The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of teachers who have the dual role of parent and teacher of children with disabilities. Data were collected in a qualitative methodology through semi-structured interviews with participants about their experiences. Questions focused on how teachers 1) experienced their roles, 2) addressed…

In an ideal school, where inclusion is implemented successfully, staff members collaborate and create an inclusive environment in their schools. In order to achieve such a sustainable environment of inclusion, pedagogical, organisational and psychological restructuring should occur, and a strong inclusion-oriented leadership has to be activated.…

In this study 20 beginning special education teachers were asked to describe their experiences in general education settings. To provide data, each teacher completed approximately three electronic reflective journals during a school year and also participated in a phone interview, which was aimed to give in-depth information regarding the…

The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act and No Child Left Behind Act broadened the roles of occupational therapists (OTs) and physical therapists (PTs) to include therapist participation in early intervening services including response to intervention (RTI). This case report describes one school district's inclusion of OT and PT in the…

This article summarizes the results of a recent role and function study completed in 2004 to determine the prevailing domains of disability management practice. The study also sought to establish an empirical basis for a certification exam for disability management specialists consistent with evolving standards of practice. Based on the expert…

Forty child study teams were observed and verbal behaviors of classroom teachers in those teams were analyzed. Teachers in an experimental program stressing role clarification spoke significantly more than any other participants. Parents were most frequently addressed by other team members. (CL)

User-led disability organizations have emerged as an important force in the non-profit sector. While much is known about the traditional disability organizations that began to proliferate in the 1950s (e.g. National Institute for the Blind), relatively less is known about the user-led organizations that emerged in the 1970s. Using a collective…

Two components of stress (organizational stress (role conflict and role ambiguity) and perceived teacher burnout) were measured by surveys completed by 443 special education teachers in Connecticut. Data were collected on the Stress Survey for Special Educators, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Role Questionnaire. Multiple regression…

Responses by 247 special education directors, superintendents of schools, and principals of schools with special education teachers to a questionnaire listing 43 tasks of the perceived role of the special education director revealed greater consensus among the three groups than had been expected. Frequency distributions, analysis of variance, and…

The study examined the relationship of role conflict and role ambiguity to teacher burnout among 443 urban special education teachers. Role conflict and ambiguity explained a significant amount of variance in feelings of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. While perceived burnout among teachers was moderate, the level varied significantly…

Twenty-five preservice and nine inservice educational technologists who were surveyed about their roles in the education of handicapped children expressed willingness to be involved in teamwork with special educators. Special educators are largely unfamiliar with the contemporary functions of the educational technologists. (CL)

A survey was undertaken to examine the roles of supervisor/diagnosticians in the Fort Worth Independent School District Special Education program. Special education classroom teachers were surveyed about time spent in the classrooms by supervisor/diagnosticians, objectives and effects of these visits, and teachers' perceptions of these visits.…

The total Parent as a Teacher Inventory score of parents at either the lower or upper extremes served as a guide for identifying those who would be least and most successful as teachers in a home based child language training program. (SBH)

A study of 103 (of 143) teachers' expectations of occupational therapists working with exceptional children in Ontario public schools found that (1) teachers consider therapists to be important; (2) they think therapists should define their role and responsibility further; and (3) they believe therapists should work with special needs children…

The need to verify the competencies purported to be developed by individuals completing a program designed to prepare supervisors of special education led to surveying 29 Pennsylvania Directors of Special Education who were asked to rate successful first year supervisors of special education on 40 competencies. Results indicated the eight roles…