Abstracts

RATIONALE: Teachers[scquote] attitudes about their students have the potential to affect students[scquote] success in school, and thus, the individual[scquote]s success and achievement after leaving school. The broad goal of the present line of research is to increase understanding of the effects on educational and employment success of teachers[scquote] negative attitudes and incorrect assumptions about epilepsy. A related goal is the development of educational and informational training programs for educators of students with epilepsy. In order to develop effective training programs, it is necessary to make the programs[scquote] foci appropriate to identified problem areas.
At the end of this activity, participants will have an understanding of the current research regarding the relationship between educational experiences and later psychosocial and vocational success, and will have the opportunity to discuss development of appropriate and effective teacher training concerning working with students with epilepsy.
METHODS: A questionnaire was used to assess teacher attitudes toward persons with epilepsy. An indirect, error-choice attitude measurement scale- the [dsquote]Test of Knowledge about Epilepsy[dsquote] scale was used to assess teacher attitudes. In addition, the questionnaire requested demographic information and information about professional preparation. The questionnaire was sent to 1000 randomly selected elementary and middle school teachers in the state of Kentucky. Data collection for this project is currently ongoing.
RESULTS: Preliminary results from this ongoing study will be presented. Data from 100 respondents will be presented with an exegesis of the relationship between teacher attitudes toward students with epilepsy. The comparison will focus on attitude differences that arise based on differences among teachers with respect to rural versus urban school-setting, years of teaching experience, teacher gender and age, teacher preparation, and teacher knowledge and understanding of epilepsy.
CONCLUSIONS: The impact of the elementary and middle school educational experience on future academic, social, and vocational experiences is not currently well understood. Neither are the relationships between teacher attitudes and teacher demographic and experiential variables. This study represents an effort to increase and expand the current understanding so that effective teacher training and educational programs may be developed.
[Supported by: University of Kentucky Research Foundation]