Urban special education teachers' perceptions of assistive technology and its successful integration in the classroom: Linking attainment, importance, and integration

One key area that evolved with the passage of federal legislation regarding the education of students with disabilities is the use of assistive technology. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 and the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 directed school systems to consider assistive technology for students receiving special education services but there are no clear guidelines from state or federal agencies on how to translate these mandates into practice. Assistive technology integration has the potential to assist in the provision of curriculum access but for this to happen these teachers must be skilled in assistive technology use. This requirement for assistive technology poses many challenges for school systems. This research examines special education teachers' perceptions of their attainment in assistive technology and their beliefs in its importance as a method of determining if assistive technology use is being successfully integrated. The identification of effective assistive technology practices can help to better confirm and develop the evidence base of effective practices that have the potential to substantially improve the education of students with disabilities. Using Albert Bandura's self-efficacy theory as a lens, this quantitative study contributes to the development of improving special education teachers' ability to successfully integrate the use of assistive technology into their curriculum and instruction. Data was collected through a survey of special education teachers in an urban school district. In this study, as teachers' ratings of attainment increased, so did their ratings of their belief in its importance. Two insights that arose from the findings of this study are how special education teachers perceive their use of assistive technology in their classrooms and how they report the frequency of its use. This study is significant in that it identified special education teachers' perceived benefits, challenges, and barriers regarding the integration of assistive technology in their curriculum and instruction. This knowledge can be used to improve assistive technology integration. Some recommendations that arose from this study are the development of competencies for assistive technology integration by special education and general education teachers and the development of accountability for assistive technology integration by special education teachers.