Comfort levels of regular educator's with special education issues: an illustration of training needs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the professional development needs of the North Crawford teaching staff in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin, through a needs assessment survey of the 41 regular education teachers within the district. The survey inquires about each teacher’s comfort level with fifteen various issues surrounding special education. The focus of the questions was on teachers’ understanding of the most recent legislation, their knowledge and comfort levels of disability categories, and their overall comfort level in regard to delivering services to students with special needs included in their classrooms. Results of the survey were tabulated to include percentages and frequencies. The results were to be used as a catalyst for providing in-service training in the areas of the identified lowest levels of comfort and to adopt a user-friendly special education handbook for the regular education staff. It was concluded that the five lowest areas of teacher comfort are: (1) knowledge that regular education teachers have of the 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as it applies to their jobs, (2) understanding of the special education referral process, (3) understanding the responsibility of regular education classroom teachers in developing IEP objectives, (4) understanding what a cognitive disability is, and (5) providing a modified grade in accordance with the IEP. The recommendations that were made as a result of the study were to focus an in-service, with regular educator’s input, around these low levels of comfort and to develop a handbook for regular education staff that focuses on special education. It was also recommended that we, as special educators, provide more opportunities for staff members to earn credits in the field of special education by increasing awareness of the training opportunities available.