The effect of in-service training on the perceived abilities of vocational special needs teachers in Tennessee

The purpose of this study was to assess the adequacy of the Special Needs Institutes in altering the perceived skill attainment levels of the Vocational Improvement and Vocational Advancement Program teachers. It was also the purpose of this study to determine what influence the teachers' attendance in previous workshops, educational background, age, the number of years teaching experience in a vocational special needs program, or the location of the in-service had on the teachers' perceived skill attainment levels,.

The population for this study consisted of all the vocational special needs teachers in Tennessee. The sample for the purposes of this study included the 112 teachers who attended the Special Needs Institute III.

An instrument was modified to gather perceptual information. A pilot study was conducted with the participants at the Special Needs Institute II to ascertain the instrument's validity and statistical reliability. Data for this study were collected from the pretest and posttest and tabulated through the use of the SPSS and SAS computer programs.

The t test was used to determine whether significant differences (at the .05 level) existed between the pretest and posttest responses. The analysis of variance was used to determine if the respondents' perceptions were influenced by any of the demographic variables examined by the study.

Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions were made: (1) teachers' ability to assess, diagnose, and evaluate vocational special needs students was increased following the one week of in-service training; (2) in-service training was an effective means of training vocational special needs teachers to alter traditional methods and materials for their students; (3) in-service training was a viable means to assist vocational special needs teachers in planning, preparing, and/or purchasing materials for their students; and (4) the number of in-services previously attended, the teachers' educational background, age, years of teaching experience, or location of the in-service did not significantly alter the teachers' perceptual improvement of their ability to work with vocational special needs students.

Thus, it was concluded that the Special Needs Summer Institutes have been adequate in altering Vocational Improvement and Vocational Advancement Program teachers' perceptions of their skill attainment levels and it was recommended that they continue to be made available to Tennessee's special needs teachers.