This article engages the construct of the policyscape to explore how educators have experienced policy-to-practice dissonances when working at international schools overseas. Extracted from a qualitative study of educator acculturation in the context of the lived experiences of 17 kindergarten–Grade 12 expatriate teachers, counsellors, and school leaders at international schools in five regions in Southeast and East Asia, this subset of findings explores the most prevalent policyscape manifestations that emerged in the study. These manifestations involve issues about supporting students with known or probable “special education” needs. Findings include widespread perceptions by the participants of inadequate policy and program infrastructure to properly support students with special needs. These inadequacies ranged from identification processes, school and staff capacity, and leadership gaps, and they were further mired by ideological and cultural differences noted by stakeholder groups. Participants with local cultural mentors experienced greater self-efficacy and leadership capacity in addressing the policyscape manifestations. The study was exploratory, with the findings informing a research agenda to further investigate some of the gaps that emerged in the findings.
{"title":"“We Need Structures in Place”: Educators’ Experiences With Special Education at International Schools","authors":"Rebecca Stroud","doi":"10.5206/eei.v34i1.16826","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5206/eei.v34i1.16826","url":null,"abstract":"This article engages the construct of the policyscape to explore how educators have experienced policy-to-practice dissonances when working at international schools overseas. Extracted from a qualitative study of educator acculturation in the context of the lived experiences of 17 kindergarten–Grade 12 expatriate teachers, counsellors, and school leaders at international schools in five regions in Southeast and East Asia, this subset of findings explores the most prevalent policyscape manifestations that emerged in the study. These manifestations involve issues about supporting students with known or probable “special education” needs. Findings include widespread perceptions by the participants of inadequate policy and program infrastructure to properly support students with special needs. These inadequacies ranged from identification processes, school and staff capacity, and leadership gaps, and they were further mired by ideological and cultural differences noted by stakeholder groups. Participants with local cultural mentors experienced greater self-efficacy and leadership capacity in addressing the policyscape manifestations. The study was exploratory, with the findings informing a research agenda to further investigate some of the gaps that emerged in the findings.","PeriodicalId":38584,"journal":{"name":"Exceptionality Education International","volume":"98 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141378063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ian A. Matheson, Kerstin Merz-Atalik, Theodore Christou, Robert Kruschel, Lani Florian, Markku Jahnukainen, Andreas Köpfer, Jeffrey MacCormack, Jessica Whitley
Which ideas are central to inclusive education in Canada, and how do educators and researchers build capacity to provide it? Who or what is still missing, and how can international collaboration help us accomplish our goals in inclusive education? This article reports on a discussion among international scholars of inclusive education as they considered these questions together. These scholars, from Canada, Scotland, Finland, and Germany, considered the lessons they (we) have learned from our history of inclusive education in Canada. They drew on their experience with collaborative research to outline some clear benefits of working together, and learning from each other, to find progressive ways forward in inclusive education.
