Effectiveness of preservice and inservice programs in changing attitudes of vocational teachers working with mainstreamed handicapped students

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to compare preservice or inservice education to determine which was more effective in positively modifying the attitudes of vocational educators working with mainstreamed handicapped students. Two methods of preservice education and two methods of inservice education comprised the experimental groups for this study. The preservice education consisted of (a) undergraduate level vocational special needs courses, and (b) vocational education courses with information on the handicapped infused into the existing program. The inservice education consisted of (a) teacher inservice workshops, and (b) graduate level vocational special needs courses. In addition, a control group was utilized consisting of vocational teachers and teacher trainees who had received no formal presentation of information on the handicapped. The sample population was selected and each subject was asked to complete a demographic data sheet. Information obtained from the demographic data sheet included age, sex, educational background, years teaching experience, locality and vocational teaching field. A pretest was administered using the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons scale (ATDP). The experimental groups then participated in either a vocational special needs inservice workshop (Group 1), a graduate level vocational special needs course (Group 2), an undergraduate level vocational special needs course (Group 3), or a vocational education course having information on the handicapped infused (Group 4). At the completion of the workshop or course, participants were posttested using the ATDP. Pretests and posttests were then scored and a statistical analysis of the scores was conducted by means of the Statistical Analysis System (SAS). Based on the results of an extensive literature review and the data obtained from this study, the following conclusions can be drawn...