Are our Special Education Students Ready for Work? An Investigation of the Teaching of Job-related Social Skills in Northern Taiwan

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Accepted Manuscript (AM)
Author(s)
Chu, YA
Zhang, LC
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2015
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This study is concerned with the current job preparation programmes for special education students in Taiwan. Two hundred and three randomly selected special education teachers in Northern Taiwan responded to a questionnaire about job-related social skills. The relationship between teachers’ demographic characteristics and their teaching of job-related social skills was examined. In general, teachers’ pedagogical practices were found to focus more on the basic job-related social skills (such as proper attire, hygiene, punctuality and attendance) than on the advanced job-related social skills (such as cooperation and emotion ...
View more >This study is concerned with the current job preparation programmes for special education students in Taiwan. Two hundred and three randomly selected special education teachers in Northern Taiwan responded to a questionnaire about job-related social skills. The relationship between teachers’ demographic characteristics and their teaching of job-related social skills was examined. In general, teachers’ pedagogical practices were found to focus more on the basic job-related social skills (such as proper attire, hygiene, punctuality and attendance) than on the advanced job-related social skills (such as cooperation and emotion management). Interestingly, teachers with a special education degree tended to nurture both dimensions of job-related social skills. Additionally, teacher experience was found to be a key contributor to the teaching of job-related social skills, with less experienced teachers more likely to downplay the teaching of such skills.
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View more >This study is concerned with the current job preparation programmes for special education students in Taiwan. Two hundred and three randomly selected special education teachers in Northern Taiwan responded to a questionnaire about job-related social skills. The relationship between teachers’ demographic characteristics and their teaching of job-related social skills was examined. In general, teachers’ pedagogical practices were found to focus more on the basic job-related social skills (such as proper attire, hygiene, punctuality and attendance) than on the advanced job-related social skills (such as cooperation and emotion management). Interestingly, teachers with a special education degree tended to nurture both dimensions of job-related social skills. Additionally, teacher experience was found to be a key contributor to the teaching of job-related social skills, with less experienced teachers more likely to downplay the teaching of such skills.
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Journal Title
International Journal of Disability, Development and Education
Volume
62
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
© 2015 Taylor & Francis (Routledge). This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Disability, Development and Education on 21 Aug 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1034912X.2015.1077936
Subject
Education systems
Specialist studies in education
Specialist studies in education not elsewhere classified
Social work