This study surveyed 156 special education teachers in South Carolina after their first year of teaching. Teachers reported they received less assistance than needed in all areas, especially in learning special education policies, procedures, and paperwork; materials and resources; and curriculum and instruction. They reported receiving the most…

Two experimental studies involving 70 preservice teachers are described that examined the effect of literary texts in teacher education on changing attitudes toward children with disabilities. In both studies, reading literary texts was more effective than reading professional texts in promoting positive attitude change. Implications are…

A study interviewed 15 teacher educators who have used case-based instruction (CBI) and have presented research on the topic. Perceived benefits of CBI included the development of generalizable skills by the students, while perceived barriers included the amount of time instructors needed to develop and use CBI. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

A study compared perspectives of 78 teachers in inclusive schools and 84 teachers in non-inclusive schools. The inclusion teachers had significantly more positive perspectives regarding inclusion. The groups differed regarding how well prepared their school was for inclusion, concern with teachers' roles, and concern with the effect of inclusion.…

This article examines trends in technology in special educational and in teacher education; addresses the positive and negative effect of technologies on service delivery and on personnel preparation; and explores how educators' attitudes and reactions and toward emerging technologies will determine the future of teacher education in special…

Six special educators at secondary level were observed and interviewed in their co-taught classrooms. The special educators took on roles ranging from providing support to the general educators to team teaching. Knowledge of content, attitude of the general educators, and scheduling issues influenced the role that each teacher took. (Contains…

This article describes the implementation and outcomes of a teacher-directed professional development program for 33 general and special education teachers that was designed to increase the awareness of culturally influenced learning and behavioral differences in the classroom. Results indicate an increase in teachers' depth of knowledge regarding…

This study examined the developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) beliefs of 113 practitioners employed in either general early childhood service settings (n=74) or special education service settings (n=39). Although results were remarkably similar across settings, differences were related to the appropriateness of implementing behavioral…

Seventy-four special educators who were involved in transition-related activities rated the importance of 30 transition-related teacher competencies. All competencies were identified by the majority of respondents as important. Competencies related to teaching money management skills and involving parents received the highest ratings. (Contains…

Qualitative methods were used to examine teacher perceptions regarding curriculum and instructional changes made as inclusive programs for students with mild disabilities were developed and implemented in six elementary schools. Teachers reported fundamental changes had occurred related to curricular requirements, instructional methods, methods of…

This study with 77 special education teachers examined degrees of burnout and number of heterogeneous disability categories, caseload size, and proportion of students with emotional impairments. Only the proportion of emotionally impaired students affected teacher burnout by increasing depersonalization. Burnout was also related to dissatisfaction…

Preservice and inservice teachers enrolled in an inclusion course interviewed 28 teachers teaching in inclusive classrooms. Over half of the interviewed teachers failed to mention the importance of support services in their definitions of inclusion and the majority indicated teaching in inclusive settings is to some degree problematic. (Contains…

Faculty from three universities cooperatively prepared and delivered a special education course for general educators. Interactive television was used for four of the six remote sites. Two sites reviewed videotapes of presentations. Participants preferred interactive presentations and judged content and teachings as less effective when it was not…

A survey of special education (n=95) and general education (n=73) co-teachers found they had little scheduled mutual planning time. Teachers agreed about who takes responsibility for evaluation, but each group believed itself more responsible for instruction and behavior management. Few teachers experienced the teacher preparations rated most…

This study examined the effect of modeling instructional strategies in an introductory class for preservice special education teachers (N=42). Examination of participants' attitudes toward various instructional strategies found attitudes and perceptions were positively affected by the instructor's modeling of certain strategies, especially…