Transition Services for Students with Mild Intellectual Disability in Saudi Arabia

Transcription

1 Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 2013, 48(4), Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities Transition Services for Students with Mild Intellectual Disability in Saudi Arabia Ghaleb Alnahdi Salman bin Abdulaziz University Abstract: This study examined teachers attitudes and perceptions toward transition services for students with mild intellectual disability in Saudi Arabia, and also examined the relationship between teachers attitudes regarding transition services for students with mild intellectual disability and teachers gender and educational background. Three hundred and sixty nine teachers responded to the study survey, including 223 males and 146 females. A two-way ANCOVA and descriptive statistics were used to answer the research questions. The findings indicated that teachers hold positive attitudes toward transition services. Also, this study found no differences in teachers attitudes based on their gender or educational background. However, this study found differences in teachers attitudes related to years of teaching experience, and having a relative or someone close with a disability. In addition, teachers in this study reported they felt unprepared to provide transition services. Implications for teacher preparation for transition services are presented. Special education services in Saudi Arabia have evolved substantially in the last ten years, and the improvement in these services was listed as a public education policy goal in the Public Education Policy Goals in Saudi Arabia written in 2005 (Almuaqel, 2008). Since that time, there has been an increase in the number of programs that provide services for people with different types of disabilities. By 2006, 80% of all students with disabilities in Saudi Arabia were educated within regular schools (Alhano, 2006). According to The Directorate General of Special Education in Saudi Arabia (DGSE), the number of programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities increased from 656 to 718 in 2007, which means there was more than a 9% growth rate in these programs in just one year. In 2007, 2,477 classes that served 13,049 students with developmental and intellectual disabilities existed all over the country (DGSE, 2007). Middle and high school programs for students Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ghaleb Alnahdi, College of Education, Salman bin Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 176, Alkharj 11942, Saudi Arabia. ga278409@hotmail.com or g.alnahdi@sau.edu.sa with intellectual and developmental disabilities were established for the first time in 2004 (DGSE, 2007). For all students with or without disabilities, high school is a critical juncture as each year forms a foundation for the next (Blacher, 2001; Flexer, Simmons, Luft, & Baer, 2005; Wagner & Blackorby, 1996). Many studies, including The National Longitudinal Transition Study conducted in the United States from the 1980s and 1990s, reported the need to move from a focus on the special education process to a focus on post-school outcomes in the secondary special education (Flexer et al., 2005). West (1991) emphasized that special education needed to move from a focus on following a correct educational procedure to promoting meaningful outcomes. Accomplishing these meaningful outcomes has become the goal of transition services which include, among other things, independent living, active community participation, and employment. Although there is an obvious focus on outcomes as a crucial element in the literature, middle and high school programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Saudi Arabia have not yet met the aspirations and ambitions of the officials, educators, and families, especially in regard Transition Services in Saudi Arabia / 531