{"title":"Whereto From Here? A Discussion Among International Scholars of Inclusive Education","authors":"Ian A. Matheson, Kerstin Merz-Atalik, Theodore Christou, Robert Kruschel, Lani Florian, Markku Jahnukainen, Andreas Köpfer, Jeffrey MacCormack, Jessica Whitley","doi":"10.5206/eei.v34i1.16941","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5206/eei.v34i1.16941","url":null,"abstract":"Which ideas are central to inclusive education in Canada, and how do educators and researchers build capacity to provide it? Who or what is still missing, and how can international collaboration help us accomplish our goals in inclusive education? This article reports on a discussion among international scholars of inclusive education as they considered these questions together. These scholars, from Canada, Scotland, Finland, and Germany, considered the lessons they (we) have learned from our history of inclusive education in Canada. They drew on their experience with collaborative research to outline some clear benefits of working together, and learning from each other, to find progressive ways forward in inclusive education.","PeriodicalId":38584,"journal":{"name":"Exceptionality Education International","volume":" 1009","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140989285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Monique Somma, John Freer, Margo Shuttleworth, Sheila Bennett
In many countries, including those in the Caribbean, there has recently been an increasing demand for professional development on inclusive educational practices This need for high-quality professional development is in line with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (2016) call for inclusion of all children by 2030. Recently, our team was asked to provide professional development to educators in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines that focused on evidence-based practices for students with special education needs. Over the course of 3 years, this service work evolved into a multi-faceted pilot of inclusive education, whereby students with special education needs transitioned from a segregated school into mainstream schools. In this article, we present a collaborative autoethnography that highlights our collective experiences. Our self‑reflections chronicle our experiences and accompanying perceptions gained through providing support and education to educators, students, schools, community, and families in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines over a 3-year period, as they prepared for this transition to inclusion. In collectively reviewing our self-reflections, we discovered three major themes at the heart of our service work: (a) “barriers to inclusion,” (b) “the importance of relationships,” and (c) “transformation.” In discussing these three themes, we explore the successes and challenges we experienced throughout these service projects. What follows is a discussion of our reflective musings related to these experiences as shared critical knowledge for sustainable inclusion work within the Caribbean and beyond.
{"title":"Inclusive Change in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: A Collaborative Autoethnography","authors":"Monique Somma, John Freer, Margo Shuttleworth, Sheila Bennett","doi":"10.5206/eei.v34i1.16932","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5206/eei.v34i1.16932","url":null,"abstract":"In many countries, including those in the Caribbean, there has recently been an increasing demand for professional development on inclusive educational practices This need for high-quality professional development is in line with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (2016) call for inclusion of all children by 2030. Recently, our team was asked to provide professional development to educators in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines that focused on evidence-based practices for students with special education needs. Over the course of 3 years, this service work evolved into a multi-faceted pilot of inclusive education, whereby students with special education needs transitioned from a segregated school into mainstream schools. In this article, we present a collaborative autoethnography that highlights our collective experiences. Our self‑reflections chronicle our experiences and accompanying perceptions gained through providing support and education to educators, students, schools, community, and families in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines over a 3-year period, as they prepared for this transition to inclusion. In collectively reviewing our self-reflections, we discovered three major themes at the heart of our service work: (a) “barriers to inclusion,” (b) “the importance of relationships,” and (c) “transformation.” In discussing these three themes, we explore the successes and challenges we experienced throughout these service projects. What follows is a discussion of our reflective musings related to these experiences as shared critical knowledge for sustainable inclusion work within the Caribbean and beyond.","PeriodicalId":38584,"journal":{"name":"Exceptionality Education International","volume":" October","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140989866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jacqueline Specht, Susanne Miesera, Jamie Metsala, Donna McGhie-Richmond
This study investigated group and individual differences in beginning secondary school teachers’ self-efficacy for the inclusive classroom in Canada and Germany. This research complements previous Canadian and German research that compared the self-efficacy of pre-service teachers in each country, as well as those experiences that contributed to their self-efficacy. In the current study, 110 Canadian and 90 German beginning teachers completed the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice scale and the Beliefs About Learning and Teaching Questionnaire and described their experience with diverse populations. As a group, Canadian teachers were higher in their self-efficacy for implementing inclusive instruction and for engaging in collaboration with families and colleagues. The groups did not differ on self-efficacy for managing behaviour, though males felt more efficacious than females. Overall, country accounted for 18% and 11% of the variance in self-efficacy for inclusive instruction and for collaboration, respectively. Additional individual differences in self-efficacy for instruction and for managing behaviour were accounted for by participants’ experiences with diverse populations. Finally, participants’ beliefs that aligned with student-centred approaches accounted for unique variance in self-efficacy for inclusive instruction and collaboration. Results are discussed in the context of prior research and possible considerations for teacher education programs.
