Recognitive Characteristics of Elementary School
Teachers on Educational Situation and Strategy of Children with Learning Disabilities
Written by Zhang, Min Ting
Department of Special Education
Graduate School of Woosuk University
Directed by Lee,...
Recognitive Characteristics of Elementary School
Teachers on Educational Situation and Strategy of Children with Learning Disabilities
Written by Zhang, Min Ting
Department of Special Education
Graduate School of Woosuk University
Directed by Lee, Young Chul, Ph.D.
<Abstract>
Learning disabilities tend to be discovered after they are seriously aggravated. Elementary school teachers normally have the first opportunity to detect and treat learning disabilities. Accordingly, it is important for them to understand learning disabilities and to use proper instructional strategies for students with learning disabilities.
The purpose of this study was to examine elementary school teachers' perceptions of education for children with learning disabilities and to provide some suggestions based on the survey results. The goals of this study are as follows: First, figure out the elementary school teachers' recognition regarding the distinction and diagnosis of learning disabilities and the educational reality. Second, figure out the elementary school teachers' recognition regarding the instructional strategies for children with learning disabilities.
The data for this study were collected by conducting surveys to 291 teachers working at elementary schools in Seoul special city and citiesㆍcounties of Jellabukdo. Major findings of this study can be summarized as follows :
First, it is found that the elementary school teachers' recognition regarding the distinction and diagnosis of learning disabilities and the educational reality appeared to vary according to the several characteristics.
When it comes to the classification of learning disabilities, 80 percents of the respondents said they have experienced the children suspected to be disabled. As for the diagnosis of learning disabilities, elementary school teachers usually consult with their co-teachers about the diagnosis.
However, it is hard to expect that their fellow teachers have special abilities to diagnose learning disabilities. In the case of the instructional reality, among total 281 respondents, 105 teachers(37.4%) answered that they do not have enough time to instruct children with learning disabilities individually. In particular, the fact that some of them replied that there are not enough sources to get the information about children with learning disabilities shows the necessity of a training session and the effective guidelines.
Second, the elementary school teachers' recognition about the instructional strategy for the children with learning disabilities appeared to differ with criterion.
When it comes to the recognition according to the age, it is found that teachers who are in their 30s or 40s are more concerned about the principles of learning and teaching and they are more active than teachers in their 20s or 50s above.
In terms of the regions where the respondents live (e.g. metropolitan city, urban and rural), there are no serious differences in both use of the instructional strategies based on certain principals of learning and teaching and the priority list of it. In terms of the recognition of the instructional strategies according to work experience, it is discovered that the elementary school teachers regard feedback and selection of teaching and learning strategies as the most important factors.