A National Perspective of Competencies for Teachers of Individuals with Physical and Health Disabilities

Heller, Kathryn Wolff; Fredrick, Laura D.; Dykes, Mary K.; Best, Sherwood J.; Cohen, Elisabeth Tucker

doi:10.1177/001440299906500207

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Another proactive intervention may be providing additional training to special educators who are certified to teach students with physical and health disabilities. In a survey of these educators, 40% reported that they were not well trained in 11 of 23 critical competencies 31 . Although these school professionals have a generally positive attitude about children with chronic illness in their classrooms, they remain concerned with several real risks, most notably medical emergencies (53% of educators) and legal liability (27%) 32,33 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students With Chronic Diseases: Nature of School Physician Support

Taras

Brennan

2008

Journal of School Health

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students With Chronic Diseases: Nature of School Physician Support

Taras

Brennan

2008

Journal of School Health

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“…Participants were practicing teachers who typically had one study day per week to work on the programme. The advantages of seeking the views of teachers about their preparation programmes in order to shed light on how programmes might be improved are highlighted in the literature and was the motivation for this study (Conderman et al 2013;Heller et al 1999;Lombardi and Hunka 2001). The aim of the overall research project, from which this article is drawn, was to investigate the perceptions of students who recently graduated about the importance of the competencies addressed in the programme to their professional work, and the extent to which they considered they had been enabled to develop those competencies, as well as to identify factors that acted as barriers or enablers to their learning within the programme.…”

Section: Specialist Teaching Programmementioning

confidence: 99%

Enablers and barriers to developing competencies in a blended learning programme for specialist teachers in New Zealand?

2017

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The views of recent graduates of a blended learning programme for specialist teachers of children with learning and behavior difficulties in New Zealand were investigated.Six focus group interviews examined factors that participants considered enabled them to develop programme competencies as well as those that acted as barriers to competency development. Results indicated that a range of factors had acted as barriers to or enablers of competency development. These focused on five overarching themes related to: course content, relevance, clarity and structure; support networks; managing time and stress; pre-requisite knowledge, skills, and experience;and, access to technology. The implications of these factors for the further development of blended learning programmes are identified.Training teachers for working with students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is internationally regarded as an important and challenging endeavour. With many teachers reporting not feeling well prepared for working with children with SEND, the effectiveness of teacher training programmes is an important focus for teacher educators (Smith and Tyler 2011). To this end, studies seeking the views of specialist teachers about the training programmes they have completed have an important role to play in shedding light on how such programmes might be improved (Conderman et al. 2013; Lombardi and Hunka 2001). With teacher educators under pressure to effectively train more teachers of students with SEND as well as to increase quality and lower costs, more emphasis is being placed on utilizing e-learning to achieve these aims (Garrison 2011). E-learning is defined as, " …electronically mediated asynchronous and synchronous communication for the purpose of constructing and confirming knowledge" (Garrison 2011, 2). The two primary forms of e-learning are online learning and blended learning. The study reported in this article aims to contribute knowledge about how training for specialist teachers might be improved by examining factors that could act as enablers of or barriers to competency development within the context of a blended learning programme.Results of various studies suggest that online professional training for specialist teachers can result in successful outcomes. For example, a study of professional development for teachers of students with autistic spectrum disorders found that an online learning programme was effective in helping teachers to improve the knowledge, competencies and skills needed to work with students with ASD and their families (Rakap, Jones, and Emery 2014). In another study, Thompson, Klass, and Fulk (2012) compared the use of face-to-face and online learning in the delivery of an introductory special education course for students enrolled in a large teacher education programme. Instruction was delivered either via predominately face-to-face or mainly online methods. Student satisfaction, achievement and engagement were investigated in both conditions with results suggesting similar outcomes...

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“…Heller et al (1999) assessed the perceived competency of general education and special education teachers, who taught students with physical and health impairments, with respect to their preparation for working effectively with that population. Among special educators who were certified to teach students with physical and health disabilities, 40% reported that they were not well trained in 11 of 23 critical competencies.…”

Section: Exce_ntional Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In part, the ability to plan for and respond appropriately to the 19 student's educational needs and health needs is contingent on the training received at the preservice level for future special and general educators. State Departments of Education must reexamine teacher-certification requirements to assure that those leaving teacher-preparation programs acquire the know ledge and skills necessary to teach students with physical and health disabilities (Heller et al, 1999).…”

Section: Summary and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%