{"title":"Predictors of Self-Efficacy for Inclusive Education: A Comparison of Canada and Germany","authors":"Jacqueline Specht, Susanne Miesera, Jamie Metsala, Donna McGhie-Richmond","doi":"10.5206/eei.v34i1.16920","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5206/eei.v34i1.16920","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated group and individual differences in beginning secondary school teachers’ self-efficacy for the inclusive classroom in Canada and Germany. This research complements previous Canadian and German research that compared the self-efficacy of pre-service teachers in each country, as well as those experiences that contributed to their self-efficacy. In the current study, 110 Canadian and 90 German beginning teachers completed the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice scale and the Beliefs About Learning and Teaching Questionnaire and described their experience with diverse populations. As a group, Canadian teachers were higher in their self-efficacy for implementing inclusive instruction and for engaging in collaboration with families and colleagues. The groups did not differ on self-efficacy for managing behaviour, though males felt more efficacious than females. Overall, country accounted for 18% and 11% of the variance in self-efficacy for inclusive instruction and for collaboration, respectively. Additional individual differences in self-efficacy for instruction and for managing behaviour were accounted for by participants’ experiences with diverse populations. Finally, participants’ beliefs that aligned with student-centred approaches accounted for unique variance in self-efficacy for inclusive instruction and collaboration. Results are discussed in the context of prior research and possible considerations for teacher education programs.","PeriodicalId":38584,"journal":{"name":"Exceptionality Education International","volume":"253 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140752777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Caroline Sahli Lozano, S. Wüthrich, Harry Kullmann, Margarita Knickenberg, Umesh Sharma, T. Loreman, Alessandra Romano, Elias Avramidis, Stuart Woodcock, Pearl Subban
Inclusive education is a key goal of modern educational reforms, yet its implementation is complex. This study examines the roles of teacher attitudes and self-efficacy in predicting their intentions to use inclusive practices across five western countries: Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Switzerland. The study identified both significant differences and commonalities in prediction patterns across these countries. For instance, beliefs about inclusion varied in their significance, being the most influential predictor among Italian teachers, while managing challenging behaviour was a key predictor for Swiss teachers only. For the other predictors, no significant differences were found, and self-efficacy in collaboration was the strongest predictor nominally. The study suggests that, while aspects such as collaboration seem generally important across countries, effective strategies for promoting inclusive education may also need to be tailored to each country’s unique context, considering aspects of historical background of inclusive education, teacher training, and support. It also emphasizes the need to consider domain-specific aspects of teacher self-efficacy, as different facets differently affect teachers’ intentions.
{"title":"How Do Attitudes and Self-Efficacy Predict Teachers’ Intentions to Use Inclusive Practices? A Cross-National Comparison Between Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Switzerland","authors":"Caroline Sahli Lozano, S. Wüthrich, Harry Kullmann, Margarita Knickenberg, Umesh Sharma, T. Loreman, Alessandra Romano, Elias Avramidis, Stuart Woodcock, Pearl Subban","doi":"10.5206/eei.v34i1.16803","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5206/eei.v34i1.16803","url":null,"abstract":"Inclusive education is a key goal of modern educational reforms, yet its implementation is complex. This study examines the roles of teacher attitudes and self-efficacy in predicting their intentions to use inclusive practices across five western countries: Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Switzerland. The study identified both significant differences and commonalities in prediction patterns across these countries. For instance, beliefs about inclusion varied in their significance, being the most influential predictor among Italian teachers, while managing challenging behaviour was a key predictor for Swiss teachers only. For the other predictors, no significant differences were found, and self-efficacy in collaboration was the strongest predictor nominally. The study suggests that, while aspects such as collaboration seem generally important across countries, effective strategies for promoting inclusive education may also need to be tailored to each country’s unique context, considering aspects of historical background of inclusive education, teacher training, and support. It also emphasizes the need to consider domain-specific aspects of teacher self-efficacy, as different facets differently affect teachers’ intentions.","PeriodicalId":38584,"journal":{"name":"Exceptionality Education International","volume":"58 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140759175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christina Belcher, Kimberly Maich, Kristin Legault, Bethany Torraville
This article investigates how picture books published in of 2019 represent Autism to children, with special attention as to whether those representations overtly include terminology around autism or covertly present autistic characters. Although both overt and covert representations occur in children’s literature, covert representation may or may not come to the attention of children. Overt and covert uses of language convey different elements of personhood to readers, portraying what we, the authors, feel is important. Our analysis of these four samples of 2019 picture books was framed by critical disability studies, labelling theory and camouflage and by developmental bibliotherapy, providing evidence that the distinction between overt and covert labelling can have influences on the perceptions of readers.
