Date of Award
1990
Document Type
Practicum
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Advisor
Jo Ellen Salce Rogers
Keywords
administrative training, awards ceremonies, behavior management, behavior management training, competitive employment, employment placement, emotionally disturbed behavior, dysfunction, fundraising, grant writing, in-service training, job maintenance, job satisfaction, mentally handicapped students, on-site monitoring, reinforcement techniques, residential treatment, role-playing, social skills, social skills training, special education, staff development, staff incentives, staff management, staff training, supervisor attention, teacher aptitudes, teacher motivation, teacher training, workshop placement
Abstract
Increasing the success rate for competitive workshop placement for mentally handicapped students was the focus of the practicum. Through the use of behavior management training of teachers, social skills training of the students, and various reinforcement techniques, 8 out of 8 mentally handicapped students were able to maintain their employment placements. The teachers, supervisors received 20 hours of in-service training. The mentally handicapped students received 10 hours of social skills training and on-site monitoring. To improve generalization, the students were given small group instruction with role-playing exercises to acquire the social skills required to be successful in their jobs. The students and teachers were rewarded through an awards ceremony for the maintenance of their job placement. Survivor feedback and attention played a significant part in the reinforcement delivery.
The program had four objectives. 1, increase knowledge and behavior management skills. 2, increase teacher training skills. 3, maintain competitive employment status. And 4, increase teacher job satisfaction.
Outcomes of this practicum were promising: teacher training skills, knowledge, and behavior management techniques, and job satisfaction all increased as a result of direct and indirect means of reinforcement. Supervisor attention attributed significantly to these increases.