Teaching-Learning Style Preferences of Special Education Teachers

The purpose of this study was to describe the teaching style, educational philosophy, and learning strategy preferences of Special Education teacher candidates. Data were collected through an online demographic questionnaire and three self- administered instruments. The participants in the study were 97 undergraduate and graduate students majoring in Special Education. The participants in the study profess a learner- centered philosophy, although they believe in a teacher-centered approach in the classroom. Their personal learning strategy draws a disproportionally large number of Engagers, who are learners who initiate a learning activity from the affective domain and who stress relationships in the learning environment. When the interaction between education philosophy and teaching style were investigated, it was found that the element that links these two together is what the teacher believes about the role of the teacher in the teaching-learning transaction. Four distinct groups among the Special Education teacher candidates were identified in terms of their educational beliefs.

Autorentext

Vickie Foster is an assistant professor of special education at at a university in Oklahoma. She is a former special education teacher and State Department of Education Administrator. Vickie has a masters degree from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusettes and a doctorate in Adult Education from Oklahoma State University.