{"title":"What Are Picture Books About Autism Telling Our Children?","authors":"Christina Belcher, Kimberly Maich, Kristin Legault, Bethany Torraville","doi":"10.5206/eei.v33i1.14405","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5206/eei.v33i1.14405","url":null,"abstract":"This article investigates how picture books published in of 2019 represent Autism to children, with special attention as to whether those representations overtly include terminology around autism or covertly present autistic characters. Although both overt and covert representations occur in children’s literature, covert representation may or may not come to the attention of children. Overt and covert uses of language convey different elements of personhood to readers, portraying what we, the authors, feel is important. Our analysis of these four samples of 2019 picture books was framed by critical disability studies, labelling theory and camouflage and by developmental bibliotherapy, providing evidence that the distinction between overt and covert labelling can have influences on the perceptions of readers.","PeriodicalId":38584,"journal":{"name":"Exceptionality Education International","volume":" 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140212045","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Monique Somma, Lisa Ruggiero, Debra Harwood, Krystine Donato
How Does Learning Happen: Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years, the early childhood education framework for Ontario (Canada), aims to guide early-years programs across the province by recognizing children as competent, capable, and curious individuals from diverse backgrounds. The policy highlights the significance of ensuring inclusive learning environments that foster a sense of belonging and enable every child to flourish (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2014). Many Montessori schools across the province share this view (Hunt et al., 2022) and strive for inclusive programs that meet the learning goals of children with special education needs; however, at times, this objective can seem daunting. In this article, we highlight findings from a study involving the educators at one Montessori school focusing on the self-described goal of improving the quality of their inclusive practices through an examination of beliefs and a continuous professional learning process. The main themes identified in the study related to educators’ attitudes to inclusion and their beliefs about how the Montessori method challenges inclusion pedagogies. Moreover, we found that educators’ understanding and implementation of differentiated instruction (Tomlinson & Imbeau, 2023) was lacking. The results indicate that Montessori educators’ inclusive practices and learning environments benefited from participating in ongoing, scaffolded professional learning specifically targeted to their needs and context.
学习是如何发生的?安大略幼年教学法》是安大略省(加拿大)的幼儿教育框架,旨在通过承认来自不同背景的儿童是有能力、有才干和充满好奇心的个体来指导全省的幼年课程。该政策强调了确保包容性学习环境的重要性,这种环境能够培养归属感,使每个儿童都能茁壮成长(安大略省教育部,2014 年)。全省许多蒙特梭利学校都赞同这一观点(Hunt et al.在本文中,我们将重点介绍一所蒙特梭利学校教育工作者的研究结果,该研究的重点是通过对信念的审视和持续的专业学习过程,实现提高全纳实践质量这一自我描述的目标。这项研究确定的主要主题涉及教育工作者对全纳的态度,以及他们对蒙特梭利教学法如何挑战全纳教学法的看法。此外,我们还发现,教育工作者对差异化教学(Tomlinson & Imbeau, 2023)缺乏理解和实施。研究结果表明,蒙台梭利教育工作者的全纳实践和学习环境,得益于他们参与了持续的、有支架的、专门针对其需要和背景的专业学习。
{"title":"“Maybe We Have to Create Something Different”: Fostering Inclusion in Montessori Education","authors":"Monique Somma, Lisa Ruggiero, Debra Harwood, Krystine Donato","doi":"10.5206/eei.v33i1.16594","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5206/eei.v33i1.16594","url":null,"abstract":"How Does Learning Happen: Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years, the early childhood education framework for Ontario (Canada), aims to guide early-years programs across the province by recognizing children as competent, capable, and curious individuals from diverse backgrounds. The policy highlights the significance of ensuring inclusive learning environments that foster a sense of belonging and enable every child to flourish (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2014). Many Montessori schools across the province share this view (Hunt et al., 2022) and strive for inclusive programs that meet the learning goals of children with special education needs; however, at times, this objective can seem daunting. In this article, we highlight findings from a study involving the educators at one Montessori school focusing on the self-described goal of improving the quality of their inclusive practices through an examination of beliefs and a continuous professional learning process. The main themes identified in the study related to educators’ attitudes to inclusion and their beliefs about how the Montessori method challenges inclusion pedagogies. Moreover, we found that educators’ understanding and implementation of differentiated instruction (Tomlinson & Imbeau, 2023) was lacking. The results indicate that Montessori educators’ inclusive practices and learning environments benefited from participating in ongoing, scaffolded professional learning specifically targeted to their needs and context.","PeriodicalId":38584,"journal":{"name":"Exceptionality Education International","volume":"69 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140485834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Susan Mostajo, Royce A. Salva, Olivia Legaspi, Jemerson Dominguez, Aquino Garcia
