You tell us: how well are we preparing teachers for a career in classrooms serving children with emotional disabilities?

Abstract

This study was designed to reveal the knowledge and skill sets that practicing day treatment and residential treatment EBD teachers view as important, and/or lacking, in novice EBD teachers, and to situate those findings within the larger contexts of teacher attrition and teacher preparation in special education. Primary results suggest that EBD teachers in day treatment and residential treatment centres believe knowledge of and implementation of best practices to be one of the most important prerequisites for effective practice in the EBD classroom, and one of the prerequisites most lacking by novice teachers. EBD teachers also indicated that knowledge of and appropriate use of behaviour management techniques was essential for effective practice, and also was reported to be lacking in novice teachers. In addition, EBD teachers reported a number of areas in which their teacher preparation programmes were perceived as lacking depth. Finally, certain personality attributes were identified as essential prerequisites for effective practice in the EBD classroom. Results are useful for teacher educators, teacher coaches, and school administrators.