2 to preparing students for life after school (Almuaqel, 2008). The main purpose of this study was to examine teachers attitudes toward transition services for students with mild intellectual disability in Saudi Arabia prior to establishing transition services for individuals with disabilities. Another objective was to determine teachers perspectives about whether they have enough knowledge or training to provide and support transition services. The significance of the roles teachers play in providing and supporting transition services cannot be overstated. For this reason, teachers are the focus of this study. This study explored two important aspects regarding teachers: first, teachers attitudes toward transition services; many studies have confirmed that a positive attitude toward the importance of work is a factor in determining the success of transition planning and services (Miller 1994; Mowbray, Bybee, Harris, & McCrohan, 1995; Winn & Hay, 2009). The second aspect the study examined was teachers preparation for transition services and their feelings regarding the sufficiency of that preparation (Benitez, Morningstar, & Frey, 2005; Wolfe, Boone, & Blanchett, 1998). The research questions were as follows: 1. What are teachers attitudes toward transition services for students with mild intellectual disability? 2. Are there significant adjusted mean differences in male and female teachers attitudes toward transition services for students with mild intellectual disability? 3. Are there significant adjusted mean differences in teachers attitudes toward transition services for students with mild intellectual disability based on their different educational backgrounds (special education degree, non-special education degree)? 4. Is there a significant interaction between gender and educational background (special education degree, non-special education degree) in teachers attitudes toward transition services for students with mild intellectual disability? 5. What are teachers perceptions regarding their preparation for transition services for students with mild intellectual disability? Method Based on the research objectives and the population sample, a descriptive non-experimental quantitative research design using a survey to collect the relevant data was used. Independent Variables Gender. This study included teachers from both genders. As is true in the Saudi Arabian context, male and female teachers were from totally separated programs. Educational background. This study included teachers working in special education programs for students with intellectual disability in Saudi Arabia. Most of these teachers hold bachelor s degrees in special education, but there were some teachers who held nonspecial education degrees, some of whom obtained special education certificates in the past few years by attending a one-year training program. In this study, teachers clustered into two groups based on their educational background, those holding: 1) special education degree, and 2) non-special education degree, which also included those who held special education certificates from the one-year training program. Dependent Variables Attitudes toward transition services. Teachers attitudes in this study were based on their responses to the survey, in which teachers scoring a high overall mean on the survey indicate strong positive attitudes toward the importance of transition services. In this study, a teacher with a strong positive attitude toward transition services believed transition services are an important aspect of special education services. To reduce external or mediator variables that might influence teachers attitudes toward transition services, and because teachers preparation for transition services and their feelings regarding the sufficiency of that preparation plays a vital role in the success of transition services (Benitez et al., 2005; Knott & Asselin, 1999; Wolfe, Boone, & Blanchett, 1998), the researcher controlled for teacher preparation by considering it in the data anal- 532 / Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities-December 2013

3 ysis as a covariate using an analysis of the covariance (ANCOVA). Perceptions of preparation for transition services (covariate). Teachers rated items describing their perceptions of how prepared they felt to plan and deliver transition services. A high mean on the relevant items on the survey indicated that teachers felt well prepared to implement transition services. Instrumentation The instrument for this study was developed to cover two areas supported by the literature that the researcher believes Saudi officials need to consider in order to make decisions regarding transition services for students with mild intellectual disability. Prior to implementing transition services in Saudi Arabia it is critical that: 1) the importance of transition services is established and, 2) the need to prepare teachers to plan and deliver transition services is addressed. To cover these two areas, the survey was divided into the following sections: Teachers attitudes toward the importance of providing transition services. These questions make up the main part of the survey designed to examine teachers attitudes toward the importance of providing transition services in Saudi Arabia. This section consisted of 21 items. Teachers responded to these items using a Likert scale (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree). The items were coded as follows: strongly agree 5; agree 4; neutral 3; disagree 2; strongly disagree 1. For negatively phrased items the coding was reversed. A high mean on the summed items from this part of the survey indicated a positive attitude toward transition services. Teachers perceptions regarding their preparation for transition services. A high mean on the summed items (8 items) making up this part of the survey indicated teachers felt well prepared to plan and deliver transition services. Items were coded as described above. TABLE 1 Internal Reliability of the Subscales (Cronbach s Alpha Coefficient) Cronbach s Alpha Coefficient Attitudes toward transition services subscale (21 items).856 Teachers preparation for transition services subscale (8 items).697 challenges, teachers preparation, and the options for work experiences for students with disabilities (e.g., Beresford, 2004; Geller & Greenberg, 2010; Kohler, 1993; Landmark, Ju, & Zhang, 2010). The survey items were driven by the literature, which is in the interest of the content validity of the survey. Reliability of Likert scales tends to be good and, partly because of the greater range of answers permitted to respondent (Oppenheim, 1992, p. 200), therefore a Likert scale was used in the construction of the items. The survey reliability was tested first using the pilot data (n 27) and then using the final data (n 338). For the pilot study, all participants answered all questions. However, for the final study data, 31 cases were excluded from the analysis since they had missing items (listwise deletion), which decreased the number of cases in the analysis to 338. Since the missing data was small, the researcher was able to assume the omissions were not related to the variable itself or to other variables (Kwon, 2011). Cronbach s alpha coefficient was utilized to determine item consistency within each subscale. The Cronbach s Alpha reliability for the scale for teachers attitudes toward transition services was.856 (21 items), indicating good reliability of the scale (Oppenheim, 1992), while the scale for the teachers preparation (8 items), was.697 (see Table 1). Reliability and Validity The survey items were written by the researcher after comprehensively reviewing literature related to transition service practices, Translation of the Survey First, the researcher developed the survey used in this study in English, and translated it to Arabic. Second, the Arabic version of the Transition Services in Saudi Arabia / 533

