Perceptions of Special Education Teacher Trainee Competence

Teacher trainee performance ratings were collected from 151 special education junior and senior teacher trainees, 9 university supervisors, and 44 cooperating teachers from 23 schools. Factor analysis revealed that three identical factors that "explain" teacher trainee competence exist for each of the three samples; that there was little variability in the patterns of the three factors; and that the factors could be interpreted as Instructional Management, Cognitive Strategies Instruction, and Career/Vocational Educa tion. Based on internal consistency reliability analyses, all 27 items remaining after the factor analyses were retained in their respective factors. All reliabilities exceeded .80 and were thus considered adequate for inclusion in an instrument called the Competency Rating Scale. It was apparent that all factors were significantly related, that university supervisors' ratings were related more closely to those of the trainees than to those of the supervising teachers, and that trainees' ratings were related more closely to those of the university supervisors than to those of their cooperating teachers.