T his qualitative study evaluated the impact on program graduates of two personnel preparation projects founded on a family-centered preservice model and funded by the Office of Special Education Programs. Three cohorts totaling 22 participants were interviewed to (a) determine their attitudes and skill level in working with a diverse group of families and (b) identify pedagogical practices that reinforced the use of family-centered practices on the job. Results revealed that participants' perceptions were similar, indicating that confidence in utilizing family-centered practices was the result of the multiple opportunities their preservice program provided them to interact with families. Family involvement in content-based and field-based coursework, as well as parent-members in the cohorts, positively affected utilization of family-centered practices in their careers.
This qualitative study investigated the use of family-centered practices by graduates of two early childhood special education personnel preparation programs that embedded family-centered pedagogy and involvement in all coursework. Three cohorts, involving 19 graduates employed in 19 different programs located in six states, participated in individually administered interviews to identify their perspectives about and use of family-centered practices in their work environments. All graduates were committed to and described using family-centered practices, but the large majority of graduates also identified significant barriers to using family-centered practices, including lack of support from colleagues and administrators and lack of policies related to working with families. Implications for preservice preparation, policy makers, and service programs are discussed.
Employing qualitative methods, administrators’ understanding and use of family-centered practices were examined. Results indicate differences in role perceptions and service delivery based on their level of understanding. Administrators with a comprehensive understanding of family-centered practices, in comparison to administrators with limited or no understanding of such practices, were more likely to involve families in organizational governance and provide staff members and families with training opportunities designed to build collaborative partnerships. Regardless of the level of understanding of family-centered practices, administrators viewed on-the-job experiences occurring early in their careers as an influential factor in shaping their beliefs about working with families. Recommendations for practice and future research are discussed.
In order to assess the delivery of support services from resource room teachers to regular elementary teachers involved in mainstreaming learning disabled students, a list of 26 services was developed from the literature. The Index of Support Services was distributed to 228 regular educators who were asked to rate the importance and frequency of occurrence of each service. The results indicated that regular teachers rated nine support services as critical for effective mainstreaming. However, only two services, remedial instruction in the resource room and informal student progress meetings, were provided with any degree of regularity. Training in consultation skills at the college level and public school administrative support are discussed as means of alleviating the discrepancy between needed and delivered resource room support services.
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