4 TABLE 2 Teachers Attitudes toward Transition Services N Range Minimum Maximum M SD Attitudes Valid N 369 survey was given to a native Arabic speaker, who holds a doctoral degree in education and teaching certificates in both Arabic and English, to translate back into English. In the end, the researcher compared the translated version (from Arabic to English) with the original English version, and some slight changes were made to the Arabic version after this process. In short, the researcher used the back translation technique for translating the survey utilized in this study. elementary schools, and three middle and high school) and 15 special education programs for girls (12 elementary schools, and three middle and high school); these programs were spread over all regions in Riyadh city. In all schools, mediators distributed the surveys and all teachers (ranging from 5 to more than 60 teachers) were asked to participate. In short, a cluster sampling technique was utilized. Sample and Response Rate This study focused on teachers attitudes toward transition services for students with mild intellectual disability in Saudi Arabia. In order to achieve the goal of this study, a questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 369 teachers who work in special education programs in the Riyadh school district. Male teachers comprised 60% (223) of the participants and female teachers comprised 40% (146) of the respondents in this study. Teachers with special education degrees made up 86 % (319) of the participants and 40 teachers (11%) had degrees in other areas. The surveys were distributed to 600 male and female teachers in programs for students with intellectual disability in the city of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. The number of surveys returned was 373, resulting in a 62% response rate. Of the 373 completed surveys, 369 surveys were usable, and four surveys were excluded. The four surveys were excluded because the participants answered eight or fewer of the 39 items on the survey and provided no answers to the demographic questions. Teachers in this sample were from three levels of schools: elementary, middle, and high school in the city of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The researcher randomly chose 15 special education programs for boys (12 Results In general, the overall mean on the attitude scale for all teachers was 4.03, which indicates a general positive attitude toward transition services (see Table 2). Table 3 shows the means of teachers attitudes toward transition services for the five demographic variables. The mean of male teachers attitudes toward transition services was 3.96 and that of female teachers was Teachers with special education degrees had a very similar mean to teachers with degrees in other areas, and respectively. TABLE 3 Teachers Attitude Scores by Demographic Variables M N SD Gender Male Female Educational background Special education Other majors / Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities-December 2013

5 TABLE 4 Observed and Adjusted Means by Gender and Educational Background Adj.Mean Obs.Mean Gender Male Female Educational background Special education Other majors Teachers Attitudes by Gender and Educational Background A two-way ANCOVA was conducted to test the main effects of the independent variables, gender and educational background, and the effects of the interaction between gender and educational background. Using this analysis required the researcher to meet the assumptions for ANCOVA, so the researcher tested four assumptions: 1) the assumption of normal distribution of the dependent variable, attitudes, within each group of independent variables, gender and educational background; 2) the assumption of homogeneity of variance; 3) the assumption of a linear relationship between the dependent variable (attitudes) and the covariate (preparation); and 4) the assumption of homogeneity of the regression slopes. The following section presents the results of the ANCOVA. As shown in Table 4, the observed and adjusted means of the independents variables (gender and educational background) were very close, which means that the adjustment in the means was too small. The observed mean for the male teachers was 3.96, and the adjusted mean was 4.01, which means the adjustment for the covariate was.048. Female teachers observed mean was 4.126, and the adjusted mean was 4.05, which means the adjustment for the covariate was.068. Special education teachers observed mean was 4.03, and the adjusted mean was 4.26, which means the adjustment for the covariate was only.012; teachers with other educational backgrounds observed mean was 4.024, and the adjusted mean was 4.03, which means the adjustment for the covariate was only.005. The ANCOVA results in Table 5 indicate that the covariate, teacher preparation, was significantly related to teachers attitudes toward transition services, F (1, 296) , p.05, and R 2 was.070, which means the covariate (teacher preparation) explained 7% of the variance in teachers attitudes toward transition services (the dependent variable). It also indicates that the main effect of gender was not statistically significant at the p.05 level (F (1, 354).396, p.530), so the null hypothesis was not rejected. The main effect of educational background was not statistically significant (F (1, 354).3016, p.898), so the null hypothesis was not rejected. Also, there was no statistically significant inter- TABLE 5 ANCOVA for Main Effect and Interaction Effect for Gender and Educational Background Source Type III Sum of Squares df Mean Square F p Partial Eta Squared Corrected Model Intercept Preparation *.070 Education Gender Education * Gender Error Total Corrected Total * p.05 Transition Services in Saudi Arabia / 535

