| The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of teacher-related factors on the academic achievement of 8th grade special education students. Specifically, this study examines effect of the teacher related factors of instructional technique, teacher specialization, teaching experience, teacher certification, and teacher attitudes toward instruction on the English, Math, Science, and Social Studies scores of 8th grade special education students taking the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) of 8th grade special education students.;An Ex Post Facto research design was employed in this empirical investigation. Sixty-five teachers were selected from two small urban school districts in the southern region of the United States. The Walker Attitude Scale and the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness Examination were used to collect the data. Both of the instruments were found to have excellent content validity. Furthermore, the data were tested using the One-Way Multivariate Analysis of Variance. The five null hypotheses were tested at the .05 level of significance or better.;Several conclusions were noted in the study. In general, the instructional title of teachers had no influence on the combined STARR's reading, math, science, and social studies scores among eighth grade special education students. Secondly, it appeared that eighth grade special education students whose teacher's specialization was math and science scored significantly higher in reading than their counterparts whose teachers' specialization was English or reading. In addition, regardless of the years of experience of teachers, eighth grade special education students performed similarly on the reading, math, science, and social studies sections of the STARR. Eighth grade special education students whose teachers had special education certification, general education certification, or both had similar STARR reading, math, science, and social studies scores. Irrespective of the attitudes their teachers exhibited toward instruction, eighth grade special education students scored similarly on the reading, math, and social studies sections of the STARR. Lastly, eighth grade special education students whose teachers possessed favorable attitudes toward instruction had significantly higher science scores than those whose teachers exhibited unfavorable attitudes toward instruction. |
