An assessment of competencies needed for teachers of the hearing-impaired by teachers, administrators and teacher training personnel in Liaoning, China

Special education teacher training in China is at a crucial stage, and is faced with utilizing very limited resources to develop a teacher training program. There exists the need to establish an empirical basis upon which to design the curriculum of the teacher training program.;This study investigated two major dimensions among the teachers, administrators and teacher training personnel in Liaoning, China: (1) their perceptions of competencies needed for teachers of hearing impaired students; and, (2) their perceptions of the teachers' proficiency in those competencies that were identified as important. Further, the study analyzed whether length of in-service experience, formal educational preparation, and type of school differentiated their perception and whether those factors differentiated the teachers' proficiency. The grade level taught was also analyzed for the teachers' group.;A unique survey instrument was developed based on certification standards formulated by the Council on the Education of the Deaf (CED). After completion, this survey was translated into Chinese and the translation was verified.;The study encompassed a total of three hundred eighty-eight (388) subjects representing teachers, administrators, and teacher training personnel in Liaoning, China. Nonparametric tests were used to perform the data analyses. The Wilcoxon test was used to compare two groups, and the Friedman test was used when comparisons for three or more groups were required.;The primary purpose of this study was to take an initial step toward designing a competency based curriculum for a special education teacher training program by determining needed competencies for teachers of hearing impaired students.;The results of the study indicated that the teachers, administrators and teacher training personnel have different perceptions on the needed competencies for teachers of the hearing impaired. The variables such as the length of in-service experience, educational preparation, school type and grade levels taught differentiated their perceptions. Differences were also found in rating the teachers' proficiency. There were significant differences between the teachers' proficiency self-assessed by teachers and their proficiency perceived by administrators and teacher training personnel. The teachers rated their own proficiency much higher than did administrators and teacher training personnel. The teachers' average rating of self-proficiency were significantly lower in relation to their average ratings of importance in the competencies identified as "important.''' Teachers rated themselves as "limited proficient" in the competencies they identified as "important." Further, the study found the variables such as, the length of in-service experience, educational preparation, school type and grade level taught differentiated teachers' proficiency of the overall competencies.