6 TABLE 6 ANOVA for Main Effect and Interaction Effect for Gender and Educational Background Source Type III Sum of Squares df Mean Square F p Corrected Model a Intercept Education Gender Education * Gender Error Total Corrected Total p.05 action between gender and educational background (F (1, 354) 3.328, p.073), so the null hypothesis was not rejected. Additionally, a two-way ANOVA was conducted, which made the same comparison previously made, without controlling for preparation. As can be noted in Table 6, even without adjusting the dependent variable means for the covariate, the main effect for gender was not statistically significant at p.05 (F (1, 355).505, p.478). Additionally, the main effect for educational background was not statistically significant (F (1, 355).224, p.636) either. Finally, there was no statistically significant interaction between gender and educational background (F (1, 355) 3.389, p.066) at the p.05. Therefore, the results were the same with or without controlling for teachers preparation for transition services. Teachers Perceptions Regarding Their Preparation Teachers responded to eight items on the survey that formed the scale for teachers perceptions regarding their preparation to provide transition services. In general, teachers responses resulted in an overall mean of 2.49 on this scale as demonstrated in Table 7, which indicates that teachers felt unprepared to plan and deliver transition services. Finally, Table 8 indicates teachers perceptions of their preparation to provide transitions services by the five demographic variables of gender, educational background, level of school taught, level of education, and number of years teaching experience. Additional Findings This section presents additional findings not covered in the research questions findings. Regarding the attitude scale items, there were two items in the attitude scale that teachers responded to less positively than other items in the scale. Item 10, which asked if transition to work services should be implemented by professional staff rather than teachers, was the item least correlated (.254) with the overall mean on the scale. Item 6, including transition planning in the IEP of students with mild disability will add more unnecessary burden on teachers, had TABLE 7 Teachers Perception Regarding their Preparation for Transition Services N Range Minimum Maximum M SD Preparation Valid N / Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities-December 2013

7 TABLE 8 Means of Perceptions Regarding Preparation by Demographics Variables M N SD Gender Male Female Educational background Special education Other majors School level Elementary school Middle and high school Level of education Bachelor s degree Master s degree Other Years of experience 1 to to to More than Relative or someone close with a disability Yes No The year of earning last degree 2006 to to to before the second weakest correlation with the overall mean on the scale. Another interesting finding was that more than half of the participants in this study (54%, 198 of the 367 participants responded to this item) agree or strongly agree that the survey was the first time they were exposed to the notion of transition plans for students with intellectual disability (see Table 9). To test for statistically significant differ- TABLE 9 Descriptive Statistics for Item 30: (This is the first time that l have been exposed to the notion of transition planning for students) Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid SA A N D SD Total Missing 2.5 Total Transition Services in Saudi Arabia / 537

