Dissertation
General education teachers' preparedness in teaching students with disabilities: a phenomenological study
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Jun 2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000397
Abstract
Trends in inclusive education signify a shift in educating students with disabilities (SWDs) in exclusively special education settings to more appropriate placements with access to the general education curriculum. However, general education teachers in the workforce may perceive themselves as unprepared to provide high-quality, evidence-based instruction that provides SWDs access to the general education curriculum. Through the triangulation of semi-structured interviews, artifact review, and researcher's journal, this study examined general education teachers' lived experiences in teaching SWDs to understand their level of preparedness and how it affects their ability to provide SWDs access to the general education curriculum. Additionally, this study sought to identify the skills and support needed by general education teachers to increase their sense of preparedness. Data collected from the interviews and participant-supplied artifacts was analyzed for common themes and subthemes. The three results were: (1) General education teachers use several strategies (with differentiation being the most common) to increase access to the curriculum for all students regardless of SWDs' IEP, (2) General education teachers perceive higher efficacy in understanding their responsibility to teach all learners but lower efficacy in other areas, and (3) General education teachers emphasize "real experience" to prepare them to provide access. Based on these results, recommendations for school administrators included (1) providing general education teachers with targeted special education-related professional development aligned with the principles of adult learning theory and (2) the creation and implementation of a flexible curriculum to increase access for SWDs. Recommendations for teacher pre-service programs included integrating additional special education-related coursework and classroom experiences with SWDs into existing curricula. Keywords: preparedness, teachers, access to the general education curriculum, students with disabilities
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Details
- Title
- General education teachers' preparedness in teaching students with disabilities
- Creators
- Dev Desai
- Contributors
- Janet Marie Sloand (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- ix, 142 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991015051446804721