PERCEPTIONS OF EDUCATION INTERNS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF CLASSROOM BEHAVIORS

Abstract

Teacher quality is one of the most important indicators of students’ academic achievement. Lack of preparation is cited as one of the reasons why teachers leave their teaching profession.According to literature, teachers believe that students with disabilities in inclusive settings may detract from the instructional time as such students might be slow learners and have behavior problems and will require educators with specialized teaching skills. The participants of the study included students from an education faculty during their final semesters.Quantitative research methods were employed to examine interns’ readiness and knowledge of evidence-based practices to manage classroom behaviors for students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. The findings suggested that there was evidence that some teaching interns felt uncertain of their ability to manage classroom behaviors.Many participants expressed that they were uncertain about how they may cope with the pressures of classroom behavior management.

Key words: Teacher preparation, behavior management, teacher internship, inclusive education

REFERENCES

Backhus, D. A., & Thompson, K. W. (2006). Addressing the nature of science in preservicescience teacher preparation programs: Science educator perceptions. Journal of Science TeacherEducation, 17(1), 65-81.

Billingsley, B., Israel, M., & Smith, S. (2011). Supporting new special education teachers: Howonline resources and web 2.0 technologies can help. Teaching Exceptional Children, 43(5),20-29.

Boe, E. E., Shin, S., & Cook, L. H. (2007). Does teacher preparation matter for beginningteachers in either special or general education? Journal of Special Education, 41(3), 158-170.

Booth, T., Ainscow, M., Black-Hawkins, K., Vaughn, M., & Shaw, L. (2000). Index for inclusion: Developing learning and participation in schools. Bristol, UK: Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education.

Burden, Paul R. (1979). Teachers' perceptions of the characteristics and-influences on their personal and professional development. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation).  Columbusi, OH: The Ohio State University.

Cooper, J. E., Kurtts, S., Baber, C. R., & Vallecorsa, A. (2008). A model for examining teacherpreparation curricula for inclusion. Teacher Education Quarterly, 35(4), 155-176.

Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297-334.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). Evaluating teacher effectiveness: How teacherperformance assessments can measure and improve teaching. Retrieved from the Centerfor American Progress website:http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/10/pdf/teacher_effectiveness.pdf

Dukes, C., & Lamar-Dukes, P. (2006). Special education: An integral part of small high schools. High School Journal, 89(3), 1-9.

Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, PL 94-142, 20 U.S.C 1401.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (1965).

Fernandez, M. L., & Erbilgin, E. (2009). Examining the supervision of mathematics student

teachers through analysis of conference communications. Educational Studies inMathematics, 72(1), 93-110.

Fuller, F. F. (1969). Concerns of teachers: A developmental conceptualization. AmericanEducation Research Journal, 6,207-226.

Fuller, F. F., & Brown, O. (1975). Becoming a teacher. In K. Ryan (Ed.), Teacher Education:Seventy-fourth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. Chicago:University of Chicago Press.

Garland, D., Garland, K. V., & Vasquez, E. (2013). Management of classroom behaviors: Perceived readiness of education interns. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13(2), 133-147.

Idol, L. (2006). Toward inclusion of special education students in general education: A program evaluation of eight schools. Remedial and Special Education, 27(2), 77-94.

Kalambouka, A., Farrell, P., Dyson, A., & Kaplan, I. (2005). The impact of population inclusivity in schools on student outcomes. London: Centre for EvidenceInformed Policy and Practice in Education, University of London. Retrieved June 28, 2007, from. http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk.

Katz, L. G. (1972). Developmental stages of preschool teachers. Elementary School Journal,73(1), 50-54.

Kavale, K. A., & Forness, S. R. (2000). History, rhetoric, and reality. Remedial and Special Education, 21(5), 279-296.

Kenny, R. W. (1998). Reinventing undergraduate education: A blueprint for America’sresearch universities. The Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in theResearch University. Retrieved fromhttp://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/Pres/boyer.nsf/673918d46fbf653e852565ec0056ff3e/955b61ffddd590a852565ec005717ae/$FILE/boyer.pdf

McKinney, S. E., Haberman, M., Stafford-Johnson, D., & Robinson, J. (2008). Developingteachers for high-poverty schools. Urban Education, 43(1), 68-82.

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 U.S.C. 70 § 6301 et seq. (2002).

Norwich, B. (1999). The connotation of special education labels for professionals in the field. British Journal of Special Education, 26(4), 179-183.

Polloway, E. A., Patton, J. R., & Dowdy, C. A. (2001). Teaching students with special needs in inclusive settings. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 535–542

Regan, K. S., & Michaud, K. M. (2011). Best practices to support student behavior. BeyondBehavior, 20(2), 40-47.

Reschly, D. J., & Holdheide, L. (2008). Innovation configurations: Implementing evidencebased practices in teacher preparation (Report for National Comprehensive Center forTeacher Quality). Washington, DC: NCCTQ.

Rock, M. L., Gregg, M., Gable, R. A., & Zigmond, N. P. (2009). Virtual coaching fornovice teachers. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(2), 36-41.

Scheeler, M. C., McKinnon, K., & Stout, J. (2012). Effects of immediate feedbackdelivered via webcam and bug-in-ear technology on preservice teacherperformance. Teacher Education and Special Education, 35(1), 77-90.

Simonsen, B., Fairbanks, S., Briesch, A., Myers, D., & Sugai, G. (2008). Evidence-basedpractices in classroom management: Considerations for research to practice. Education andTreatment of Children, 31(1), 351-380.

Slavin, R. E. (2007). Educational Research in an Age of Accountability. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Sugai, G., & Horner, R. H. (2006). A promising approach for expanding and sustaining theschool-wide positive behavior support. School Psychology Review, 35, 245–259.

Wagner, M., Newman, L., Cameto, R., & Levine, P. (2003). Changes overtime in the early post-school outcomes of youth with disabilities. A report from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International. Retrieved July 7th 2007 from. www.nlts2.org/pdfs/str6_execsum.pdf.