Actual and Desired Roles of the High School Learning Disability Resource Teacher

Abstract

Job satisfaction and job performance go hand in hand. A major determinant of job satisfaction involves performing tasks related to one's training and interests. If learning disability specialists are to achieve in these critical roles, they reasonably must be trained for the roles they perform and be employed to undertake the roles for which they are trained. Though a reasonable expectation, the resource teachers surveyed said this was not the case. Results of this survey should be of interest and use for teacher trainers, practitioners, and school administrators. -G.M.S.To investigate the role expectations of the high school learning disability resource teacher, a behavior scale was developed to which incumbents responded as to their actual and desired role performance. Inspection of data from the 134 resource teachers indicates that there are few areas of consensus among the respondents.T he importance of an understanding of teacher roles, specifically that of the high school learning disability resource teacher, cannot be lessened in contemporary education. The emphasis on accountability in educational institutions has added new dimensions to role actualization. The authors believe that administrators, fellow teachers, and parents fail to appreciate the fact that the high school learning disability resource teacher is (1) a teacher who must be among the best, (2) a curriculum specialist with a comprehensive understanding of a variety of subject areas, (3) an expert in methods of working with students who are difficult to instruct and reach, (4) a technician competent in the use of the "tools of the trade," both hardware and software, (5) an administrator who keeps reports, records, and arranges schedules of others, (6) a counselor who deals first-hand with educational, social, occupational, and personal problems, (7) a public and human relations expert in working and communicating with administrators, colleagues, students, and parents, and (8) a diagnostician whose competence plays a major part in student learning.The behavior of such teachers will be determined by the role expectations as perceived by the incumbent as well as the expectations of parents, general and special education adminis-

Description des activites quotidiennes d'orthopedagogues

“…Aux États-Unis, des études (Alonzo et Wiseman, 1978;Evans, 1980;Taylor, 1990) décrivent le travail des enseignants ressources (terme équivalent à celui d'orthopédagogue). La plupart de ces études, cependant, utilisent des questionnaires d'opinion, des estimés et non des relevés systématiques par observation des temps consacrés aux activités de ces enseignants.…”

Special Education Teacher Consultant: Idealism versus Realism

“…For example, Miller, Sabatino, and Larsen (1980) discovered from their study that, while local special education directors viewed consultation as a necessary function, the majority of universitylevel special educators surveyed did not feel that secondary special educators should spend any time as consultants. D'Alonzo and Wiseman (1978) found no consensus among secondary learning disabilities resource teachers or administrators on the appropriate roles and duties for resource teachers.…”

An Analysis of the Secondary Special Education Classroom Ecology with Implications for Teacher Training

“…In particular, there is a dearth of information available regarding teacher practices, teaching behaviors, and related student activities within secondary programs. In fact, a search of the published literature yielded only nine studies providing information about secondary resource room programs (Benz & Halpern, 1986;Brozovich & Kotting, 1984;D'Alonzo & Wiseman, 1978 ;Deshler, Lowrey, & Alley, 1979;Gerber & Griffin, 1983;Lerner, Evans, & Minors, 1977;McLeod & Armstrong,1982;McNutt & Heller, 1978;Wells, Schmid, Algozzine, & Maher, 1983). In these studies, researchers examined program characteristics such as teacher and student demographics and caseload size.…”