Perceptions of Illinois Preservice Vocational Education Teachers Regarding the Instruction of Special Needs Students (Secondary, Preparation)

There has been growing concern among educators, parents and professionals regarding the acquisition of skills needed by regular and vocational teachers to instruct special needs students. This study examined (a) the approaches being used in three Illinois teacher training institutions to address the needs of special students in response to a recent state certification mandate and (b) the perceptions of preservice vocational education teachers concerning their performance abilities, confidence levels and adequacy of preparation in mainstreaming activities. Eleven faculty members and 45 prospective teachers were interviewed, representing four vocational education programs (Agriculture, Business, Home Economics and Industrial Education). Content analysis procedures were used to develop student performance categories in response to six situational vignettes; four-point Likert scales were used to determine confidence levels and perceived adequacy of preparation.

Name thesis:degree_name

Educat.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Evans, Deborah Marinello

• Education, Special
• Education, Vocational

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8600170

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/69016