teacher effectiveness. The highest obtained correlation was between the amount of off-task time observed in the classroom and teacher effectiveness ratings. In addition, moderate correlations were obtained between intrusive behavior and positive teacher responses and teacher effectiveness ratings. To further examine the relationship between teaching behaviors and ratings of teacher effectiveness, profiles of most effective, moderately effective, and least effective teachers were created. Results of the study are interpreted within the context of research on the development of teacher expertise.

The Effects of Prior Field Experience on Student Teacher Competence

Fifty-four special education student teachers were evaluated by university supervisors and cooperating teachers on eight variables, in the first week and the last week of their student teaching. Student teachers who had participated in a university-sponsored, field-based experience reported significantly higher levels of confidence prior to student teaching. In addition, these student teachers received significantly higher competence ratings by university supervisors and cooperating teachers. Student teachers who reported high levels of prior field experience independent of the field-based program received significantly higher ratings than students with less prior experience, although these student teachers did not report higher levels of confidence. Other variables (age, marital status, sex, etc.) did not bear a strong relation to student teacher competence. Results suggested that prior field experience, either independently acquired or university-sponsored, was associated with higher student teacher ratings, and that this association held true of the beginning and end of student teaching.

Teaching Systematic Instruction Competencies to Special Education Student Teachers: An Applied Behavioral Supervision Model

This study compared the effectiveness of immediate and delayed feedback supervision procedures on the acquisition of systematic instruction skills by three pre-service teachers who were receiving practicum experience in classrooms for students with severe disabilities. Behaviors targeted for intervention were: (a) the appropriate use of positive consequences, and (b) the appropriate use of systems of instructional prompts. All supervision procedures were administered by university supervisors. Results indicated that immediate feedback was more effective with two student teachers and delayed feedback was more effective for the third participant. Unobtrusive observations of two participants in the practicum sites following the intervention indicated that the teaching skills maintained in the absence of the university supervisors.

Supervising Practicum Students

Selecting, supporting, and evaluating field-based supervising teachers for practicum students, teacher interns, and student teachers in special education is an important aspect of teacher-training programs. Based on the supervision of over 400 practicum students and observation of supervising teachers, characteristics and practices that have been found effective in providing successful practicum experiences are offered. These characteristics and practices are focused on three broad areas, including preparing for the practicum student, providing an exemplary model and setting for the practicum student, and communicating with and evaluating the practicum student.

Portrait of the Shared Student Teaching Experience

With renewed attention to the value of reflection on the part of both practicing teachers and teachers in training, and increasing emphasis on the transition of the preservice teacher from student to practfcing professional, the student teaching experience assumes even greater significance than it has traditionally been accorded. The study of reflection on the part of both practicing and preservice teachers can perhaps be best approached through qualitative methods. In this investigation, five special education student teachers and their cooperating teachers maintained weekly journals reflecting upon successive themes. Their responses provide a portrait of a shared personal and professional growth experience.

TheAPTSEas a Tool for Measuring the Competencies of Special Education Student Teachers

ABSTRACT Assessment of student teachers' performance in teaching practice has been an area of concern for researchers for many years. At the Institute of Education (IE), Singapore, an instrument called the Assessment of Performance in Teaching (APT) is used to assess the competencies of student teachers teaching in regular schools. In July 1988, staff from the Special Needs (SN) Department in IE adapted the APT for use with student teachers teaching in the special schools. The adapted instrument known as the APTSE (Assessment of Performance in Teaching for Special Education) was trialled for a 10-week period by the SN Dept staff and the principals of the special schools. The purpose of the paper is two-fold: first, to describe the development of an instrument to measure the competencies of student teachers teaching in special schools in Singapore, and second, to propose the use of this instrument as a viable means of assessing student performance in teaching in the special school context.

Perceived Training Needs of Regular and Special Education Student Teachers in the Area of Mainstreaming

Abstract The present study sought to identify training needs of prospective teachers in the area of mainstreaming, and to determine whether special and regular education student teachers perceive a need for training in a common core of competencies. Subjects were 400 teachers in training who had finished their teaching practicum. Responses to a 53‐item competency questionnaire revealed that both groups indicated a need for additional training in several similar areas, including communication, classroom management, evaluation, and professional knowledge, needs also identified in the literature for practising teachers. Special education student teachers, however, expressed the need for more extensive training in a range of specific skills in these competency clusters. Implications of these Findings for teacher preparation programs are discussed.

Time on Task: A Naturalistic Study in Sixth-Grade Classrooms

? 1978 by The University of Chicago. 0013-5984/78/7803-0010$00.88 Pupils who fall behind their classmates academically fall further behind each year they remain in school (1). Part of the explanation for their continuing failure to keep pace with other pupils may lie in the fact that they spend less time on academic tasks than other pupils. The reason for such self-defeating behavior may be the desire to maintain self-esteem. If a pupil expends less effort on schoolwork than the average pupil, any resulting failure may be easier to accept. Pupils who try but fail may conclude that they do not have the ability to succeed. Pupils' involvement in tasks would seem to be a necessary condition for school achievement. If pupils are to master material, they must engage in it and react to it-read, make response. Indeed there are data to suggest that achievement is related to time for learning and opportunity to learn (2, 3). Similarly, there are data to suggest that learning is also positively related to low rates of time lost because of poor management of classrooms, for example, lengthy transitions (4). The major purpose of the present study was to find out whether pupil involvement was different for high, middle, and low achievers. Also, we wanted to find out whether pupils generally were more involved in some subjects than in others and whether certain types of classroom activities were associated with higher or with lower levels of pupil involvement. We selected two different types of schools to find out whether pupils' characteristics affect involvement. School 1