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A Matter of Confidence and Meaningful
Support: Teachers’ Perception of their Personal Impact on Teaching and Learning
by Howard Weiner, PhD.
(This
article is available in a printable version in the October
issue of Focus on Teachers Newsletter. Contact Howard Weiner at
weiner@adelphi.edu for reprint rights.)
One of the most powerful
ways teachers can change the culture of a school is to alter the way students are
treated. When teachers volunteer to integrate the general education environment
with students who were previously segregated in special education classrooms,
beliefs, values and behaviors can change significantly. In a large urban, K-8
school district, teachers in inclusion classes received a dynamic staff
development program and reported changes in attitudes and practice. Teachers in
schools that were comfortable with various forms of tracking are starting to
reflect upon what their priorities should be after a group of their colleagues
created exemplary inclusion classrooms.
Master teachers provided support for volunteer inclusion teachers. They met with
teachers before, after and during school to discuss values, beliefs and teacher-
defined issues. In addition, teachers received extensive in-classroom training on
effective use of research-based teaching strategies. Even by criteria that would
impress the public and school administrators, the inclusion program was
successful. Statistically significant and meaningful improvements were made by
both general education and special education inclusion class students compared to
cohorts in non-inclusion classes. Comparisons were made using 2001 vs. 2000 city
and state standardized reading tests in grades three through eight.
Internal
and External Factors
If you think that helping teachers to use effective practice is the critical
element in developing optimum learning environments for all students, consider
this data from surveying teachers and parents of students in these successful
inclusion classes.
Parents and teachers have different perspectives on what makes a successful
inclusion program. In one study, parents valued commitment of teachers to make
inclusion work, and peer acceptance. Teachers focused on resources, help in
modifying curriculum and developing adaptations, training, and planning time (Bennette
et. al., 1997).
Last May, I surveyed several hundred parents and teachers of students in inclusion
classes. I asked them to rank order eight often-cited factors responsible for
successful inclusion. The eight factors can be viewed in terms of internal
(teacher beliefs and values) and external factors (school resources outside of
teacher control). The two internal factors were a teacher taking a personal
interest in each child, and an environment in which all students are valued
members of the class. The external factors differed in terms of classroom teacher
involvement. Three factors describe training, scheduling and materials for the
classroom teacher. The other three factors defer to someone else (teachers and
paras) to address the needs of students with deficits.
121 scorable sets of responses were received from parents. Above all else, results
indicated that parents thought “a teacher who takes a personal
interest in the child” was by far the most important factor in successful
inclusion (55%). “An environment where the student is seen as a valued member”
was the second most frequently selected factor in successful inclusion (17%).
Interestingly, “having a paraprofessional in the classroom” was selected as
the most important factor by only 3% of parents. We often hear of parents
demanding, even suing, to have extra personnel assigned so their child can succeed
in the inclusion classroom. However, having caring and committed teachers was far
more important to parents than extra and individualized support personnel.
When teachers first consider volunteering for our district’s inclusion
program, they voice many of the research literature-cited concerns. For example,
”If a student with deficits doesn’t succeed in an inclusion classroom, what
alternative placement options exist?” “What
special education staff will assist teachers and students in inclusion
classrooms?” These are important considerations but do not reflect a moral
commitment to all students or effective practice. For many teachers who
volunteered for inclusion assignments, especially in schools trying inclusion for
the first time, reservations about students with disabilities succeeding in
general education classes were real and prominent in their thinking. It may be
that some teachers initially volunteered because they thought all students had a
right to access the general education environment. They may also have feared that
inclusion might soon be mandated without the support services now available. The
school culture fostered accommodating students yet harbored low expectations.
Before
and After Results
Last May, I gave the inclusion teachers the same survey given to parents. By this
time, teachers had at least eight months of experience in an inclusion classroom
and had weekly master teacher (inclusion facilitator) support from the beginning.
Of the 77 scorable survey response sets returned, the factor teachers selected as
most important was the same one selected by parents—“a teacher who takes
personal interest in the child” (36%). Second in importance, just as with the
parents, was “an environment where student is seen as a valued member” (25%).
Only 2% of teachers selected common preparation periods as most important and only
11% said that having a paraprofessional in the classroom was most important.
Overall, it is clear that both teachers and parents agreed upon what makes
inclusion successful. Both groups overwhelmingly identified ethical and socially
responsible teacher attitudes and behavior as far more important than additional
personnel or other traditional organizational resources.
Why did teachers change their perception about what really matters in providing
excellent teaching after experience in the inclusion program? I attribute the
change to the master teacher support that focused on ethical practice and may have
rekindled teachers’ aspirations to help all students learn well.
Inclusion facilitators asked classroom teachers to reflect on their practice and
consider the types of self-inventory metaphors and other inquiry methods found in
Appendix A of Teaching in Mind by
Judith
Yero. Over time, teachers began to feel more motivation and confidence in examining
notions about teaching, learning and students, attempting to understand
deep-seated beliefs. When asked e.g., “What prevents you from having as high
expectations for your students as you have for your own children?” teachers
asked themselves about their aspirations and then requested help to address
perceived obstacles to achieving them.
It is difficult to asses the impact of this non-traditional staff development
program that is so individualized and focused on attitudes, beliefs and values. My
gut feeling is that the inclusion facilitators represent a spiritually uplifting
embodiment of teachers’ highest aspirations. They rekindled deep-seated thirst
for knowledge, and stored powers of curiosity,
experimentation, and especially caring, to help all children learn well.
