Personnel Preparation: Relationship to Job Satisfaction. Draft Report. Working Paper #7.

Overview & Synopsis

This paper reports findings from three studies on attrition of special education teachers, with particular focus on teachers' responses concerning their own preservice preparation in both general and special education and evaluations of their levels of preparation to perform various components of their jobs. Major findings were: (1) the four skill areas in which teachers rated themselves the least well-prepared included responding to linguistic diversity, interfacing with the core curriculum, dealing with severe behavior disorders, and collaborating/consulting with general education teachers; (2) teachers felt ill-prepared to work with general education teachers, manage disruptive behaviors, and work effectively with consultants; (3) the skill areas in which teachers felt the least well-prepared are those typically associated with operating effective inclusion/mainstreaming programs; (4) recent graduates reported a higher level of agreement between their philosophy of special education and that of their districts; and (5) teachers who had left special education or were considering doing so tended to feel at odds with district policies and directions toward mainstreaming/full inclusion. Comparison by California respondents of their preservice preparation for the required general education credential with that of their special education preparation revealed that teachers rated the quality of their special education training higher in all areas than their general education training. Special education teachers reported feeling isolated from, and unappreciated by, their general education colleagues. The degree of teacher satisfaction with principals was found to be highly correlated with decisions to remain in special education. (DB)