This pilot study evaluated the possible risks and prospects of a multimedia-based intervention in improving the social and adaptive skills of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thirty Filipino special education teachers served as evaluators and teacher-respondents. Using a validated and reliability-tested evaluation grid, they evaluated the intervention using the following constructs: alignment and appropriateness, utility and relevance, visual appeal, and overall engagement. The findings of this preliminary study indicate that the overall evaluation of this relatively unexplored multimedia-based intervention was favourable (M = 4.502); in other words, teacher-respondents found that the intervention has the potential to enhance the social and adaptive skills of students on the spectrum, including their attention, task performance, social learning, and engagement. Furthermore, the findings highlight the positive perception of the multimedia-based intervention among the participating teachers and suggest that its potentiality was contingent neither on their number of years in the field nor the number of students with ASD enrolled in their classes (p-values > 0.05). The results of both descriptive and inferential statistics, in conjunction with valuable recommendations from the teacher-respondents, led to the formulation of a targeted action plan for enhancing the efficacy of the proposed multimedia-based intervention.
{"title":"Evaluation of Multimedia-Based Intervention for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study","authors":"Susan Mostajo, Royce A. Salva, Olivia Legaspi, Jemerson Dominguez, Aquino Garcia","doi":"10.5206/eei.v33i1.16669","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5206/eei.v33i1.16669","url":null,"abstract":"This pilot study evaluated the possible risks and prospects of a multimedia-based intervention in improving the social and adaptive skills of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thirty Filipino special education teachers served as evaluators and teacher-respondents. Using a validated and reliability-tested evaluation grid, they evaluated the intervention using the following constructs: alignment and appropriateness, utility and relevance, visual appeal, and overall engagement. The findings of this preliminary study indicate that the overall evaluation of this relatively unexplored multimedia-based intervention was favourable (M = 4.502); in other words, teacher-respondents found that the intervention has the potential to enhance the social and adaptive skills of students on the spectrum, including their attention, task performance, social learning, and engagement. Furthermore, the findings highlight the positive perception of the multimedia-based intervention among the participating teachers and suggest that its potentiality was contingent neither on their number of years in the field nor the number of students with ASD enrolled in their classes (p-values > 0.05). The results of both descriptive and inferential statistics, in conjunction with valuable recommendations from the teacher-respondents, led to the formulation of a targeted action plan for enhancing the efficacy of the proposed multimedia-based intervention.","PeriodicalId":38584,"journal":{"name":"Exceptionality Education International","volume":"32 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138591974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Shurr, Bree Jimenez, Emily C. Bouck, Jenny R. Root, Alexandra Minuk
Teachers of students with disabilities require a vast set of knowledge and skills for effective practice. While preparation programs provide a broad array of content and experiences through course work and guided practice, the wide scope of knowledge and skills required for beginning teachers, in conjunction with increased accessibility to online learning tools, creates an opportunity to enhance and augment teacher education beyond traditional delivery. We investigated an online module using practice-based videos with embedded training and assessment on learning stages in special education. We assessed the skills of pre-service students from three universities in the United States and Canada before and after online training in the stages of learning, specifically in self-appraisal and accuracy of identification related to instructional planning and assessment. Participants’ high self-assessment of their knowledge and skills did not match their skills in identifying the learning stages or appropriate instructional approaches.
