Training Special Education Teachers Research Articles

ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN KENTUCKY

The article is devoted to the issue of training special education teachers in Kentucky in a non-traditional way, with the help of alternative programs. The author provides a general description of such programs: analyzes their content, considers the forms and methods of training “alternative” teachers of special education. It was determined that the primary goal of creating alternative teacher certification programs was to fill the overall teacher shortage. However, in the process of implementation, the programs varied and were refined, which ultimately led to a change in their functionality. Alternative training programs began to be created as early as the 1980s and provided for the stimulation of an increase in the total number of teachers. It was found that each state has its own principles regarding alternative teacher certification. Most states have established unique alternative teaching certification programs. Many states have more than one program, allowing candidates to choose an option. It was found that in 2017‒2018 only 13.7% of all public school students in the United States were eligible for IDEA programm. Therefore, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has made a significant effort to increase the number of qualified special education teachers in the state by developing eight alternative teacher certification pathways for those interested in entering the teaching profession. The majority of educational institution administrations have a positive attitude towards alternative programs. That’s why was made a conclusion regarding the importance of this type of pedagogical training to ensure the necessary number of pedagogical workers and maintain high standards of education in the USA.
 Keywords: alternative programs; alternative teacher certification; special teacher training programs; professional development; special education; teaching profession; pedagogical training; non-traditional training programs.

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The article analyzes the developmental stages of special education teacher training programs in the United States of America. It was founded that for many years there were no licensing requirements or programs to train teachers to work with children with special educational needs. The civil rights movement, legislative revisions, and court cases changes in special education teacher training and service delivery models for students with disabilities. The article describes three eras of teacher training each differed from the previous one by improving conditions for children with disabilities. The first teacher training programs were started in the early 1950s and were intended for special educational and clinical institutions for children with speech and hearing impairments, mental retardation, and deaf students. In 1958, The Education of Mentally Retarded Children Act was passed and the practice of training special education teachers in colleges and universities began. In 1975, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. In the mid-1970s, competency-based teacher education began to operate, but scientists came to the conclusion that this practice is too mechanical and does not cover all the nuances of teacher training. In the 1990s, the Learning Behavior Specialist-1 Licensure was introduced to serve the majority of students with disabilities in state schools and the quality of teacher training was improved. As for today, every student with limited educational opportunities can be fully or partially included in general education institutions or a special school. The decision is made by the committee that develops the Individualized Education Plan or the 504 Plan.
 Keywords: special educational needs; inclusive environment; inclusion; child with special educational needs; inclusive education; state standards; special teachers; certification; licensing requirements.

Four Components for Training Special Education Teachers in Behavior Management Skills

Of all the tasks that special education teachers are charged with completing, managing classroom behaviors has been reported as one of the most challenging and one of the top reasons the teachers are leaving the field. The task of providing effective support in classroom management is also daunting for leadership personnel in school systems. This paper provides four components that should be considered when planning a professional development (PD) package for teachers regarding behavior management. These four components include didactic presentation, performance feedback, technology, and maintenance and generalization. These components have been proven to be effective in the current field of research. Further examples and supportive details regarding each component and how to create an effective PD package are provided in this paper.

Opinions and Recommendations of Academics Training Special Education Teachers About Applicability of Integration in Turkey

This study aims to state the opinions and recommendations of academics who train special education teachers for integration applications. The study is patterned as a descriptive case study, and the participants consist of 28 faculty members from 18 universities who work in the special education undergraduate program and whose professional experience ranges from 5 to 45 years. The study data were collected through face-to-face interviews with participants using the semi-structured interview technique. The obtained data were analyzed through descriptive analysis. The findings show that most academics think that integration is not being applied today and that there is a lack of necessary infrastructure for its application. Faculty members participating in the study stated that teachers do not receive adequate training about integration, teachers should undergo serious in-service training, and courses related to special education should be introduced in all departments of the faculty of education. For successful integration, it is necessary to make physical and educational arrangements, provide support education services, train teachers to have an integration perspective and improve their attitudes. In conclusion, integration is an application that can only be realized with the joint effort of all parties through multidimensional discussions of its contents.

Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Egypt: Challenges and Recommendations

The study aimed to examine challenges to the inclusion of Students with Disabilities (PWDs) in mainstream education in Egypt. A mixed method approach was used to collect data from various sources. First, statistical information was retrieved from the Ministry of Education (MoE). Secondly, Ministerial Decrees were examined. Thirdly, semi-structured interviews with specialists in the field of special education in Egypt (N=12) were conducted to explore the major issues that emerged from this study. Results revealed challenges facing the inclusion of PWDs in Egypt, such as a lack of in- & pre-service training of teachers, limitations of construction and preparation, lack of coordination among ministries, limited programs for students with certain disabilities, and lack of awareness in the community and the family. The study concluded that the successful inclusion of PWDs in mainstream schools in Egypt requires, first, that universities consider inclusive education when training special education teachers; secondly, that professional development of teachers on inclusive education requirements is conducted, new policies are adopted, and school facilities are constructed with the needs of PWDs in mind; and thirdly, that the inclusion of PWDs not be limited to individuals with certain disabilities but must include students regardless of their type of disability.

Training Special Education Teachers to Select and Implement Appropriate Procedural Variations of Functional Communication Training

Training teachers to select and implement appropriate function-based interventions may reduce their reliance on behavior specialists and other support staff to help manage their students’ problem behavior in the classroom. Most prior studies on this type of training evaluated outcomes by measuring teachers’ verbal report rather than their implementation of interventions. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend prior research by training teachers to identify the putative function of problem behavior via assessment of descriptive data, to select the appropriate procedural variation of functional communication training (FCT), and to implement FCT accurately in role play. Five special education teachers participated. Results suggested that behavioral skills training (BST) was highly effective for all participants. These findings have important implications for disseminating behavior-analytic interventions into settings with limited resources.

Training Special Education Teachers through Computer Simulations: Promoting Understanding of the Experiences of Students with Disabilities

In increasingly diverse schools, teachers are challenged to effectively instruct students with a wide range of disabilities. Yet, preservice training and hands on experience in instructing students with disabilities are limited; many new teachers report a lack of sufficient training in working with diverse students. Frequent opportunities for practice are important in successfully preparing preservice teachers; however, budget and time constraints make ample opportunities for practice difficult. Simulations can provide a safe and controlled environment for teachers to engage in frequent practice and receive immediate feedback. The simulations in this article cover a wide variety of disabilities that educators could encounter with students in the classroom. These simulations can help raise empathy, awareness, and improve student-teacher relationships while helping teachers create a classroom environment that is conducive to learning for all students.

Opinion on Recent Developments and the Future of Special Education

Three encouraging trends in special education are greater focus on instruction, emphasis on positive approaches to problem behavior, and greater reliance on scientific evidence. Next steps involving instruction should include research on modifications of instruction needed to accommodate learners with disabilities and on the place in which these modifications can best be made. In using positive approaches to teaching and behavior management, next steps should focus on making them typical in special education first, then on encouraging their use in general education. Regarding scientific evidence, next steps should be unambiguous preference for science and training special education teachers to rely only on scientific evidence.

Critical Issues in Training Special Education Teachers

Critical Issues in Training Special Education Teachers

Supervisory training for teachers: multiple, long-term effects in an education program for adults with severe disabilities

We evaluated a means of training special education teachers in supervisory strategies for improving specific teaching-related performances of their paraprofessional, teacher assistants. Using classroom-based instruction and on-the-job monitoring and feedback, seven teachers were trained to systematically observe the data collection and teaching performances of their assistants as well as to provide contingent feedback. The supervisory training for teachers, evaluated using a multiple-probe design across groups of assistants, was accompanied by improvements in data collection performances among seven of eight assistants. Improvement in other teaching skill applications also occurred. The improved performance among the assistants was maintained across a 17-month follow-up period. The supervisory training seemed to have multiple benefits in that the teachers’ own teaching-related performances improved once teachers were trained to systematically observe and provide feedback to their assistants. The need for continued research is discussed to evaluate the benefits of supervisory training to improve and maintain other important areas of staff performance.

Teachers and Artificial Intelligence: The Logo Connection

This article describes a three-phase program for training special education teachers to teach Logo and artificial intelligence. Logo is derived from the LISP computer language and is relatively simple to learn and use, and it is argued that these factors make it an ideal tool for classroom experimentation in basic artificial intelligence concepts. The program trains teachers to develop simple demonstrations of artificial intelligence using Logo. The material that the teachers learn to teach is suitable as an advanced level topic for intermediate- through secondary-level students enrolled in computer competency or similar courses. The material emphasizes problem-solving and thinking skills using a nonverbal expressive medium (Logo), thus it is deemed especially appropriate for hearing-impaired children. It is also sufficiently challenging for academically talented children, whether hearing or deaf. Although the notion of teachers as programmers is controversial, Logo is relatively easy to learn, has direct implications for education, and has been found to be an excellent tool for empowerment-for both teachers and children.

