Early Childhood Special Education Teacher Preperstation Efficacy

Preparation of teachers who are competent to meet the needs of students is a concern of both general education and special education teacher preparation. Particularly scant research is available in the area of teacher efficacy in special education. Because small numbers of personnel were needed to serve in the past, institutions of higher education and individual states did not give priority to programs that train personnel to work with infants and toddlers with disabilities and those who are at risk for disabilities. However, currently the national demand for personnel to serve very young children with disabilities exceeds the demand.

To meet the need for empirical information regarding early childhood special education teacher training programs, this project proposes to identify the content of such programs, the levels of knowledge teachers received from their programs, and the levels of satisfaction teachers have toward their preparation programs. Data will be generated from formal surveys. Survey items will address the following areas: mastery of instructional methodologies, curriculum awareness, family systems support, interagency collaboration, Individual Family Service Plan development, technology, cultural competence, and working within natural environments. These items will be aligned to the recommended practices of the Council for Exceptional Children's Division of Early Childhood Special Education and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing's Teacher Preparation Standards in Early Childhood Special Education.

Both quantitative and qualitative data collection strategies will be used. Members of the Council for Exceptional Children, California Division of Early Childhood Education will be mailed surveys, self-addressed stamped envelopes, and letters of explanation regarding the project. Respondents will also have the opportunity to participate in optional brief telephone interviews. Data will be analyzed from returned surveys and interviews, and trends will be identified.

The investigators for the project are:

Philip P. Patterson, Ph.D. (Principal Investigator) Assistant Professor, California State University, Bakersfield

Yeunjoo Lee, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, California State University, Bakersfield

Wendy Woolsey-Terrazas, M.A., Lecturer, California State University, Bakersfield School of Education California State University, Bakersfield