PDF The Roles and Responsibilities of Special Education Teachers

The Roles and Responsibilities of Special Education Teachers

by Jodi D. Katsafanas BS Special Education, Duquesne University, 1982 MEd Special Education, University of Pittsburgh, 1986

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Pittsburgh in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education

University of Pittsburgh 2006

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH School of Education

This dissertation was presented by

Jodi D. Katsafanas

It was defended on August 22, 2006 and approved by Steve Lyon, PhD, Professor, Instruction and Learning Rita Bean, PhD, Professor, Instruction and Learning George Zimmerman, PhD, Professor, Instruction and Learning Charlene Trovato, PhD, Professor, Administration and Policy Studies William Penn, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Instruction and Learning Dissertation Advisor: Naomi Zigmond, PhD, Professor, Instruction and Learning

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Copyright ? by Jodi D. Katsafanas 2006

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The Roles and Responsibilities of Special Education Teachers Jodi D. Katsafanas, EdD

University of Pittsburgh, 2006

The purpose of this study was to describe the roles and responsibilities of 17 special education teachers and the challenges they encountered in the areas of planning, instructing, and monitoring of student progress of elementary students in 4 school districts in Western Pennsylvania. This study was conducted by collecting data through focus group discussions, written weekly logs, and personal interviews. Focus group questions regarding the teaching practices of special educators were guided by the review of the literature and the conceptual framework of this study, based in part on Duke's 1987 vision of teaching excellence in the areas of planning, instructing, and monitoring student progress.

Findings revealed five challenges and impacts of the challenges they encountered in their daily work, together explaining the role dissonance experienced by many special education teachers in today's schools. Real life examples of how teachers cope with the challenges of their daily work were revealed through the stories they told in this study. The collective knowledge and experiences of these teachers stand as examples for others in their own practices.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE.................................................................................................................................... IX 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1

1.1 PURPOSE OF STUDY AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ...................................... 4 1.2 SIGNIFICANCE.......................................................................................................... 5 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................... 8 2.1 BACKGROUND OF LEARNING DISABILITY .................................................... 9 2.2 FEDERAL LEGISLATION ..................................................................................... 11 2.3 REGULAR EDUCATION INITIATIVE................................................................ 13 2.4 INCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 15 2.5 ASSESSMENT........................................................................................................... 20 2.6 DUKE'S VISION OF TEACHING EXCELLENCE............................................. 23 2.7 CHALLENGES IN PLANNING.............................................................................. 24 2.8 CHALLENGES IN INSTRUCTION....................................................................... 27 2.9 CHALLENGES IN THE MONITORING OF STUDENT PROGRESS............. 32 2.10 CHALLENGES IN JOB DESIGN........................................................................... 36 2.11 CHAPTER SUMMARY ........................................................................................... 37 3 METHODS.......................................................................................................................... 40 3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN............................................................................................... 40

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3.1.1 Overview of Study....................................................................................... 40 3.1.2 Sampling and Sampling Plan..................................................................... 44 3.1.3 Description of the Participants and the School Districts in this Study .. 44 3.1.4 Data Sources, Collection and Preparation................................................ 55 3.1.5 Procedures ................................................................................................... 55 3.1.6 Data Collection and Analysis ..................................................................... 57 3.1.7 Example of Coding Procedure................................................................... 59 4 RESULTS............................................................................................................................ 61 4.1 SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS AND THEIR TIME ................................ 61 4.1.1 Planning ....................................................................................................... 63 4.1.2 Time Spent in Instructing Students with LD ........................................... 67 4.2 FINDINGS ON PROGRESS MONITORING ....................................................... 70 4.3 TIME SPENT ON MISCELLANEOUS OTHER AND PAPERWORK............. 71 4.4 FINDINGS FROM THE FOCUS GROUP SESSIONS......................................... 72 4.4.1 Challenge 1: Absence of Teamwork Among General & Special Education Teachers.................................................................................................... 73 4.4.2 Challenge 2: Changes in the Population of Students Assigned to Special Education .................................................................................................................... 77 4.4.3 Challenge 3: Increasing Workload and Paperwork. ............................... 80 5 DISCUSSION...................................................................................................................... 82 5.1 FINDINGS ON THE ROLE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS ........... 84 5.2 FINDINGS IN THE AREA OF PLANNING ......................................................... 85 5.3 FINDINGS IN THE AREA OF PROVIDING DAILY INSTRUCTION ............ 86

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