The Assessment of Professional Standard Competence of Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments

The purpose of this study was to assess the level of competence needed for teachers of the visually impaired. The assessment was based on Professional Standard Competence developed by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) for special education teachers in 2001. The researchers used questionnaires to acquire information about 190 South Korean teachers of students with visual impairments. The researchers found that participants scored higher on "the degree of importance" section than on "the degree of accomplishment" section. Although scores on "the degree of accomplishment" section were lower than the ones on "the degree of importance" section, they were rated as average. In addition, in the competence area, "the degree of importance" section was the highest in "Strategy for the reading and writing of Braille" and was the lowest in "Historical foundation of education of individuals with visual impairments." The scores on "the degree of accomplishment" section were the highest in the "Strategies for teaching Braille reading and writing" and were the lowest in "Use disability-specific assessment instrument." The findings of "the degree of importance" section showed that there was no difference between these teachers' educational backgrounds and their teaching experiences. However, there was a significant variation of 1% in "Communication, Professional and ethical practice," and "Collaboration" among the teacher groups of kindergarten, primary, junior high and high school. This study also showed a significant variation of 5% in "Learning environment and social interaction" and "Assessment" among these groups. (Contains 9 tables.)