Special Education Teachers Research Articles

Teaching by Example: Reflecting on Anti-Oppressive Pedagogies in Special Education Teacher Preparation

This article presents a tool to inform course planning among special education teacher educators to center anti-oppressive practices in their syllabi and course design. The authors begin by describing the context of special education teacher preparation and the need for preparation programs to center intersectionality and foster the development of anti-oppressive practices. Next, the authors present a new critical preparation framework drawn from theory and pedagogy that center equity (e.g., resources in critical race theory, culturally sustaining pedagogy, DisCrit) and a review of relevant literature in teacher education. Based on these critical framings, the authors present a tool: A Guided Reflection of Identity, Power, and Praxis in Coursework to guide teacher educators through course revision or design that centers anti-oppressive practices. Finally, the authors present recommendations for teacher educators to apply the tool to their own courses to ad-vance the use of anti-oppressive practices in teacher education and special education.

What Influences Early Childhood Special Education Teachers’ Use of Trauma-Informed Practices in Pyramid Model Classrooms?

What Influences Early Childhood Special Education Teachers’ Use of Trauma-Informed Practices in Pyramid Model Classrooms?

Advantages of Peer Tutoring for Students with Hearing Impairment: A Survey of Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions

Advantages of Peer Tutoring for Students with Hearing Impairment: A Survey of Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions

Effects of Diagnostic Labels for Students With Learning Problems on Teachers’ Stereotypes and Performance Expectations

Labeling students with learning problems may change teachers’ evaluations of them. Our study examined whether the “Special Learning Needs” (SLN) and “Learning Disability” (LD) labels influenced teachers’ beliefs that the diagnosis was correct and activated a low-competence stereotype. We examined whether this stereotype lowered teachers’ performance expectations and teaching intentions. N = 413 general and special education teachers were randomly assigned to the control (no label) or one of the experimental groups (SLN/LD label). All teachers read the description of a fictitious student with learning problems. Only in the experimental groups was the student labeled with an LD or SLN. Results showed that both labels increased teachers’ acceptance of the diagnosis as accurate. However, the labels did not change teachers’ stereotypes of the fictitious student. The LD label lowered some of teachers’ long-term performance expectations, resulting in more track recommendations to a special school. Unexpectedly, the SLN label increased the intention to foster the student’s academic performance. Some performance expectations of special education teachers were lower than those of general education teachers, which did not manifest in different teaching intentions. The findings are discussed in the context of the Dilemma of Difference.

Teachers’ perceptions of children with autism spectrum disorder: a comparison between special education and preschool teachers

This study aimed to determine the metaphors preschool and special education teachers developed about autism. In this study, the researchers used the phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research designs. While determining the study group of the research, the convenience sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling methods, was used. The study group consisted of 90 teachers who volunteered to participate. The data were collected with the metaphor pattern prepared as “Autism is like …………. Because it is like …….” metaphor mold was used to collect the data. The data were analyzed using the content analysis technique. The metaphors teachers use provide important information about their attitudes toward ASD and their pedagogical strategies. The results of this study show that both groups of teachers have different approaches to the education and development of children with autism. Findings reveal significant differences in attitudes and educational strategies, showing that special education teachers often view ASD as a process of discovery, while preschool teachers express hope and some uncertainty.

VOICES OF INCLUSION: UNRAVELING THE REALITIES AND CHALLENGES OF WORKING WITH CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

This qualitative study explored the experiences, challenges, and roles of professionals working with children with special needs in inclusive educational settings. The study used A total sampling of nine individuals, comprising two male and seven female teachers, employed at San Jose West Central School and San Jose National High School. The study found that special education teachers often assumed dual roles as lecturers and nurturers, providing instruction and emotional support to their students. Skill-building and the availability of numerous learning resources were also highlighted as essential aspects of their work. Despite their dedication, special education teachers faced significant challenges. These included the teacher-student ratio and a lack of facilities, which hindered the delivery of tailored support and quality education. However, the study emphasized special education teachers' unwavering dedication and resilience in their efforts to provide quality care and support to children with special needs. Supporting their well being by addressing their needs for rest, mental health support, and collaboration with local government units was identified as crucial for maintaining their effectiveness and promoting inclusive practices. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the realities faced by professionals in inclusive educational settings and underscore the importance of ongoing support systems, training, and resources. By recognizing and addressing the needs of special education teachers, the education system can create inclusive and supportive learning environments that benefit teachers and students with special needs.

