Elementary and Middle/Secondary Educator's Pre and Post Training Perceptions of Ability to Instruct Students with Disabilities

Abstract

The following discussion describes and evaluates an innovative training approach in which one hundred sixteen general educators (64 elementary and 52 middle/secondary) were educated in instructional and behavioral strategies to better serve students with disabilities. For a period of ten weeks a collaborative consultation intern and a university coordinator were assigned to teams of four to five general educators and a special educator at six elementary, four middle and two secondary schools. All schools served predominately rural students from North Central West Virginia. Each team attended weekly problem-solving seminars at their home schools. Prior to participation in the teacher preparation project, general educators rated their ability to work with students with disabilities. They again rated their ability to work with students with disabilities after their involvement in the project. The skill ratings of elementary and middle/secondary educators were analyzed and compared using the Assessment of Skills for Teachers (Morsink, Thomas, & Correa, 1991). Significant differences and improvements in perception of skills between and within elementary and middle/secondary educator groups were found. Elementary educators generally self-rated their skills higher than middle/secondary educators prior to and after participation in the training program. The findings are discussed and recommendations for policy and research are provided along with implications for training general educators.