The Perceptions of Teacher Skills and Knowledge by Regular and Special Educators of Mildly Handicapped Students

Abstract

A group of 109 regular elementary educators and 35 special educators completed the Teachers of the Mildly Handicapped Skill Survey. One-half of each group of teachers reacted to the survey in terms of their own abilities, while the other half was instructed to respond in terms of their perceptions of the skill level of the other group of teachers. The results indicate that, while there is consonance between the self-perceived skills and knowledge of special educators and how regular educators view them, there is an apparent dissonance between how regular educators view themselves and special educators' perceptions of regular elementary teachers.