8 TABLE 10 T-Test for Teachers Attitudes by School Level School level N M SD T-value p Elementary school Middle and high school p.05 ences in participants attitudes toward transition services, the researcher clustered the participants into three groups; the first group included participants who agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, the second group included participants who were neutral on this item, and the third group included participants who disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement. Since the assumption for homogeneity of variances was violated (p.05), and the null hypothesis that there were equal variances across the three groups was rejected. Therefore, a Brown-Forsythe test was conducted instead of ANOVA to compare the means of teachers attitudes toward transition services. The results indicate there were statistically significant differences between the means of teachers attitudes toward transition services based on their response to this item at level of p.05 (Statistic (2, 146) 9.911, p.05). Teachers attitudes by school level. As shown in Table 10, there were no statistically significant differences in teachers attitudes toward transition services between teachers who were working in elementary schools and those who were working in middle or high schools (t.697, p.486). Therefore, the null hypothesis that there are no significant differences in teachers attitudes toward transition services between teachers who were working in elementary schools and those who were working in middle or high schools was retained. Teachers attitudes and having a relative or close person with a disability. As shown in Table 11, there was a statistically significant difference in teachers attitudes toward transition services between teachers who have a relative or close person with a disability and those who do not have relative or close person with a disability (t 2.125, p.034). Teachers attitudes by years of experience. Another interesting finding was the differences in teachers attitudes based on their years of experience. To test the relationship, the researcher intended to conduct an ANOVA since there were four groups, less than five years, 5 to 10 years, 10 to 15 years, and more than 15 years. However, the assumption for homogeneity of variances was violated (p.001), and the null hypothesis that there were equal variances across the four groups (by years of experience) was rejected. Therefore, a Brown-Forsythe test was conducted instead of ANOVA to compare the means of teachers attitudes toward transition services. The results indicate there were statistically significant differences between the means of teachers attitudes toward transition services based on their years of experience at level of p.05 (Statistic (1, 354) 6.960, p.05). TABLE 11 T-Test for Teachers Attitudes and Having a Relative or Someone Close with a Disability School level N M SD T-value p Yes No * p / Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities-December 2013

9 TABLE 12 T-Test for Teachers Preparation by Gender School level N M SD T-value p Male Female p.05 To follow up on this result, a Games-Howell post hoc test was conducted. The results show that teachers who have less than five years of experience expressed differences in attitude that were statistically significant, (p.05). Teachers with less experience (less than 5 years) had more positive attitudes towards transition services than teachers with 5 to 10 years of experience and teachers with 10 to 15 years of experience. In addition, a Crosstab Chi Square test was conducted to examine whether most of the participants with little experience had a master degree, which could affect how teachers with less than five years have higher attitudes as compared with the other participants. The result showed no significant relationship at level of p.05 (Statistic (6, 295) , p.08) indicating that the years of experience is totally independent from participants education degree. In other words, teachers with less than five years experience who held positive attitudes was not related to their level of education (having a bachelor or master s degree). Teachers preparation by gender. As shown in Table 12, there were no statistically significant differences in teachers perception regarding their preparation for transition services between male and female teachers (t 1.236, p.217). Therefore, the null hypothesis that there are no significant differences between male and female teachers perceptions regarding their preparation for transition services was retained. Discussion This study found that overall, teachers held positive attitudes toward transition services. This finding is supportive and encouraging as Saudi Arabia is beginning the process of providing transition services to students with intellectual disability. Teachers positive attitudes toward the importance of work for students with disability, transition services in this case, is essential for the success of transition planning and services. This aspect has been confirmed in the literature by many studies that have found that a positive attitude toward the importance of work is a factor in determining the success of work-related transitions for individuals with disabilities (Miller, 1994; Mowbray, Bybee, Harris, & McCrohan, 1995; Winn & Hay, 2009). Concerns. Even though teachers showed overall positive attitudes toward transition services (with a mean of 4 out of 5 (agree) on a Likert scale) about 65% (236) of the participants agreed or strongly agreed that transition services should be implemented by professional staff, rather than teachers (item 10). This result shows that teachers have positive attitudes toward these services, but suggests they also have concerns about the extra work that implementing transition services may require. This concern was revealed when 35% (129) of the participants agreed or strongly agreed (101 participants were neutral, 27%) that including transition planning in the IEP of students with mild disabilities would create an unnecessary burden for teachers (item 6). These findings indicate the need for the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia to consider teachers concerns. Failure to do so might create challenges in implementing transition services. Fullan (2007) comments, Take any 100 books on change, and they all boil down to one word: motivation (p. 41). Therefore motivating teachers is the first step to addressing their concerns. In addition to encouraging teachers, they should be given release time from classes to participate and attend relevant workshops. Also, they might Transition Services in Saudi Arabia / 539

