Annotated Bibliograpy
Running head: SELF-EFFICACY AND TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES 1
SELF-EFFICACY AND TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES 10
Self-Efficacy and Teaching Students with Disabilities: An Annotated Bibliography
Student Name
EDUC 850
Liberty University
Abstract
The field of special education is consistently plagued with staffing shortages due to high attrition. Identifiably, burnout leads to many teachers’ decisions to seek career opportunities outside of special education. Research indicates that teacher burnout is derived from low levels of self-efficacy. In efforts to increase job-satisfaction and competency within the many specializations which make up special education, research supports that teacher education programs should be all-inclusive of the various disabilities and settings which teacher candidates may service following graduation. Additionally, continual and applicable professional development opportunities, for both special education teachers and general education teachers, can support greater perceived self-efficacy in teaching students with disabilities.
Keywords: self-efficacy, special education, burnout
Preparation of Teachers of Students with Autism
Busby, Ingram, Bowron, Oliver, and Lyons (2012) indicated that the ineffective teaching of children with autism stems from a lack of motivation and low self-efficacy. Based upon this, the authors sought participation from graduate education students who reported no experience with teaching students with autism. Using a Nominal Group Technique, participants were shown video clips of instruction of a child with autism. Following the video viewing, participants were then asked what challenges they perceived would be experienced as a teacher of a student with autism. From this, the following five challenges were identified: highly individualized instruction, time-consuming parent-teacher collaboration, disruption in the general education setting, extensive data collection for students’ IEPs, and general education teachers’ lack of knowledge for inclusion. From these challenges, perceived needs were derived. Overall, the findings from this study represent that there are barriers to the effective inclusion of students with autism. In order to enhance the self-efficacy of teachers providing inclusion to students with autism in the inclusion setting, the authors offered curriculum recommendations for pre-service teaching curriculums. As the authors indicate, a limitation of this study is the population being comprised of only Troy University students. Special education preparation programs could utilize the design of this study to determine whether or not their students feel equipped for serving students with autism following graduation.
Self-Efficacy and Special Education Referrals
Identifying the referral for assessment as the first step in providing students with special education services, Egyed and Short (2006) investigated the relationship between teaching efficacy and referring student for assessment. Since teacher burnout is a derivative of low levels of self-efficacy, the authors also investigated the influence of burnout on the likelihood to refer. Overall, the study evidenced that teachers, who were uncertain about whether to refer a student, reported higher levels of burnout, whereas teachers who reported lower levels of burnout reported greater certainty about when to refer a student. Lastly, the authors were unable to identify a relationship between self-efficacy and likelihood to refer. The authors provide the implication that further training and professional development on behavior management could increase teachers’ self-efficacy and allow for more perceived confidence when determining the true need for a referral.
Teachers’ Learned Helplessness
Gotshall and Stefanou (2011) investigated teachers’ self-perceptions on their abilities to teach students with disabilities. The sample included 33 elementary and middle school teachers, and four student teachers. Participants completed four separate questionnaires. Overall, this study revealed that a relationship does exist between self-efficacy and learned helplessness. Based upon this relationship, working environments need to support the self-perceived empowerment of teachers in the presence of difficulty. Also, teachers who receive more support/consultation reported lower levels of learned helplessness, whereas teachers who reported less support/consultation demonstrated greater degrees of learned helplessness. This study does provide evidence that continual and on-going support for teachers of students with disabilities can have beneficial impressions.
Response to Challenging Behaviors
Hastings and Brown (2002) provided questionnaires to 70 school staff members who work with students with either intellectual disabilities or autism. The questionnaires were aimed at measuring behavioral knowledge, behavioral causes, efficacy in managing challenging behaviors, and emotional consequences to challenging behavior. The authors identify a relationship between their emotional reactions to challenging behavior and perceived behavioral causes. Additionally, increased behavioral knowledge related to emotional reactions to challenging behavior. Also, teachers’ low levels of self-efficacy did predict the emotions of fear, anxiety, depression, and anger. The authors imply that future research should highlight the change of teachers’ self-efficacy over time and the impact of teachers’ self-efficacy on challenging behaviors.
Students with Self-Injurious Behaviors
Jasper and Morris (2012) specifically investigated the self-efficacy of special educators who teach students who display non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors. Using a 3-point Likert scale, the authors collected data from 390 special educators. Of the 390 sampled, 305 participants agreed that they work, or have worked, with students with non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors. Additionally, 276 participants reported that they were untrained to manage the non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors of students. Teachers who had been trained to manage these behaviors reported higher levels of self-efficacy. Profoundly, many educators who work with students who display non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors have received no training. Overall, the authors imply that there is a great need for further specialized training for special education teachers. As this article depicts, an increase in training relates to an increase in self-efficacy for special education teachers.
Skill Ratings for Teaching Students with Disabilities
King-Sears, Carran, Dammann, and Arter (2012) took a sample of teacher education students from four colleges and universities. The researchers developed a survey tool, which was derived from a tool included content produced by the Council for Exceptional Children for preparing special educators. Each survey was completed by a student had completed student teaching. The survey encompassed the following six domains: instructional strategies, learning environment, instructional practice, assessment, professional practice, and behavior. When compared, special education students rated their self-efficacy of working with students with disabilities higher than the general education students. Additionally, the researchers sought to investigate the influence of traditional student teaching on the self-efficacy ratings of general and special education teachers. Overall, the authors found that traditional student teaching promotes higher self-ratings in all domains, except behavior. Thus, the authors imply that new teacher mentorships/orientations could benefit from these findings in order to prepare all teachers to work with students with disabilities. Also, the rating scores provide evidence for the benefit of traditional student teaching placements.