Training special education teachers in rural areas: A viable model

In 1983, the Program for Exceptional Children, College of Education, University of South Carolina, received funds from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services to design, develop, and implement a service delivery model that would meet the unique learning needs of mildly handicapped children in sparsely populated areas of South Carolina. The model emphasizes the training of regular elementary teachers at the master's degree level to function as teacher-consultants to other regular classroom teachers to maintain these children in the regular classroom.

Use of microcomputers in training special education teachers

In a 1982 report, the Office of Technology Assessment observed that modern society is undergoing profound technological and social changes brought about by what has been called the information revolution. This information revolution has already created major demands for changing education practices and will undoubtedly alter the face of education in the future. The microcomputer is one of the prime movers of the revolution. While the computer has long been capable of facilitating classroom instruction, providing teacher training, and assisting school management and administration, until recently, the expense of computer technology has prevented the wholesale utilization of this resource. Recent advances in the computer industry, however, have resulted in the production of relatively inexpensive commercially available microcomputers that are readily accessible to teachers and students. Although microcomputers appear to have major implications for training special education teachers, there is virtually no empirical information available to guide efforts in this area (Rieth & Semmel, 1979). The available information related to the effectiveness of computer-based instruction in higher education, however, is encouraging. In this paper, we briefly review research on the effectiveness of computer-based instruc

Use of Minicourse Instruction with Student Teachers of Educable Mentally Retarded Children

The present research investigated whether randomly assigned student teachers who participated in minicourse instruction (experi mental group) would increase their use of skills taught by the minicourse when compared to student teachers who had not had mini course instruction. In addition, the research investigated whether the oral language of the EMR children in the classes of the experi mental group student teachers changed. Post-minicourse videotapes of E and C groups showed significant increases by the E group on two of 14 skills. Audiotapes of the children's language showed increases in only the use of action words. It is suggested that the mini course format will need revision in order to result in increased usefulness with preservice teachers. MICROTEACHING HAS BEEN suggested as a useful method for use in teacher training since it is real and because it focuses on the training of specific tasks (1). Because of these advantages, many teacher education pro grams have reported the use of microteaching in their pro grams (14). In fact, there is a proliferation of reports with out objectifying research describing diverse applications of microteaching (2, 3, 6, 7, 10) and in general an enthusiasm for the procedure. The research on microteaching, although not unequivocal, also demonstrates a general enthusiasm for the method (4, 8, 9, 11). The minicourses developed by Far West Laboratory incorporate microteaching into their format. The mini courses are self-instructional and are designed to teach one behaviorally-defined skill in four to six weeks to experi enced teachers. The final minicourse is a product of several revisions dictated by preliminary and field test results. Minicourse Two, Developing Oral Language in Children, which was used in this research, is one of approximately 18 minicourses produced by the Far West Laboratory. There were two purposes to the present research. The first was to investigate the use of the minicourse with pre service special education teachers. Research indicates that participation by experienced teachers does result in acquisition of the skills taught by the minicourse (5). Little information is available on the use of any of the minicourses with the preservice group, since the majority of field tests on the minicourse have been conducted within the public schools with inservice teachers. Likewise, there is little information on the use of the minicourse for training special education teachers, although Borg (5) suggested that some evidence exists to support the use of minicourses with teachers of high risk students and Stowitschek (13) investigated the use of Minicourse Five, Individualizing Instruction in Mathematics, with inservice teachers of educable mentally retarded children. The second purpose of this research was to investigate whether there was any change in the children's oral language following participation by their student teacher in Minicourse Two. Since the ultimate purpose in teaching any skill to a teacher is to improve her chances of making a change in child behavior, student outcomes must, in the end, be examined when determining the usefulness of minicourse instruction.

Training Special Education Teachers in Physical Therapy Techniques by Means of Programed Demonstrations

A method was evaluated for coordinating the efforts of the classroom teacher and the physical therapist in two phases of physical therapy: (a) inspection of therapeutic equipment, and (b) methods of facilitating locomotion. Programed demonstrations were provided for 20 student teachers in two groups; one group received programed instruction in methods of locomotion used by physically handicapped children; the other group received programed instruction in the inspection and adjustment of therapeutic equipment. Judges observed and recorded locomotion behavior of the children and inspecting behavior of the student teachers to determine whether training had transferred to the orthopedic classroom. Predictions about the effect of the program on inspection and adjustment of therapeutic equipment were sustained. The methods of locomotion program did not produce the predicted classroom behavior differences.