Augmented reality's potential for addressing writing challenges in students with learning disabilities

AbstractThe increasing use of mobile devices in educational settings is mainly attributable to the significant contributions made by technological advancements. These devices now make it possible to incorporate mobile applications, such as augmented reality (AR), in order to provide students with learning disabilities with assistance in improving their writing skills. A qualitative semi‐structured interview was conducted with 12 expert special education teachers who specialised in learning disabilities to identify the challenges faced by students with learning disabilities in improving writing skills and the prospects of using AR to improve writing skills among these students. This study examines the specific challenges faced by students with learning disabilities in improving writing skills and explores the potential of AR to enhance their learning experiences. The research seeks to establish a foundation for designing and developing AR writing interventions designed to meet the distinct requirements of students with learning disabilities, based on analysis of the feedback and observations provided by special education teachers. The results emphasise the importance of incorporating cutting‐edge educational technology, such as AR, to facilitate learning in special education settings. Interviews with special education teachers revealed themes related to students' challenges in improving their writing skills. Simultaneously, the study explores the potential of AR in delivering targeted interventions that actively involve students and enhance educational achievements. The findings of this research improve our understanding of how to effectively incorporate AR tools into special education settings to promote the development of students' writing skills.

Perception of Hearing Special Education Teachers on the Use of Communication Sign Language Textbooks (BTBIK) in Teaching

Perception of Hearing Special Education Teachers on the Use of Communication Sign Language Textbooks (BTBIK) in Teaching

Exploring the Support Systems of Special Education Teachers

Exploring the Support Systems of Special Education Teachers

Socialization and personal values of teachers in general education, special education, and extracurricular education schools

ABSTRACT The study compared socialization and personal values of teachers in general education schools, special education schools, and music schools that offer extracurricular education. A total of 401 teachers in Estonia filled in the Portrait Values Questionnaire. The results showed that teachers’ socialization and personal values were similar across different schools, but teachers in special education schools differed from general education and music school teachers. Teachers in schools for students with emotional-behavioral difficulties ranked achievement much lower and considered hedonism more important to socialize in children. Teachers in schools for students with disabilities rated self-transcendence values less important to develop in children than general educators and music school teachers. Regarding personal values, teachers in schools for students with emotional-behavioral difficulties considered hedonism more important and security less important than teachers from other schools. Overall, the findings suggest that teachers adapt their values to the school’s context and children’s characteristics.

The Career Choice Reasons of Special Education Teacher Candidates

Introduction: Special education teaching has become a popular and frequently preferred profession in recent years. It is a matter of curiosity why this profession is preferred. The aim of the study is to examine the reasons for the preference of pre-service teachers the special education department. Method: In this study, phenomenology, one of the qualitative research models has been used. The participants of the study consisted of 182 first-year students of special education teacher training program studying in four different universities in the Black Sea and Central Anatolia regions. The data of the study were collected online through a data collection form created by the researchers. The data were analyzed with MAXQDA software. Findings: According to the findings, the students preferred the special education department for altruistic reasons, felt positive feelings towards the department, and set personal goals for their profession in the future. Most of the students did research before choosing the department and received information from people related to special education. It was concluded that the people who influenced the students to choose the department were mostly family members. Finally, most of the students stated that they found special education teaching suitable for their personalities. Discussion: When the results of the research are evaluated in general, it is seen that special education teacher training program is mostly preferred for altruistic reasons and that the preferences are mostly researched and made consciously. This situation is thought to be important and promising in terms of students' future professional success

The Relative Contribution of Psychological Empowerment in Predicting Job Satisfaction, Time Management, and Future Orientation Among Special Education Teachers

The Relative Contribution of Psychological Empowerment in Predicting Job Satisfaction, Time Management, and Future Orientation Among Special Education Teachers

Investigating the Relationship Between Preservice Special Education Teachers' Attitudes Toward Professional Collaboration and Teaching Competencies

