Do Teacher\u27s Perceptions about Students with EBD Begin During their College Education?

Previous research indicates three factors that demonstrate the presence of an emotional behavior disorder (EBD) according to Huessy (1992): lack of self-control, emotional hypersensitivity, and impulsivity. Educators play an important role in the development of children with EBD. Unfortunately, over 50% of teachers surveyed, who worked with students with EBD, planned to leave their positions within the next five years (Adera & Bullock, 2010). For this reason, it is important to examine teachers’ perceptions regarding children with EBD in order to promote teacher satisfaction and lower stress and burnout. The current study surveyed pre- service teachers attending Minnesota State University, Mankato. Surveying this population is ideal because their future career aspirations will likely include contact with students with EBD. Participants completed a survey containing questions about the participant’s current perceptions of students with EBD. Means, standard deviations, and frequency distributions will be calculated and compared to previous research. These results will contribute to the current research pertaining to educators’ perceptions of students with EBD. This study will reveal current perceptions in the pre-service teacher population, and contribute to identifying where and when the perceptions arise. Results can be used to determine how to improve teachers understanding of students with EBD and encourage better work environments for teachers who work with these students