10 be able to earn a certificate related to providing transition services that will help them get promoted in the future. These kinds of arrangements will likely increase the number of teachers who are willing to improve their knowledge and skills related to planning for and providing transition services. As teachers know more about transition services, their concerns would be gradually reduced, especially for those who have concerns due to a lack of information regarding transition services. Educational background. Moreover, this study found that no statistically significant difference in teachers attitudes toward transition services between teachers with special education degrees and teachers with other degrees whether their preparation was controlled for as a covariate or not. Both groups indicated positive attitudes toward transition services. Here, it is helpful to keep in mind that teachers with other degrees had on average 11 years of experience working with students with intellectual disability. So, due to their extensive teaching experience, they may share similar values and perspectives with special education teachers, even though they received their bachelor s degrees in other areas. Gender differences. The results also found no statistically significant difference in teachers perspectives based on gender. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean between male and female teachers whether their preparation was controlled for as a covariate or not. This finding was supported by an Elhoweris and Alsheikh (2006) study that found no difference in teachers perspectives based on gender. When considering this finding, it is important to remember that studies in the special education field that took place in Saudi Arabia varied widely regarding the differences between teachers attitudes or perceptions by gender. Al-Abduljabar (1994) found that female teachers had more positive attitudes toward mainstreaming than male teachers, while other studies (Al-Ahmadi, 2009; Al- Wabli, 1982) found that male teachers held more positive attitudes or perceptions than female teachers. On the other hand, Hussain s (2010) study and this study found no statistically significant differences in teachers attitudes or perceptions based on gender. Therefore there is no consistency in the literature in Saudi Arabia regarding the differences in teachers attitudes or perceptions by gender in the special education field. Althabet (2002) argued that there are two possible reasons for the differences in special education teachers perceptions by gender. First, these differences reflect societal differences between males and females in Saudi Arabia, and second, they stem from the fact that female teachers received some of their course instruction from male instructors through a TV network while getting their degrees at the university. However, the researcher argues that the societal differences to which Althabet refers have no effect on teachers perceptions or attitudes because the substance of their courses are basically the same, and suggests their responses were content-driven (special education driven responses) rather than sociallydriven responses. The other possible reason that Althabet (2002) posits for differences in teachers perceptions based on gender are refuted in the following section. In sum, one finding of this study revealed no differences in the means of teachers attitudes based on gender, which can be justified because both male and female teachers have similar preparation programs, a fact supported later when discussing the finding of no differences in teachers perceptions regarding their preparation programs. Additionally, both male and female teachers work within the same educational curriculum, which might be another reason there is no difference in teachers attitudes by gender. Both male and female teachers are governed by the same Ministry of Education which applies the same kind of roles and policies for boys and girls schools. Also, both schools (boys and girls) adopted self-contained classroom programs for students with intellectual disability and they have the same required curriculum. Preparation for transition services. Another result from this study indicated that teachers felt unprepared to plan and deliver transition services; this finding is in part explained by Althabet s (2002) study, which showed that there were no courses related to transition services in special education preparation programs. In addition, this study found there were no differences in male and female teach- 540 / Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities-December 2013

