Assistive and Educational Technology Standards and Teacher Competencies in Relation to Evidence-Based Practice: Identification and Classification of the Literature

Abstract

The federal No Child Left Behind Act mandates the application of the principles of evidence-based practice (EBP) in U.S. education. The purpose of this study was to identify available assistive technology (AT) and educational technology (ET) literature that relates to standards and teacher competencies, and to categorize that literature in relation to Sweeney's (1999) definition of standards and Davies' (1999) EBP hierarchy. Literature was identified through subject index searching, browsing, footnote chasing, and consultation. Content analysis was conducted on 110 documents from years 1995-2009 that met inclusion criteria. The majority of literature is based upon expert opinion evidence, which is not highly rigorous. The most rigorous evidence identified came from survey and correlation descriptive studies; a complete lack of experimental evidence was noted. AT and ET are in the beginning stages of implementing EBP in the area of teacher standards and competencies. Advancing AT and ET practice through evidence is critical for moving the field forward scientifically and for ensuring accountability.A ssistive technology (AT) grew as an area of specialization during the early 1980s, following the popularization of the personal computer.

Teachers of Students With Learning Disabilities: Assistive Technology Knowledge, Perceptions, Interests, and Barriers

“…Given the prevalence of students with LD who could benefit from AT, the stipulations of the law regarding AT (IDEA, 2004) and the importance of AT in the integration of students into general education and society (Dalton & Roush, 2010;Okolo & Diedrich, 2014), there is a critical need for teachers to acquire professional knowledge of AT in order to support students with LD (Edyburn, 2013). As discussed above, teacher knowledge is directly linked to student use of AT (Judge & Simms, 2009), and the use of AT improves student learning outcomes (Hutchison, Beschorner, & Schmidt-Crawford, 2012).…”

Twenty-Five Years of Research in the Journal of Special Education Technology: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…The study by Alper and Raharinirina (2006) had the strongest direct citation network over the 25-year journey of JOSET. The direct citation network in purple indicates that two early papers (Jeffs & Morrison, 2005; Michaels & McDermott, 2003) followed by two papers in 2006 (Alper & Raharinirina, 2006; Twyman & Tindal, 2006) were directly cited by various studies (e.g., Atanga et al, 2020; Bouck & Long, 2021; Bruce et al, 2013; Dalton & Roush, 2010; Etscheidt, 2016; Okolo & Bouck, 2007; Okolo & Diedrich, 2014; Silió & Barbetta, 2010). As shown by the red colour of the citation network, Parette and Wojcik’s (2004) work was directly cited by Sánchez and Llera (2007).…”

‘You have to be like everyone else’: Support for students with vision impairment in mainstream secondary schools

“…There has been a rapid increase in available technologies with which to support students in the classroom (Bryant, Bryant, Shih & Seok, ; Dalton & Roush, ). Aides and teachers were found to have only a basic knowledge of the assistive technology the students used, so were unable to assist when there were problems.…”