This research concerns the design, implementation and evaluation of a blended training course for interpreter trainers. Some of the complex issues pertaining to professional development in a rich web-based learner-centered environment are addressed. Findings confirm a socio-constructivist design within which participants developed the expected…

The orientation and mobility (O&M) profession is well established in Australia and New Zealand. This paper gives a situational analysis of O&M in these countries, including a brief history, an overview of professional training and current activity, and data gained from two censuses of the profession undertaken in 2002 and 2011. Social…

The use of educational technology by Hong Kong primary school teachers has been realized by the government's long-term support to the technology infrastructure, professional training, technical support, and development of teaching resources in local primary schools. However, the high adoption rate may not reflect the willingness of teachers to…

Background: Recent research has investigated development of coaching knowledge; however, less research has investigated the development of coaches who coach athletes with intellectual disabilities. The purpose of this study was to understand how coaches of athletes with intellectual disabilities gain their knowledge. Method: Forty-five Special…

The Randolph-Sheppard Business Enterprise Program provides employment for more than 2,300 entrepreneurs who are legally blind across the United States. Moreover, these entrepreneurs employ an additional 14,000 people, of whom almost 2,000 are visually impaired or have other disabilities (Rehabilitation Services Administration [RSA], 2010). With…

As part of initial professional training, educational psychologists in England undertake substantial periods of practice placement, within which the role of supervision is instrumental to their professional learning and effectiveness. The research reported here provides up-to-date and comprehensive information on the experiences and needs of…

A national sample of 246 Directors of Pupil Personnel Services and Directors of Special Education were surveyed to assess the importance they place on training, degrees, and credentials in the hiring of school psychologists. High, but varying, levels of importance were found for the content knowledge and skill areas in the National Association of…

Student assessment, particularly at classroom level, remains an integral part of teaching and learning and is a driving force for the implementation of educational policies and practices in many countries. Nevertheless, problems associated with teachers' classroom assessment practices continue to exist in schools and research shows that teachers…

In most large universities, much of the undergraduate teaching responsibility falls on graduate student teaching assistants (TAs), who are by then experienced students, but relatively inexperienced instructors. Institutions have a responsibility to offer quality instruction to undergraduate students and thus are responsible for preparing the TAs…

Despite the well-established effectiveness of exposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in the treatment of anxiety disorders, therapists have been slow to adopt CBT into their clinical practice. The present study was conducted to examine the utilization of psychotherapy techniques for anxiety disorders among community practitioners in a…

In conditions of continuous education reform teacher self-development is indispensable to provide high quality of teaching as well as simply to maintain the job. The goals of the paper are to analyze the intrinsic and extrinsic motives for teachers to be engaged in self-development, to show the difference between the terms "development"…

We surveyed 439 professionals in the field of autism to assess their knowledge and perceptions about fragile X syndrome (FXS) and related issues. Almost half had worked with at least one child diagnosed with FXS, yet most lacked basic knowledge about the condition, underestimated its significance in the etiology of autism spectrum disorders, and…

This article analyzes the collaborative problem solving activities and learning outcomes of five groups that worked on two different complex cases in a virtual professional training course. In this asynchronous virtual learning environment, all knowledge management content was delivered virtually and collaboration took place through forums. To…

The relevance of the chosen problem is caused by the necessity of finding a model of qualitative growth of specialists training in conditions when cuts in expenditure of the state budget allocated to education occurs annually. Besides, the development of technology inevitably leads to the expansion of the list of subspecialties employers need. The…

In most states, educator evaluation systems are moving toward more frequent and focused evaluations that include educators' contributions to student outcomes such as learning growth. Many states include "Specialized Instructional Support Personnel" (SISP) in their educator evaluation systems, but the measures and methods used to evaluate…