11 ers perceptions regarding their preparation for transition services. This finding contradicts Althabet s (2002) and Al-Wabli s (1982) studies, in which both found that male teachers held more positive perceptions regarding their preparation programs. However, this finding is consistent with Hussain s (2010) study, which found there were no differences in male and female teachers perceptions regarding their preparation program for those with a minor in learning disabilities at King Saud University. Hussain (2010) argued that the findings in Althabet s (2002) study about the differences between male and female teachers regarding their preparation programs might not exist anymore, due to improvements in the female section of the special education department at King Saud University and the increasing number of female professors who graduated from universities in the United States. Also, from this researcher s experience as an undergraduate and graduate student at King Saud University, the university from which the teachers in this study graduated, this finding seems predictable because of the absence of transition service-related courses for both male and female teachers. Due to similar preparation programs for male and female teachers, and the fact that they work within the same educational environment, it is expected that no statistically significant differences exist in their perceptions about contentrelated issues. Relative or friend with a disability. This study also found that teachers who have a relative or close friend with a disability expressed statistically significantly less positive attitudes towards transition than those who did not have a relative or close friend with a disability. Actually, this finding was extremely surprising because the assumption was that people who have a relative or close friend with a disability would hold more positive attitudes than others. This finding could be explained by one of two possible explanations. First, teachers who have a relative or close friend with a disability become more skeptical about any new services that could be provided to students with disabilities, which could be caused by the fact that the outcomes of existing programs for students with intellectual disability in Saudi Arabia did not meet the aspirations and ambitions of students families, especially in regard to preparing students for life after school (Almuaqel, 2008). Therefore, their previous negative experiences with services for a relative or close friend with a disability, made them more skeptical about special education services, which was reflected in their responses in the Attitudes scale. Second, they may be influenced by their relative or close friends level of disability, which might make them respond less positively. For instance, a person may have a relative or friend with a moderate or even severe disability which may influence his/her responses to the survey items, assuming that he/she has his relative or friend in mind when responding to the items. Level of school taught. This study found no statistically significant differences in teachers attitudes based on school level. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean between teachers who were teaching in elementary school and those teaching in middle and high school. This finding could be justified by remembering the fact that special education teachers in Saudi Arabia are prepared to teach all school levels in the same way, and teachers who serve in elementary school in one year could change to middle school and so forth in another year. Besides having the same preparation, many of them have experience working at different school levels during their teaching experience. Therefore, it is not surprising that the same preparation and similar overall teaching experiences resulted in no statistically significant difference between teachers in elementary school and in middle and high school. Teaching experience. Another finding in this study was that teachers with less than five years teaching experience expressed statistically significantly more positive attitudes than those with five to ten years of teaching experience or with 10 to 15 years of teaching experience. This might be due to the fact that teachers with less than five years of teaching experience graduated more recently from special education preparation programs, which makes them still linked to theoretical ideas that are usually discussed in teacher preparation programs in universities, unlike other teachers with five to ten years of teaching experience or 10 to 15 years of teaching experience who have been in the field for a long Transition Services in Saudi Arabia / 541

12 time and are more realistic and less idealistic in their views because of their actual experience teaching. However, there was no statistically significant difference between teachers with less than five years of teaching experience compared with teachers with more than 15 years of teaching experience. This might be due to the fact that teachers with more than 15 years of teaching experience realized after these years of experience that focusing only on academic skills for students with intellectual disability will not help improve special education program outcomes. Therefore, this may have led to a higher mean on attitudes toward transition services compared with teachers with five to 15 years of teaching experience. In addition, because of the stability in the political and cultural climate in the country during the last few decades, the researcher believes there would be no reason to attribute differences in teachers attitudes toward transition services by years of experience to external factors. Implications This study has many practical implications on many levels that can be drawn from both its findings and from the literature. This study revealed that teachers feel unprepared to plan for and implement transition services. Therefore, this finding has practical implications for improving the effectiveness of special education programs in regard to preparing special education teachers in Saudi Arabian universities. In the following section, the researcher discusses implications drawn from study s findings to be considered by policy makers, the Ministry of Education, teachers preparation programs, and researchers regarding transition services in Saudi Arabia. Pre-service teachers. This study found that teachers felt unprepared to plan or deliver transition services, so transition-related knowledge and training should be part of any program for preparing teachers in the special education field. Universities in Saudi Arabia, particularly special education departments, should embed transition-related course work within all special education preparation programs in all minors. They should also establish new minors within special education programs that qualify special education teachers to be transition specialists, so they can be supportive factors in implementing transition services. In the beginning, Saudi universities should study various types of transition programs used in some American universities and adapt one that can be modified as needed. Teachers who earn a transition certificate should be able to support teachers and youth with disabilities in their transition planning services and should be offered at the graduate level only, so teachers who have special education degrees would be eligible to continue to get this certificate to be a transition specialist. Transition specialists could begin work in a few special education programs in the schools, and help them to establish transition planning for their students. For example, Kent State University in Ohio in the United States, offers a transition to work specialist endorsement, and requires the following six courses: Planning and Programming for Transitions (3 credit hours); Principles and Practices in Vocational Education (3 credit hours); Coordination of Career Technical Cooperative Education Programs (3 credit hours); Programs and Services (3 credit hours); Advanced Practicum Transition (3 credit hours); and Occupational Aspects of Disability (3 credit hours). The University of North Texas also offers a transition specialist certificate in the area of emotional and behavioral disorders. Another reference that will help special education departments in Saudi Arabia establish programs for transition specialists is the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), which classifies the knowledge and skills that specialists working to provide special education transition services need to master. Teachers in-service. Prior to implementing transition services, Saudi officials should start preparing a plan for training special education teachers, especially those already working in middle or high school programs, in the basic principles of transition services and how to implement them. Even though most teachers working with students with intellectual disability have a bachelor s degree in special education, because it is a requirement for working with students with disabilities, this study found teachers need to develop neces- 542 / Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities-December 2013