Introduction: Collaboration is a positive and mutually committed process that involves team members working together, pooling resources, and sharing an environment. The process of collaboration among teachers also leads to the improvement of professional practice and the quality of learning outcomes. Teachers in a collaborative environment know that there are other experts from whom they can get support in the educational process. This situation has a positive effect on their attitudes towards the teaching profession, and positive attitudes enhance their professional competence by increasing their motivation to learn and teach. This study aimed to contribute to the literature by clarifying the relationship between attitudes towards collaborative working skills and teachers' competencies in the field of special education. Method: The research was designed in relational survey method, one of the quantitative research types. A total of 253 students who were enrolled in the undergraduate special education program at the universities and took the teaching practice course for at least one semester participated in the study. The data of the study were collected through the "Attitude Scale towards Professional Collaboration among Teachers" and "Ohio Teacher Competence Scale". Before analyzing the data, the assumption of normality was checked. Then, statistical analyses (correlation, regression, one-way analysis of variance, independent groups t-test) were performed. Reliability coefficients were also calculated for each scale. Results: As a result of the analyses, a high positive correlation was found between pre-service teachers' attitudes towards professional collaboration and teacher competencies and their subdimensions. In addition, it was found that pre-service teachers' attitudes toward professional collaboration positively predicted teacher competencies and their subdimensions. Finally, the attitudes towards collaboration and teacher competencies of pre-service teachers working with students with severe and multiple disabilities in teaching practice were higher than those of pre-service teachers working with other disability groups. Discussion: The results of this study suggest that pre-service special education teachers' positive attitudes towards professional collaboration significantly increase their levels of teacher efficacy, and that working with different disability groups affects pre-service teachers' professional development in different ways. This highlights the importance of teacher education programs to promote approaches that are sensitive to diversity and diverse learning needs.

Pre-service special education teachers’ shared book-reading discourse: Evaluating explicit and implicit attitudes towards children with disabilities

Pre-service special education teachers’ shared book-reading discourse: Evaluating explicit and implicit attitudes towards children with disabilities

IEPs in the Age of AI: Examining IEP Goals Written with and Without ChatGPT

Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are a core element of special education in the United States. Within IEPs, IEP goals drive the implementation of IEPs and guide measurement of progress for students with disabilities. Yet research indicates that many IEP goals lack sufficient detail, indicating overall low-quality goals. Additionally, special education teachers can feel unsupported in their jobs and struggle with managing their workloads. This convergent mixed methods study explores the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in special education to address these issues. Specifically, we explored how experienced teachers perceive AI’s role in their practice and compared the quality of AI-generated IEP goals to those written by special education teachers. Quantitative findings show no statistically significant difference ( p = .67) in quality ratings of IEP goals written only by teachers versus AI-generated goals. Qualitative findings depict overall positive perceptions on using AI to facilitate workload. Implications and opportunities for future research and the field centering on continued exploration and training of using generative AI to assist special education teachers are discussed.

특수교육대상자와 특수교육 교원 중장기 수요 분석

Purpose: This study aimed to estimate the number of students eligible for special education and the required number of special education teachers in South Korea from 2024 to 2033. Method: The study employed ARIMA time series analysis using data on special education students from 2014 to 2023. Two scenarios were presented: one excluding and the other including the projected decline in the school-age population. Results: The number of special education students is expected to increase to 142,371 by 2033 without considering the school-age population decline, and to 136,671 when the decline is accounted for. This represents an annual increase of approximately 2,500 to 2,800 students. By school level, the number of students is projected to grow in the infant, kindergarten, elementary, middle school, and specialized vocational education levels, while declining in high schools. By disability type, the number of students with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, communication disorders, and developmental delays is expected to increase annually. In contrast, those with visual, hearing, physical, emotional/behavioral, and learning disabilities are expected to decline, while the number of students with health impairments is likely to remain stable. Based on the legal requirement of one special education teacher per four students, the demand for special education teachers in public and private schools is estimated at 35,595 by 2033 without considering the school-age population decline, and 34,170 when the decline is included. This necessitates an additional 626 to 704 teachers annually. Conclusions: The steady increase in the number of special education students highlights the importance of proactive teacher workforce planning.

저경력 특수교사의 특수교육대학원 학습경험에 대한 자문화기술지

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the learning experiences of novice special education teachers in graduate school for special education, in order to understand the process of professional development and the significance of their expertise through teacher retraining. Method: The methodology of this study involves using autoethnography, a qualitative research method, to richly and thoroughly document and analyze the experiences of novice special education teachers. Results: The results of this study are as follows. First, the novice special education teacher entered the graduate school of special education due to both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Second, the researcher experienced deep knowledge, learner-centered teaching methods, and reflective learning at the graduate school of special education. Third, the researcher achieved personal, practical, and social growth through the learning experience at the graduate school, which enhanced their professional competence as a special education teacher. Conclusion: The findings of this study highlight the need for learning experiences in graduate schools of special education to improve the professional development of novice special education teachers.