Joining the classroom teacher in pursuit of excellent teaching provided confidence
and high expectations. In effect, the inclusion facilitators treated the classroom
teachers with the same concern, respect, interest, and gave them the same
opportunity to explore and grow that, in turn, the teachers would offer all
students.
Factors
Affecting Teacher Self-Efficacy
There are two antithetical forces teachers struggle with that detract from
teachers’ confidence in their own competency to teach well—their
self-efficacy. External factors leading to frustration and diminished
self-efficacy include:
 the
increased workload;
a more challenging student population;
still newer innovations replacing recently adopted innovative programs; and
the need to address an ever-increasing number of complex curriculum standards.
Inadequate, large group, one-shot training formats also lead to unfair
accountability pressures, further diminishing a sense of competency.
The inclusion facilitators (master teachers) take measured steps to convince
teachers that striving for optimum learning environments is a most worthy pursuit.
They stress that observable improvements in student learning are the product of
high expectations and respectful teaching. Everything the facilitators do can be
viewed in terms of building confidence and providing opportunity for reflective
inquiry—helping teachers get in touch with their efficacy aspirations.
What about the research-based best strategies that facilitators introduce, model,
and help make a pivotal part of every inclusion classroom? I think the will and
skill mixture is a complex interdependent entity. On the one hand, improved
student outcomes have been shown to precede changes in teacher attitudes and
beliefs in many studies. On the other hand, reflection and getting in touch with
the rationale for going into teaching in the first place also spurs better
teaching practice that results in higher student achievement.
A
Case in Point
It is easy to look at the impact of perfecting one element in the absence of the
other to see their reciprocal nature. Last year, another New York City K-8 school
district, one of the poorest I know of, hired adults who left established careers
to become teachers. These adults were immediately put into classrooms. They
receive some support and training, but understandably feel overwhelmed by the lack
of teaching skills they can offer needy students. This month, I started to meet
once a week with eighteen of these “teaching fellows.” On average, they are
about 35 years old, having left careers in social work, law, performing arts,
retail, and other business related professions. They were always interested in
teaching as a result of their own or their children’s positive school
experiences. The free degree and certification preparation now offered was an
impetus to start a teaching career.
I used some of Judy
Yero’s self-inquiry questions to try to understand their values and beliefs. In
response to the question about creating the perfect school on another planet
without any constraints, I found the teaching fellows emphasized how they would
take care of and protect the students. Missing were mentions of how they would use
instructional strategies to help them learn. They said, e.g., ”My class would
have no more than five students so I could meet each student’s needs.”
“I’d buy them books and art supplies and they would never go without.”
“I’d have a place a student could stay on the weekend if he couldn’t go
home.”
Their responses last week to metaphors about teaching and learning were also
nurturing-based. A popular response was comparing teaching to raising a child and
again, few described any details about how they would use instruction to help
students. They also expressed a lack of confidence and uncertainty about their
teaching. As one person said, “Teaching is like running a marathon because it
takes a lot of work, you need a lot of training, but it is extremely rewarding.
Sometimes you think you might not make it.”
When I gave them the eight factors important to successful inclusion survey last
week, they had already read three chapters about inclusion in a textbook.
Therefore, they were familiar with the concepts reflected in the six external
factors. We had also read an article by Judy
Yero
on attitudes and beliefs. Can you guess how they prioritized the eight items? Do
you think they differed from the more experienced teachers who volunteered for,
and were supported in, inclusion classes that you just read about?
If you suspected that the teaching fellows, as very caring individuals, gave top
priority to internal factors, you were right. If you suspected that the teaching
fellows, so lacking in instructional expertise and confidence to effectively teach
students with deficits, gave top priority to external factors that assigned others
to instruct them, you were also right. The teaching fellows created a bimodal
pattern, with 42% selecting others to instruct students with deficits. 38% had the
valuing environment and a personal interest in students as their first or second
priority for successful inclusion. Perhaps it is because they are so nurturing
that the teaching fellows deferred to others with more expertise to help the
neediest students. They also believed that the factors in their control, taking an
interest in and valuing students, were almost equally important.
The point is that it takes both skill and will to confidently and deeply engage
all students in an optimum learning environment. I would wager that two years from
now, the teaching fellows, given the same factors in successful inclusion survey,
would present a pattern giving top priority solely to internal factors. If they
had inclusion facilitators in their classrooms now, these new teachers would seize
that opportunity to pick their brains for effective strategies to help all
students do well. It is their dedicated striving to teach well and to guide
students that helps the teaching fellows struggle on when less socially
responsible individuals would have been given up. Did you ever see a marathon
runner without a lot of perseverance?
Anyone interested in further details about the
inclusion teacher support program, the survey and/or standardized test results, or
have questions, feel free to e-mail me at weiner@adelphi.edu.
I also would welcome any comments or reactions to this article.
About Howard Weiner: I received a Ph. D in
educational psychology at
New York
University
, and a certificate from a three year post-doctoral program in psychoanalytic
psychotherapy from the Long Island Institute for Psychotherapy. I recently retired
from a 34 year career in the New York City Board of education having served as a
special education classroom teacher, Chairperson of a Committee on Special
Education, and for the last fifteen years a District Administrator of Special
Education. Currently I am an assistant professor in the school of education at Adelphi
University. I also maintained a small private practice as a licensed psychologist until this
year. An article on teacher efficacy and staff development will be published in Teaching
Exceptional Children next summer. I have presented at national and state
conferences on inclusion and staff development research.
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