13 sary knowledge and skills related to transition services. This plan might begin with training workshops aimed at providing teachers with the necessary knowledge and skills regarding transition services from school to adulthood, and the necessary independence and adulthood skills, which are not currently addressed in special education programs in Saudi Arabia (Almuaqel, 2008). Implications for Further Research This descriptive study was the first study of its kind that investigated the perceptions of male and female teachers in Saudi Arabia regarding transition services. More research is needed regarding transition services for students with intellectual disability in Saudi Arabia, and following are some suggestions for future research. First, the target population of the study focused on teachers, and therefore, further research might investigate the perceptions of families, employers, and administrators in the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia regarding transition services. Second, a replication of this study will be more informative in terms of the relationship between teachers preparation and their attitudes toward transition services after the teacher preparation programs in Saudi universities begin to focus on transition services skills and knowledge. At that time, special education teachers should have received more preparation to conduct and plan transition services; then, the preparation aspect can be more accurately studied in relation to teachers attitudes. Third, future research should address motivation as dependent variable and its relationship with teachers attitudes toward transition services, and whether motivating teachers will cause them to be more willing to improve their skills and knowledge, related to transition services. Finally, this study examined teachers preparation regarding transition services as a secondary goal. Therefore, in future research special education teacher preparation programs should be evaluated through an investigation of all aspects related to the knowledge and training offered in these programs. Conclusion This study was the first Saudi study that explored teachers perceptions regarding transition services for students with intellectual disability. This study found that teachers have positive attitudes toward transition services. Also, this study found no differences in teachers attitudes based on their gender or educational background. However, this study found differences in teachers attitudes related to years of teaching experience, and having a relative or someone close with a disability. In addition, teachers in this study reported they were unprepared to provide transition services. The findings from this study will aid officials in the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education to understand the degree to which special education teachers have positive attitudes toward transition services. In addition, the findings indicate teachers perceptions of their readiness for delivering transition services which helps faculty members in special education departments in Saudi Arabian universities in evaluating whether their preparation of special education teachers in the university setting has been successful. References Al-Abduljabber, A. M. (1994). Administrators and teachers perceptions of inclusive schooling in Saudi Arabia. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Alghazo, E., & Gaad, E. E. (2004). General education teachers in the United Arab Emirates and their acceptance of the inclusion of students with disabilities. British Journal of Special Education, 31, Al-Ahmadi, N. A. (2009). Teachers perspectives and attitudes towards integrating students with learning disabilities in regular Saudi public schools. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Ohio University, Athens. Alhano, I. (2006). Representations of learning disabilities in Saudi Arabia elementary schools: A grounded theory study (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from php Almuaqel, I. A. (2008).The life skills for students with intellectual disability and its applications in middle and high school. Journal of Studies and Research Center. University of Cairo, Egypt. Almuaqel, I. A. (2006). Perceptions of parents, special Transition Services in Saudi Arabia / 543

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