Date

7-31-2023

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)

Chair

Russell Yocum

Keywords

Special Education, CTE, Secondary, Self-Efficacy, SPED, Teacher

Disciplines

Special Education and Teaching

Abstract

This transcendental phenomenological study aims to describe the lived experiences of secondary career and technical education (CTE) teachers in a Michigan public school district who collaborate with special education teachers to meet the instructional needs of students with special needs. The theory guiding this study is Bandura’s self-efficacy theory as it is used to assess CTE teacher confidence levels, and how those levels directly and indirectly affect their capacity to offer adequate instruction to CTE students with special needs through collaborative efforts. This research intended to answer this central research question: What are the experiences of CTE teachers who collaborate with special education teachers to meet the instructional needs of students with special needs? Four sub-questions extrapolate data regarding CTE teacher self-efficacy and its influence on their instructional adequacy. A qualitative transcendental phenomenological approach was employed. This study was conducted at high schools located in a northern suburb of a Michigan school district. The sample consisted of 10 CTE teachers. The data collection methods utilized were: (a) face-to-face interviews, (b) focus group interviews, and (c) physical artifacts. Analysis of the data utilized epoché, phenomenological reduction, and imaginative variation, as well as textural and structural descriptions for each data collection method. The research found that real and imagined hurdles limited CTE teachers' ability to fulfill special needs students' educational demands. Despite the fact that many educators want to improve their teaching practices and collaborate to achieve goals, not all educators are open to instructional collaboration.

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