Contact information
Please complete the required information before returning this questionnaire
School (required) ________________________________________ District (required) ________________________________________ State (required) ________________________________________ Respondent Name (optional)_________________________________ Phone (optional) ________________________________________ Email (optional) ________________________________________
Special Education Instructional Assistant/Aide
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Once completed, please return this questionnaire to the school
principal at this site.
You can also complete this questionnaire online at www.seep.org.
Thank you for your participation!
INFORMATION ABOUT REPORTING BURDEN
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1820-0629. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 20 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202-2731. If you have comments or concerns regarding your individual submission of this form, write directly to: Scott Brown, Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. 20202.
Dear Educator,
Your district and the school in which you provide services have been selected as part of the sample for the Special Education Expenditure Project (SEEP), a national study funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Your district and school have elected to participate and cooperate in this important study.
Why is the U.S. Department of Education sponsoring this study? The purpose of this study is to obtain information about how federal, state, and local funds are used to support programs and services for students with disabilities and to explore the relationship between general and special education spending. The study will provide information to Congress and the U.S. Department of Education about implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, P.L. 105-17). You can obtain more information about the study through our web site: http://www.seep.org. What are we asking you to do? As a special education teaching assistant or aide, we are asking you to complete one questionnaire: the Special Education Teaching Assistant or Aide questionnaire. This questionnaire is designed to gather information about your employment status, job responsibilities, experience, educational preparation, and compensation. We are also specifically interested in ways in which you interact with special education teachers and related service providers and with special education students. This questionnaire can be filled out in one of two ways: 1) online or 2) using this paper version. If you choose to fill out the questionnaire online, go to www.seep.org and enter your login, which is on the sticker on the front of this questionnaire. We urge you to use the online questionnaire
and to take advantage of the increased efficiency and ease of response that it provides.
Why should you participate in this study? Your response is needed to enable this study to provide Congress and other policymakers with accurate and complete information. We are conducting this study with only a small sample of teachers so your individual contribution represents many other special education teaching assistants, greatly increasing its importance. The information from you and other educators will provide a comprehensive picture of how special education students are served in this country. As a token of our appreciation for your participation, we have also enclosed a coupon for a free pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream with each questionnaire. We hope that these coupons may be used to benefit the students you serve. If you fill out the questionnaire online, you’ll get an extra coupon as thanks for making our job easier.
How is confidentiality handled? We fully recognize the importance of confidentiality. Your responses will be kept strictly confidential, and your name will not be included in any final data files.
Where should you return your completed questionnaires? If you complete the questionnaire on-line, you do not need to fill out this paper version. If you choose to complete the paper version, please place your completed
questionnaires in the envelope that has been provided for this purpose and return the sealed envelope to your principal or your school’s designated study coordinator. We would like to receive all responses by April 1, 2000. Sincerely,
1. Which of the following best describes your job
title? (Please check one box only) Instructional and administrative assistants/aidesSpecial class teaching assistant/aide
Resource teaching assistant/aide Bilingual teaching assistant/aide General education teaching assistant/aide Vocational assistant/aide Administrative assistant/aide
Related service provider assistants/aides
Personal or health care assistant/aide Speech therapist assistant/aide Occupational therapist assistant/aide Physical therapist assistant/aide Other (Specify)______________________________ 2. At this school, do you work with: (Please check
one box one each line) A general education classroom teacher? Yes No
A special education resource specialist or teacher? A special education teacher in a self-contained class? A speech or language specialist or therapist? Other (Specify) _____________________________ 3. How many hours per week do you work at this
school?
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Hours per week
Any reference in this survey to “this school” means the school or center through which you received this survey. This school’s name is on the white label on the cover page.
4. What are your responsibilities at this school?
(Please check one boxon each line.)
Yes No
Teaching or helping to teach students Providing health, hygiene, or medical support
services to students Providing support services to students in a
community-based setting Testing students Interpreting for deaf or blind students Interpreting for non-English speaking students Correcting student work, taking roll, or other
administrative duties Preparing teaching materials Working in the library or media center Working in the school office Working or meeting with parents On yard, cafeteria, bus, or recess duty Other (Specify) _____________________________ 5. On your most recent full workday, how much
time did you spend at this school in each of the activities listed below? (If you did not spend any time on an activity, please enter “0.”)
Teaching or helping to teach students Providing health, hygiene or medical
support services to students Providing support services to students
in a community-based setting Testing students Interpreting for deaf or blind students Interpreting for non-English speaking students Correcting student work, taking roll, or
other administrative duties Preparing teaching materials Working in the library or media center Working in the school office Working or meeting with parents On yard, cafeteria, bus, or recess duty Other (Specify) _________________________
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6. Do you serve any students in a general
education classroom? YesNo ÜÜGO TO ITEM 6ASKIP TO ITEM 7
8. How much of your time do you spend teaching students on your own (i.e., without a teacher present)? (Please check one box.)
None Some About half Most
Nearly all or all 9. What are the grade levels of the special
education students you assist? (Please check
all that apply.)
Pre-kindergarten Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Ungraded 10. What subjects do you teach or help teach to
special education students? (Please check one
box on each line.)
Yes No
Pre-kindergarten curriculum Reading, language arts, English Mathematics Social studies Science English as a second language Physical education Music, art, or drama Functional or life skills Behavioral or social skills Other (Specify)______________ 11. Do you teach any of the following skills to
special education students? (Please check one
boxon each line.)
Yes No
Transition skills Recreation/leisure skills Self care/hygiene Work behavior/job skills Citizenship 12. Counting this year, how many years have you
been employed as a teacher aide/assistant in this or any other district? In this study, the term "district" refers to any local education agency (LEA) to which your school belongs (including intermediate education units, cooperatives, or
13. Do you have any of the following degrees or certifications? (Please check one boxon each
line.)
Yes No
Certification as a teaching assistant or aide Certification as a special education
teaching assistant/aide Certification as a regular classroom teacher Certification as a special education teacher High school diploma or GED Associate’s degree Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree or higher 14. Who is your employer? (Please check one
box.) School district Regional cooperative agency County office of education Other public agency Other (Specify)_________________
IDENTIFICATION
All responses provided for this study are kept confidential; however, sometimes we need to follow up to clarify a response. To help us make this contact, we would like the teacher who completes this survey to please provide the information below. We probably will not need the information but would appreciate having it, just in case. Once the survey data are all entered, we will delete all identifying information from our files.
Respondent Name: __________________________________ Phone: ( ______ ) _______ - ___________ ext. ________
Best Day and Times to Reach You
Days: M T W Th F between the following times ______ : ______ and ______ : ______ AM or PM(circle)
