Skills and competencies required by mainstream teachers in Botswana government secondary schools to serve special needs students

Master of Special/Inclusive EducationThis study attempted to identify the skills and competencies required by mainstream teachers in government secondary schools in Botswana to serve special needs students. The study also investigated the teachers' perceptions of inclusion competencies as well as the relationship between the teachers' background variables and their perceived importance of these competencies. A two-part questionnaire was used to collect the data. The survey instrument consisted of items relating to the teachers' background variables, and a modified version of the Scale of Knowledge and skills for Instruction and Management of Students with Disabilities (Daniels & Vaughn, 1999). One hundred and eighty-nine teachers from the South Central region of secondary schools in Botswana responded to the questionnaire. T-tests and analysis of variance were utilized to determine significance of differences between the means on the variables. A number of key findings emerged from this study. Teachers rated both their knowledge and skill levels in inclusion competencies to be moderate. On the knowledge items the teachers indicated they required more knowledge in "teacher attitudes and behaviors that positively influence student behavior" but indicated they did not think highly of the corresponding item of "teacher behaviors that negatively influence student behavior". Regarding the skills, teachers indicated training needs in areas such as "preparing and organizing materials to implement daily lessons", "demonstrating procedure to increase student behavior" and "designing a learning environment that encourages active participation by students in a variety of individual and group activities". On the other hand, these teachers did not think it was important for to have skills of "involving students in setting goals and charting progress". The competency categories that met the highest importance ratings were Skills in Managing the Teaching and Learning Environment and Managing Student Behavior and Social Interaction Skills. The Teachers indicated a higher desire for practical 'know-how' or application of the competencies required for working with students with disabilities than theoretical knowledge by rating more highly important the skills items than they did the knowledge items. Teacher variables such as age, qualification, training in special education, teaching experience and experience with students with disabilities were found to impact on teachers' perceptions of importance of inclusion competencies. However, no significant differences were obtained for class size and number of students with disabilities taught. The implications and recommendations for future research are included