Practitioners’ Perspectives on the Impact of Picture Exchange Communication System on Communication, Learning and Social Interaction of Children with Autism in the UAE

ABSTRACT Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that negatively impacts the social, communication and behavioural skills of individuals. However, communication is at the heart of the development of individuals, including those with ASD. While the effects of picture exchange communication system (PECS) on the development of children with ASD have been assessed in Western countries, such research is unavailable in non-Western societies. This study explored the perceptions of practitioners towards the effect of PECS on children with ASD in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study participants comprised 71 practitioners (teachers, special-education teachers and therapists) working in educational and rehabilitation institutions in the UAE. An instrument known as Perception towards Picture Exchange Communication was developed to collect data from the participants. According to the results, the practitioners held negative views towards the impact of PECS on the development of children with ASD. Other variables, such as years of experience supporting a child with ASD, child’s age and institutions of enrolment, provided additional insights into the perception of practitioners. The need for retraining of practitioners involved in the development of intervention for children with ASD was proposed and other implications of the findings were discussed.

예비특수교사의 체육 교수전문성 발달을 위한 프로그램 운영 경험

Objectives The purpose of this study was to specifically suggest what are the main subjects of worries and worries experienced in the process of operating a physical education teaching professionalism program, how to solve the major concerns and worries experienced in the process of performance, and what kind of educational experts grow as a teacher educator who teaches preservice special education teachers. Methods For this purpose, the self-research method was used to present educational experiences related to the development, application process, and growth of the physical education teaching professionalism program, and data were collected through self-reflection sheets and syllabuses recorded by the researchers themselves. The collected data were analyzed using the area analysis and classification analysis proposed by Spradley(1979). Results The main subjects of worry and concern about the program for the development of physical education teaching professionalism of pre-service special education teachers were the gap between belief and reality, and the coordination of program variation. In addition, after developing the physical education teaching professionalism program, it was possible to double the possibility of practicing physical education teaching professionalism in order to solve the difficulties and confusion that arise in the application process by means of ‘resignation and strategic adaptation’ and ‘compromise and compromise within identity’. In addition, as a research participant and participant, he was able to be reborn as a teacher educator called ‘reflective practitioner: insight and practical horizon expansion’, ‘customized content pedagogical knowledge expansion: dualism of immersion and learning’. Conclusions By modifying the practical behaviors revealed in the development and application of the physical education teaching professionalism program and the strategic thinking that leads to such practical behaviors, it was possible to cultivate the capacity as a practical expert to improve the overall problems of reality. In order to develop professionalism in physical education, it is necessary to have mutual interaction with common culture rather than one-sided and biased process. In order to make a real change in education, it is necessary for learners to have a willingness to practice and passion to pursue learning. In addition to such personal beliefs, it is confirmed that cooperative assistance with experts and the process of inquiry can lead to a real change pursued by education.

The Transition to Kindergarten for Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Qualitative Study Examining the Perspectives of Caregivers and Teachers on Home-School Collaboration

ABSTRACT The transition to kindergarten can impact children’s academic, social-emotional, and behavioral well-being. Caregivers and teachers play a critical role during the kindergarten transition, especially for children with developmental disabilities, such as those on the autism spectrum (AS). In this study, we used qualitative data from focus groups (N = 7) with 11 diverse caregivers and 14 special education teachers from public schools to understand the transition to kindergarten for children on the AS in the northeast of the United States. The 11 themes that emerged from our data indicated that caregivers and teachers had concerns about children (e.g. daily living skills) and the school (e.g. support staff). Early, frequent, and personalized communication between caregivers and teachers that was bi-directional and action-oriented were reported as facilitators. Limited, non-existent, or negative communication between caregivers and teachers, as well as external circumstances (e.g. access to WiFi, busing), were highlighted as barriers. During the transition to kindergarten, effective caregiver-teacher meetings warranted clear expectations, a team-based approach, and data to promote home-school alignment. These findings suggest that trainings during professional development should encourage teachers to take a tailored approach in working with families to ensure a smooth kindergarten transition for children on the AS.