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For the Love of Learning: 10 years laterCommissioners reflect on their report released in 1995 and where we stand now by Beatrice Schriever |
The public is less convinced than teachers of the value of mixed-ability classrooms for students. In response to an open-ended question, the majority of both respondent groups cited advantages, but the public was three times as likely as teachers to say that there are no benefits for special-needs students. Twenty-three per cent of the public respondents volunteered that they felt special-education students were not well served by being placed in mixed classrooms. Only eight per cent of the teachers polled agreed. Twenty-three per cent of the public respondents volunteered that they see no benefits for special-education students who are placed in mixed classrooms. Similarly, teachers were more apt to say that special-education students benefit from increased self-esteem and a more positive social environment. The majority of both the public (56 per cent) and teachers (68 per cent) said that, in mixed-ability classes, other students who do not require special education support develop social skills and learn to get along with others of different abilities. More support = less stressSeventy-two per cent of teachers say it is stressful to teach a mixed-ability class, even though two-thirds express confidence in their ability to do so. Most teachers (71 per cent) say they are satisfied with their self-directed professional development in preparing them to teach these classes, but only 26 per cent feel the training they received from teaching faculties is sufficient in this regard.
Half of the teachers polled laud the support they get from principals and senior administrators. This response reveals a clear correlation between such support and the stress experienced. For example, while 72 per cent of teachers say that it is stressful to teach a mixed-ability class, this climbs to 85 per cent (with 58 per cent at the maximum level) among those who rank the support they receive from principals or administrators as unsatisfactory. By contrast, reports of significant stress fall to 69 per cent among those who say they are satisfied or definitely satisfied with the administrative support they receive. ps survey resultsMixed-ability classrooms: As part of the 2004 State of the Teaching Profession Survey, five questions were posed related to the inclusion of students with special-education needs in regular classrooms. Methodology: COMPAS Inc. - a public-opinion and customer-research firm - conducted a representative sample survey via telephone of more than 1,000 teachers and more than 500 members of the public during July 2004. The results are deemed accurate to within 3.1 percentage points (for the teacher survey) and 4.4 percentage points (for the public poll) 19 times out of 20. Rounding: Due to rounding rules concerning survey results, percentages for some questions may not add up to 100 per cent. Questions: Wording and order presented below have been modified for brevity. For complete questions and results, please visit www.compas.ca.
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Teachers |
Public |
|
| Social skills and learning to get along with students with different abilities | 68% | 56% |
| The opportunity to learn leadership skills, become role models and help other students | 28% | 23% |
| Having extra resources in the classroom, like a teacher's assistant | 5% | 5% |
| There are no benefits for regular students | 9% | 17% |
| Other | 1% | -- |
| Don't know / refused | 4% | 12% |
| very satisfied |  not satisfied |
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| MEAN | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | dnk | |
| Self-directed professional development | 4.0 | 28% | 43% | 21% | 4% | 1% | 4% |
| Support from principal and administrators | 3.5 | 22% | 28% | 24% | 11% | 7% | 6% |
| Preparation at my faculty of education | 2.8 | 8% | 18% | 29% | 20% | 16% | 9% |
| a lot of stress | little or no stress |
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MEAN |
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
dnk |
4.0 |
39% |
33% |
19% |
4% |
3% |
3% |
| definitely confident | not at all confident |
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| MEAN | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | dnk |
| 3.9 | 27% | 39% | 25% | 5% | 2% | 3% |
