The Problems that Face Special Education Students in Field Training at Hail University

Abstract

The present study aimed at identifying the problems that face Special Education students in field training at Hail University in light of two variables, gender and academic average. The sample consisted of 142 male and female students from the different Department’s tracks. They were distributed as follows: 13 male and 38 female students from the Mental Disability track, 14 male and 27 female students from Learning Difficulties track, 3 male and 9 female students from Visual Impairment track, 5 male and 15 female students from Hearing Impairment track, and 4 male and 14 female students from the Gifted Education track. A scale for measuring problems in field training was prepared by the researcher and applied on the study. The validity of the scale was verified by a number of peer - reviewers, and the reliability was verified through the Alpha Cronbach and Split - half methods.
The results of the study revealed that there were problems faced by field training students, enrolled in the Special Education Department at the University of Hail. The problems’ areas came in the following order: problems related to the School Principal (m = 12,6) , problems related to the School Supervisor (m = 11,5) , problems related to the Program Content (m = 9,5) , problems related to the Program Objectives (m = 9,2) problems related to the Academic Supervisor (m = 8,9) . There were statistically significant differences in the total score of the scale and in the problem areas related to the Program Content and School Principal due to gender, in favor of female students, and in the problem area of Program Objectives in favor of male students. There were no statistically significant differences in the problem areas of School Supervisor and the Academic Supervisor due to gender. There were significant differences in the total score of the scale and all its problem areas due to the variable Academic Average, in favor of students with low academic average.
In light of the results, the study listed a number of recommendations, including, the need for increasing the practical aspect of the courses taught to the student at the levels preceding the field training, and the need for distributing field training manual to the students before the implementation of the training, to explore their opinions on that period and ways of development.