The attitudes of class teachers and learning support teachers to provision foe pupils with learning difficulties in primary schools

Abstract

A number of recent developments in special education in Taiwan have led to an appraisal of present provision particularly for pupils with learning difficulties in ordinary schools. The writer's present position as a teacher with responsibility for a special class in an ordinary elementary school led her to become interested in developments in collaboration between learning support and classroom teachers in England. The award of a Rotary International Scholarship provided an opportunity to study, at first hand, die attitudes and practices of a sample of teachers in two local authorities in the north-east of England. Since the publication of the Warnock Report (1978), there has been considerable interest in different forms of integration and provision for pupils with learning difficulties in primary schools. Considerable change has taken place in the provision for children who have not been statemented but have learning difficulties, most often in language and reading development. In most cases, these children are supported by specialist teachers from a local authority support service. Among the various changes which have taken place has been a through examination of the role of the support teachers, and in particular the advocacy of a move from withdrawal of pupils with learning difficulties, for specialist teaching, to an increase in collaboration between class teachers and support teachers in the class room. The main aim of the study has been to explore teachers' attitudes and perceptions and preferences regarding these changes firstly through a review of the literature. This literature search was used to identify a series of issues which might be of greatest concern. Secondly, these issues were incorporated into a questionnaire to provide data in five areas : personal details of respondents, perceptions of existing support service, interaction between class teachers and support teachers, attitudes towards changing roles in the support system and most effective ways of supporting for pupils with learning difficulties and their class teachers. The questionnaire was distributed to a sample paired support and classroom teachers in two local authorities. The results revealed a broad degree of satisfaction with the arrangements described by the teachers, the need for more support and improved finding . There was a wider variation in attitude, preference and degree of consensus regarding m class support and collaboration and withdrawal, and a number of more specific issues such as : the influence of the support teacher on the rest of the class, the problems which the class teacher and die support teacher faced in their collaboration, die influence of the support teacher on the class teacher and the influence of the class teacher on the support teacher, the preferable methods of collaboration, the reasons for teachers to chose different support patterns, the main strengths and weaknesses of the changing support model and the best ways of support for class teachers and pupils with L-D from the teachers' point of view. The diesis concludes with a broad discussion of the implications of the study, an evaluation of the empirical study and possible directions for future investigation.