Publication Date

1982

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Erikson, Thomas L.

Degree Name

M.S. Ed. (Master of Education)

Legacy Department

Department of Industry and Technology

LCSH

Handicapped children--Illinois--Vocational education--Curricula; Teachers of handicapped children--Illinois

Abstract

In recent years more has been done to ensure the rights of handicapped students to a free appropriate public education. As a result, an increasing number of handicapped students have been scheduled into industrial education classes. Many problems and concerns have resulted and they need to be solved. The research was a survey of industrial education teachers in five northern Illinois counties regarding their opinions in some of the more common problem areas. The research was divided into five major research questions. These were: 1. What is the role of the teachers in preparing and delivering instruction for the handicapped? 2. What educational goals and objectives are appropriate for the handicapped student? 3. How are the handicapped student's abilities determined and how is the student to be evaluated/graded in the class? 4. To what extent should the curriculum and related instructional practices (e.g.f discipline, class size) be modified? 5. Can the handicapped student have "success" in the regular classroom setting? The data indicated that the roles of the teachers involved with the industrial education of the handicapped student were not clearly defined. There was little organization and cooperation among the personnel concerned. It appeared to be left to the teacher who had the student enrolled for that period to decide on an educational program for that student. The special education teachers were not aware of what the goals for their students in industrial education were. The goals and objectives for the handicapped student were not clearly defined. Again there was little communication between the special education and industrial education teachers. The respondents indicated that the handicapped students were learning valuable work- related skills along with valuable social skills needed for employment. The research indicated the industrial education teachers were not being informed of the handicapped students' abilities prior to their enrollment in the industrial education courses. The industrial education teacher had some difficulties in evaluating the handicapped learner. Competency based education was seen as a possible alternative. Class size was seen as a problem in some areas. The handicapped learner often required more of the teachers attention than the non-handicapped student. In order to give the attention, the class size might need to be reduced. The industrial education teachers also requested that they be given input as to how many and which types of handicapped students were scheduled into their classes. The industrial education teachers strongly agreed that the handicapped student could be successful in the industrial education curriculum. The non-handicapped students also had positive reactions towards the inclusion of handicapped students in the classes. The study found that industrial education teachers and special education teachers need to plan in greater depth for the education of handicapped students. Cooperation is a must. The special needs of these students can be met if the efforts are made. It is up to the industrial education teachers and the special education teachers to make this possible.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references.

Extent

vii, 68 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

Download

Share

COinS