A comparison of staff development needs of beginning and experienced special education teachers of the mildly disabled

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dc.contributor.authorRadcliffe, Patricia Matthewsen
dc.contributor.committeechairBillingsley, Bonnie S.en
dc.contributor.committeememberJones, Philip R.en
dc.contributor.committeememberCross, Lawrence H.en
dc.contributor.committeememberTuning, Austin T.en
dc.contributor.committeememberMagliaro, Susanen
dc.contributor.departmentAdministration and Supervision of Special Educationen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T21:21:56Zen
dc.date.adate2005-10-21en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T21:21:56Zen
dc.date.issued1992en
dc.date.rdate2005-10-21en
dc.date.sdate2005-10-21en
dc.description.abstractStaff development, which is designed to help individuals grow personally and professionally in a supportive environment, is an important responsibility of supervisors in state and local education agencies. For teachers entering the field, staff development is particularly important since beginners often find the first years of teaching difficult and overwhelming. However, research related to the training needs of beginning special education teachers is limited. The purpose of this study was to: (a) identify competencies which beginning and experienced teachers of students with mild disabilities (emotionally disturbed or ED, educable mentally retarded or EMR, and learning disabled or LD) perceive as being necessary for effective special education teaching and (b) determine differences in training needs among beginning and experienced special education teachers. Survey methodology was used to gather information to answer the research questions. A staff development questionnaire was developed that contained 80 items under 7 broad categories: assessment/diagnosis, individual educational programs and planning, integration and collaboration, curriculum, instructional strategies, behavior strategies, and advocacy issues. The questionnaire was based on Virginia certification requirements, the professional literature, teacher interviews, and expert reviews. Teachers were asked to judge the relevance of the 80 skills to their teaching positions and to rate the extent to which they felt a need for additional training in each of the skill areas. Questionnaires were mailed to 1,056 ED, a EMR, and LD teachers in Virginia. Six hundred two teachers responded for a response rate of 57%. Data were analyzed* using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Major findings of the study include the following: (1) special education teachers perceived that the 80 competencies were extremely relevant to their jobs; (2) both beginning and experienced teachers indicated moderate training needs in the seven areas; (3) beginning LD teachers rated the need for IEP skills higher than experienced teachers; (4) experienced EMR teachers perceived that 5 of the 7 broad categories were more relevant than did beginning EMR teachers; and (5) EMR teachers rated need for training in curriculum higher than LD teachers. Implications for educational agencies, such as information on training priorities and teacher preparation programs are discussed.en
dc.description.degreeEd. D.en
dc.format.extentix, 176 leavesen
dc.format.mediumBTDen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.otheretd-10212005-123016en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-10212005-123016/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/40077en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartLD5655.V856_1992.R323.pdfen
dc.relation.isformatofOCLC# 26335658en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subject.lccLD5655.V856 1992.R323en
dc.subject.lcshSpecial education teachers -- Training of -- Virginiaen
dc.subject.lcshSpecial education teachers -- Virginia -- Attitudesen
dc.titleA comparison of staff development needs of beginning and experienced special education teachers of the mildly disableden
dc.typeDissertationen
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
thesis.degree.disciplineAdministration and Supervision of Special Educationen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.leveldoctoralen
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Educationen

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