This survey of 716 professionals working with children having mental handicaps found 12 percent reported fairly high levels of stress and tendency to burn out. These individuals were likely to (1) have a higher educational level; (2) have a feeling of incompetence; (3) have negative attitudes; (4) feel generally dissatisfied; and (5) tend to…

This report describes a project which examined special education teacher stress and burnout during the trainee (N=358) and inexperienced teacher (N=357) periods. The project's two goals were: (1) documentation of the relationships among teacher background, preparation, organizational variables, and occupational stress and burnout variables through…

Two student self-management techniques, student charting and student selection of instructional activities, were applied to ongoing data-based program modification. Forty-two elementary school resource room students were assigned randomly (within teacher) to one of three treatment conditions: Teacher Chart-Teacher Select Instructional Activities…

A study was conducted to determine if differences exist between the leadership behaviors of men and women in special education administrative positions in Florida. Participants consisted of 28 exceptional student education directors--14 male and 14 female--along with all 28 of their respective superintendents and two staff members, one male and…

Storytelling by six teachers of the deaf was videotaped under three simulated conditions, as if they were presenting to hearing listeners, to oral deaf listeners, and to users of simultaneous communication. A number of grammatical and lexical characteristics were examined including Type-Token Ratios, a measure of lexical diversity, and Minimal…

After special education resource teachers (n=27) were taught to use a standard trend estimation procedure as an aid in visual analysis of their students' charts, interrater agreement with reliability judges increased from .56 to .78. Prior knowledge of student performance was found to have an effect on visual inference. (Author/JDD)

Twenty special education and 20 general education teachers viewed a videotape of a reading comprehension lesson with a small group of third graders, 1 of whom had a learning disability. Analysis of teacher responses suggested that general and special teacher groups may possess different professional knowledge structures on which they interpret…

This study analyzed and compared the perceptions of elementary-level learning disabilities resource teachers (n=83) and general education teachers (n=64) regarding actual and ideal performance of collaborative roles. Results indicated significant differences in teacher perceptions of actual and ideal performance of collaborative roles. Constraints…

Teachers and teachers' aides in large midwestern school district who teach learning disabled and mentally and emotionally disabled students were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward using computers and feelings about computers and educational computing. Results indicate prior computing experience affects attitudes and facilitates…

This article offers a conceptual model for studying teacher attrition and retention. The model incorporates historical, environmental, and external factors believed to influence teachers' decisions about whether to continue teaching. The framework is used to draw implications for future special education teacher preparation research. (Author/DB)

A national survey of 173 teachers of deaf and hard-of-hearing students with mild additional disabilities found a higher incidence of dysfunctional family background in these students than among deaf and hard-of-hearing students in general. Implications for teacher preparation and service delivery are drawn. (DB)

Special education teachers (n=83) from five states were surveyed concerning difficulties in implementing various educational practices validated by researchers. Time constraints and administrative support were seen as major obstacles to implementation. The reported presence of quality indicators correlated with teacher skill and implementation…

The study examined the frequency with which specified prediction-related and skill-deficit vocational assessment procedures were administered by 55 secondary level teachers of students with disabilities and 64 employment training specialists. Although both types of procedures were used, the more contemporary skill-deficit procedures were used more…

There has been increasing interest in the role of teacher and other staff behaviour in the development and maintenance of problem behaviours in individuals with special needs. Research and theoretical developments have tended to focus on one of three domains: staff as assessment and behavioural change agents, staff wellbeing as determined by…

Four expert high school special education resource teachers were observed providing classroom instruction. Content analysis of postobservation interview transcripts was used to identify the presence of 124 reflective practice indicators in the subjects' instructional decisions: 49 for personal responsibility, 39 for testing, and 36 for problem…