ERIC Number: EJ1016666
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 5
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1303-0485
EISSN: N/A
Opinions of In-Service and Pre-Service Special Education Teachers on the Competencies of the Undergraduate Special Education Programs
Ergul, Cevriye; Baydik, Berrin; Demir, Seyda
Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, v13 n1 p518-522 Win 2013
The purpose of this study was to examine the opinions of in-service and pre-service special education teachers on the undergraduate special education programs, field competencies, and their own professional competence. Participants' suggestions for improving undergraduate special education programs and in-service training programs including topics they need for their own professional development were also obtained. The study designed as a survey model included 107 special education teachers and 160 seniors in the undergraduate special education programs of 4 different universities. The data were gathered using an information form and the Special Education Teacher Program Field Competencies Scale which were developed by the researchers. Results showed that the teachers who graduated from an undergraduate special education program perceived themselves and their teaching education more sufficient than both subject matter teachers and teachers with a special education teaching certificate. Teaching academic skills, classroom management, teaching speech, and language skills and autism were the topics on which the majority of participants found themselves inadequate and requested in-service training. Extending the duration of the practicum, spreading it over the whole duration of the program, and making the courses more field-oriented were the most frequently suggested changes by the participants to be made in the undergraduate special education programs. Based on the results of the study, implications for practice were discussed.
Descriptors: Teacher Competencies, Special Education, Undergraduate Study, Teacher Attitudes, Student Teacher Attitudes, Special Education Teachers, Teacher Surveys, Educational Needs, Teaching Skills, Program Improvement, Foreign Countries, Self Efficacy, Teacher Education Programs, Classroom Techniques, Language Skills, Autism, Faculty Development, Academic Education, Speech Communication
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Turkey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A