{"title":"Learning the Learning Stages: An Examination of an Online Module for Training Pre-service Teachers","authors":"J. Shurr, Bree Jimenez, Emily C. Bouck, Jenny R. Root, Alexandra Minuk","doi":"10.5206/eei.v33i1.16706","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5206/eei.v33i1.16706","url":null,"abstract":"Teachers of students with disabilities require a vast set of knowledge and skills for effective practice. While preparation programs provide a broad array of content and experiences through course work and guided practice, the wide scope of knowledge and skills required for beginning teachers, in conjunction with increased accessibility to online learning tools, creates an opportunity to enhance and augment teacher education beyond traditional delivery. We investigated an online module using practice-based videos with embedded training and assessment on learning stages in special education. We assessed the skills of pre-service students from three universities in the United States and Canada before and after online training in the stages of learning, specifically in self-appraisal and accuracy of identification related to instructional planning and assessment. Participants’ high self-assessment of their knowledge and skills did not match their skills in identifying the learning stages or appropriate instructional approaches.","PeriodicalId":38584,"journal":{"name":"Exceptionality Education International","volume":" 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138621002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
There is growing evidence of the effectiveness of the pyramid model (PM) in promoting young children’s social-emotional competence and reducing challenging behaviours. In the province of Quebec (Canada), as in many other regions, many children with special needs are integrated into early childhood settings where educators have not had specific training in managing challenging behaviours. The current project’s objective was to evaluate, using a mixed-methods design, the effects of a two-day training session in PM practices provided to 33 educators working in inclusive early childhood settings in the province of Quebec. Before the session, educators had reported that inclusion is beneficial for the child but not for the early childhood educator, demonstrating a need for more training and resources to be provided to early childhood educators. Following the session, their perceptions of the usefulness and social validity of the training in PM were positive, and their implementation of PM practices significantly increased. Their perceptions of how inclusion affected them also became more positive; however, no differences were found in their overall attitudes when comparing results from pre- to post-test, indicating the need for further support.
{"title":"Evaluation of the Effects of Pyramid Model Training on the Attitudes and Practices of Early Childhood Educators","authors":"Alexandra Rothstein, Mélina Rivard","doi":"10.5206/eei.v33i1.16749","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5206/eei.v33i1.16749","url":null,"abstract":"There is growing evidence of the effectiveness of the pyramid model (PM) in promoting young children’s social-emotional competence and reducing challenging behaviours. In the province of Quebec (Canada), as in many other regions, many children with special needs are integrated into early childhood settings where educators have not had specific training in managing challenging behaviours. The current project’s objective was to evaluate, using a mixed-methods design, the effects of a two-day training session in PM practices provided to 33 educators working in inclusive early childhood settings in the province of Quebec. Before the session, educators had reported that inclusion is beneficial for the child but not for the early childhood educator, demonstrating a need for more training and resources to be provided to early childhood educators. Following the session, their perceptions of the usefulness and social validity of the training in PM were positive, and their implementation of PM practices significantly increased. Their perceptions of how inclusion affected them also became more positive; however, no differences were found in their overall attitudes when comparing results from pre- to post-test, indicating the need for further support.","PeriodicalId":38584,"journal":{"name":"Exceptionality Education International","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41473014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}