Intern Teachers and Teacher Preparation
Lee, Patterson, and Vega (2011) discuss the increased likelihood, when compared to general educators, of special education teachers leaving the profession after the first year. Based upon this, the authors collected data, using a survey-method, from 154 special education intern teachers in California. In California, the intern teacher is provided special education licensure for a 2 year period, while they complete the required coursework for full licensure. The surveys provided included items based upon personal teaching efficacy and general teaching efficacy. The authors found that the quality of support received is related to personal teaching efficacy. They also concluded that heavy workloads do affect the self-efficacy of special education teachers. The authors provide the implication that school districts must work to implement effective supports, to include supportive and healthy relationships, for intern teachers. Lastly, the authors discuss the importance of quality traditional teacher education programs, including student teaching, to the overall self-efficacy of new teachers.
Teaching Students with Autism and Coping
Ruble, Usher, and McGrew (2011) surveyed 35 special education teachers who teach students with autism. The surveys completed represented the following three areas of self-efficacy: sense of mastery, social persuasion, and physiological/affective state. The authors found no impact of years of teaching experience on self-efficacy ratings. Secondly, the authors found that social persuasions from administrators had no impact on self-efficacy ratings. The authors provide the possible explanation that teachers of students with autism consult more consistently with autism specialists and not their administrators. Lastly, teachers who reported higher levels of confidence reported lower levels of burnout. Burnout was only significant with the classroom management subscale. However, due to the design of this study, the authors are unable to conclude if the significance is derived from poor classroom management skills or teachers’ lack of belief in their in their management skills. Overall, the authors provide the implication that the inclusion of autism coursework in teacher preparation could assist in raising the self-efficacy of teachers of students with autism.
Classroom Structure and Teacher Efficacy
Using a sample size of 774 general and special educators, Shippen et al. (2011) investigated the impact of classroom structure on the efficacy reported at the secondary and elementary grade levels. Participants completed two questionnaires (Bender Classsroom Structure Questionnaire and Teacher Efficacy Scale). Overall, this study demonstrated that special educators are more effective at individualizing instruction for students with disabilities, than general education teachers do. Since the findings of this study demonstrate a difference in the instructional practices between special education teachers and general education teachers when teaching students with disabilities, the authors provide the implication that general education preservice coursework provide additional content related to teaching students with disabilities to enhance teacher confidence with regards to teaching students with disabilities. Also, the authors emphasize the need for continual professional development regarding co-teaching in the inclusion setting.
Autism, Treatment Orientation, and Self-Efficacy
Siu and Ho (2010) investigated the impact of treatment orientation on the self-efficacy of teachers of students with autism. The two primary treatment orientations when serving students with autism are Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication-related Handicapped Children (TEACCH). Teachers adhering to one of these two orientations were compared with a group of teachers who do not prescribe to a specific treatment orientation. Overall, the researchers found that by teaching according to a specific treatment orientation yields an increased sense of personal teaching efficacy when working with students with autism. Also, teachers who practice ABA demonstrate a high sense of personal teaching efficacy. In addition to further study, the authors provide the implication that continuous training and development should be provided for professionals who work with a specialized population of students, such as students with autism, in order to enhance self-efficacy and lessen teacher burnout.
References
Busby, R., Ingram, R., Bowron, R., Oliver, J., & Lyons, B. (2012). Teaching elementary children
with autism: Addressing teacher challenges and preparation needs. Rural Educator,
33(2), 27-35.
Egyed, C. J., & Short, R. J. (2006). Teacher self-efficacy, burnout, experience, and decision to
refer a disruptive student. School Psychology International, 27(4), 462-474.
doi: 10.1177/0143034306070432
Gotshall, C., & Stefanou, C. (2011). The effects of on-going consultation for accommodating
students with disabilities on teacher self-efficacy and learned helplessness. Education,
132(2), 321-331.
Hastings, R. P., & Brown, T. (2002). Behavioural knowledge, causal beliefs and self-efficacy as
predictors of special educators’ emotional reactions to challenging behaviours. Journal of
Intellectual Disability Research, 46(2), 144-150. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2788.2002.00378.x
Jasper, A. D., & Morris, C. W. (2012). Special educators and non-suicidal self-injurious behavior: Self-injury training, exposure, and self-efficacy. Teacher Education and Special Education, 35(1), 64-76. doi: 10.1177/0888406411413144
King-Sears, M. E., Carran, D. T., Dammann, S. N., & Arter, P. S. (2012). Multi-site analyses of
special education and general education student teachers’ skill ratings for working with
students with disabilities. Teacher Education Quarterly, 39(2), 131-149.
Lee, Y., Patterson, P. P., & Vega, L. A. (2011). Perils to self-efficacy perceptions and teacher-
preparation quality among special education intern teachers. Teacher Education
Quarterly, 38(2), 61-76.
Ruble, L. A., Usher, E. L., & McGrew, J. H. (2011). Preliminary investigation of the sources of
self-efficacy among teachers of students with autism. Focus on Autism and Other
Developmental Disabilities, 26(2), 67-74. doi: 10.1177/1088357610397345
Shippen, M. E., Flores, M. M., Crites, S. A., Patterson, D., Ramsey, M. L., Houchins, D. D., &
Jolivette, K. (2011). Classroom structure and teacher efficacy in serving students with
disabilities: Differences in elementary and secondary teachers. International Journal of
Special Education, 26(3), 36-44.
Siu, A. F., & Hou, L. S. (2010). Relations between commitment to a treatment orientation and
self-efficacy among teachers working with children with autism. International Journal
of Early Childhood Special Education, 2(3), 180-192.