Volume 4 Issue 1 (February 2012) - Ozean Publications

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European Journal of Educational Studies 4(1), <strong>2012</strong> Table 6: The means of graduate’s ratings of the importance of competencies and the program ability in preparing them at these competencies Professional and ethical practices competencies Importance Considering ethical aspects during practice 3.60 Ability 3.33 Awareness of self–attitudes and self–behavior and their effect on children with special needs and others Updating knowledge in service Considering legal aspects during practice Participating in activities enhancing self-professional development Knowing research findings and benefiting from them in improving the learning process Knowing the restrictions and behaving accordingly Ability to reflect, think, and modify instructional practices Considering professional aspects in practices 3.66 3.70 3.50 3.70 3.50 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.14 3.14 3.04 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.80 2.71 Corporation and Communication Competencies: The results show that all this area of competencies is very important; the means range from 3.56 to 3.86, while the program ability in preparing the graduates at all of them is moderate; the means range from 2.76 to 3.19 (See Table 7). Table 7: The means of graduate’s ratings of the importance of competencies and the program ability in preparing them at these competencies Corporation and communication competencies Important Ability Cooperating regularly with families, teachers and other related service providers Parents’ participation in setting individual educational objectives Advocating the issues of people with special needs and their rights Establishing effective work relationship with colleagues and parents Helping teachers to include students with special needs in regular settings Providing counseling to regular teachers and volunteers Providing counseling to parents to understand their needs and problems Participating effectively in teacher supporting team Helping regular teachers to understand legislations, policies related to people with special needs Designing programs for the families to teach their children with special needs at home 3.66 3.63 3.86 3.76 3.60 3.66 3.66 3.56 3.63 3.66 3.19 3.09 3.04 3.04 3.00 2.90 2.90 2.90 2.85 2.76 41
European Journal of Educational Studies 4(1), <strong>2012</strong> 2. The following are the questions and the graduates’ responses to the open–ended questions in part 2. These concern the students’ perception of the program content and outcomes. 1 -What are the main difficulties that face you after working in the field The most prominent difficulty is the gap between the theoretical side of the courses and the actual practice; moreover, they have difficulties in dealing with employers and administrators, and in dealing with severe cases, designing behavior modification plans, adaptation with work environment, dealing with diagnosis, psychoeducational evaluation procedures and using computers and technology in teaching. The graduates also complained of low salaries . 2 -Has the program prepared you to deal with these difficulties The graduates responses vary; 32% of them have responded that the program has prepared them to face such difficulties, 39% have responded that they have not been prepared to face these difficulties, while 28% have responded that they have been prepared but not to the required extent. 3 -What are the courses perceived as the most important to practice at work There is a kind of agreement about the importance of three courses in practice. These are: a) curriculum and methodology in special education, b) assessment and diagnosis in special educations, and c) introduction to special education . 4 -Are you satisfied with your pre-service preparation in general About half of the graduates (43%) are satisfied completely, 20% have a sort of satisfaction, while 37% are not satisfied with their pre-service preparation. 5 -What are the important skills for which you need more training Many skills are considered weak from the graduates’ point of view; consequently, they need to be trained on them according to their importance; evaluation and diagnosis skills (26%), behavior modification (16%), teaching methodology and curriculum designing (10%), dealing with autistic children (13%), sign language and Brail method (13%), using technology and computer (6%), and dealing with families (3%.) 6 -What do you suggest to overcome difficulties in pre-service preparation Thirty-three per cent of the graduates suggest that every course should have practical activities, (66%) suggest increasing field training and extensive supervision in the field, and direct practice of the skills they learned. 7 -As graduates, what do you recommend to improve the program The graduates recommend many ways to improve the program; for example, increasing field training (35%), giving attention to specific courses such as behavior modification, assessment and diagnosis, as well as training in all categories in special education (16%). It was also recommended to include practical activities for each course (16%), to omit some courses (13%), to begin at field training from the second year, not the final year. Every faculty member should teach specific courses according to his specialty . 8 -What are the main characteristics which the teacher should have to succeed in working with children with special needs Patience, strong personality, tolerance, compassion, honesty, and unconditional acceptance of children with special needs are considered important. 9 -Has the program helped you to acquire these characteristics Fifty-six per cent of the graduates have responded positively while 11% have responded negatively, and 33% have responded that it helps to a certain extent . DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION It is concluded from the results narrated earlier of part 1 that the graduates realize the importance of several areas of competencies in special education, as they consider them in general very important, while they see that the program does not prepare them properly most of the time. Because many courses focus on theoretical knowledge, the graduates consider that the program has prepared them very well in most of the basic knowledge competencies. Theoretical knowledge is considered important but not as important as the information with direct applicability to the work. They have succeeded in acquiring some skills at field training, and they have stated in the open-ended questions (part 2) that the most prominent difficulty which faces them is the gap between the theoretical side of the courses and the actual practice. At the 42
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discrepancy indicated that the work
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