ing and using the services of other teachers, counselors, social workers, and others.

Since partially seeing children may become discouraged and frustrated from not being able to see as other children do, the teacher needs special counseling skills to assist them in gaining an insight into their assets and limitations, so that they can plan realistically for their future.

The teacher of partially seeing children should have skill in evaluating visual environments and helping other school personnel to develop in children an appreciation of good seeing conditions and a responsibility for establishing and maintaining them. The teacher of the partially seeing requires the skill to detect through observation the signs and symptoms of vision defects in order that she may assist in obtaining needed services for the children. She should have skill in evaluating, giving, and interpreting vision screening tests. Although

she will not usually do the vision screening herself, she may be called upon to teach others how to do it and to give expert advice to those who have primary responsibility for the vision screening program in the school.

Multiple Handicaps

Partially seeing children, in addition to their visual impairment, may have other handicaps such as speech defects, hearing loss, brain injury, mental retardation, cerebral palsy. The instruction of such children may require various teacher competencies, depending upon whether they are in the program for the partially seeing or in another program.

When the child is in a program for the partially seeing, it is likely to be the special teacher's responsibility to provide or secure the services needed because of his secondary handicap. For a child with speech defects, the teacher should know what services are available for speech correction, include them in the program, and advise the parents of such resources. When brain injury is the child's secondary problem, the teacher will need to enlist the aid of appropriate medical and educational authorities for guidance; she will then be able to plan a program in the light of the recommendations. If the teacher understands something about mental deficiency, the partially seeing child with a degree of mental retardation may make considerable progress under the individualized instruction used for the partially seeing. When the partially seeing child has a hearing loss the teacher may need to enlist the services of an itinerant specialist. When the child has a cerebral palsied condition, the teacher may help in adjusting the program and in securing the needed therapies.

The teacher of partially seeing children has responsibilities beyond those of her own program. There are many ways in which she can assist the partially seeing child who, because of an additional handicap, is being educated in another special education program. When the visually impaired child is in another program, such as one for the orthopedic, the deaf, or the mentally retarded, it is the duty of the teacher of partially seeing children, with her specialized competencies, to work with the child's teacher in setting up his educational plan. She may advise on such matters as curriculum adjustment, books in large type, large pieces of chalk, adjustable desk tops, lighting, and eye hygiene. If it is needed she may supply material copied in large type.

Among those children so seriously handicapped as to be homebound, some may also have impaired vision. Here again the teacher of partially seeing children may be one of the team who advise on adjustments for the child. For example, she will know that such a child may require eye rest following short study periods; that the bedridden

child should have his bed placed in proper position with reference to lighting. She will emphasize the importance of correctly fitted glasses and of supplying reading and writing materials in large type as needed.

Summary

The teacher of partially seeing children with a constructive attitude has a positive influence on the acceptance of the program by other professional people. She should be willing to assume a coordinating role between the various services available to the children. The success of the program is dependent upon attitudes of mutual understanding and respect.

Relationships with the child, other staff members, other pupils, and parents should be based on clear, mature consideration of the whole problem. Neither emotionalism nor rigidity has a place in these relationships, since the work of the teacher of partially seeing children requires constant adjustment and the ability to meet change with equanimity and stability.

Counseling of the handicapped is a long-term process. It means assisting the student in the establishment of positive values, of a philosophy by which he may live with himself as he is, of the worth of each individual, and of his place as a contributing member of society. When these positive attitudes are stressed, the focus is on the individual and his needs and not on the visual problem alone. The aim is not only to solve an immediate problem but also to help the student to grow so that he may better cope with present and future problems. This method relies on motivation of the student to do something about himself. Freedom of thought and self-direction are important, because then the function of the teacher becomes one of guidance, with emphasis on positive values and the goal of a wholesome, constructive, happy, and abundant life.

In relation to education teamwork, the teacher of partially seeing children should realize that the partially seeing constitute a small percentage of the total school enrollment and that the teachers of regular grades are responsible for a total program of instruction and thus have a right to expect the special teacher to take the initiative in making the necessary adjustments.

[End of Committee Report]

TEACHERS' APPRAISAL OF THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPETENCIES

Because the teachers are involved in the day-to-day relationships with partially seeing children and know which competencies have contributed most to their own success, it seems important to have their opinions as well as those of the committee of experts.

The 130 teachers 3 rated the relative importance of a list of 87 competencies included in the inquiry forms sent to them. They rated these items as "very important," "important," "less important," or "not important.' These competencies, arranged in rank order according to the average ratings of relative importance, appear in table I on page 18.

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The competencies listed in table I appear to have much significance for effective instruction, since 130 successful teachers in various parts of the Nation placed high value on nearly all of them. The teachers rated 37 of the competencies as "very important" and 45 as "important." They considered only 5 as "less important," and none as "not important." the knowledge and skills given the lowest average ratings were highly valued by some of the 130 teachers.

Even

In an overall view of the teachers' evaluation of the competencies, those which stand highest include understanding the social and emotional problems arising from visual impairment, planning educational programs, and cooperating with other staff members. More specifically, the teachers stressed the classroom atmosphere, personal adjustment of the child, and cooperation with regular grade teachers in order to make the child a part of the total school program. They agreed also on the importance of the teacher's ability to recognize eye conditions that may need referral to medical personnel, to understand eyestrain and fatigue, and to adapt educational material for the child. They recognized the necessity of knowing about special classrooms, supplies and equipment.

The teachers placed relatively less emphasis on such abilities as teaching music and physical education to partially seeing children. Discretion should be used in drawing interpretations from these evaluations since the teachers were asked to rate the different competencies in terms of their own situations. In some school systems the teaching of music and physical education, for example, is not considered a responsibility of the classroom teacher.

The method used in selecting the participating teachers and the information about their current teaching positions and specialized preparation are outlined in appendix B.

4 See appendix D, inquiry form EXC-4G, question 3.

For a description of the statistical procedures used in analyzing this data and placing the competencies in rank order, see appendix C.

Table I also contains some other information on proficiency ratings which is discussed on pages 31 to 33.

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Knowledge of medical conditions causing visual impairment was stressed by the teachers, including some of the technical competencies which equip the teacher of partially seeing children to meet the particular needs of these children. They considered it "very important" to able to recognize eye conditions among partially seeing pupils which may need referral to medical specialists (8), and to teach eye hygiene and the proper use of glasses to partially seeing pupils (9). The teachers rated as "important" a knowledge of the differences in function and responsibilities of ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians (51); of the anatomy and physiology of the eye (58); of the various conditions which result in loss of vision (56); and the causes of these conditions (61). Nearly half of the teachers (as raw data show) rated the last four competencies higher than the other half. Does this mean that there is a marked difference among teachers in their knowledge of medical factors? What courses in the medical field have these teachers had, and which ones do they consider necessary for effective work with partially seeing children? This appears to be an area for further study.

Helping the child with his personal adjustment was considered exceedingly important by the teachers. Of all the competencies in the list, the two which they valued most highly were: the ability to create a classroom atmosphere conducive to good mental health (1); and the ability to help shy pupils develop into well-adjusted individuals (2).

The 130 successful teachers also placed the following competencies near the top of the "very important" list: A knowledge of the social and emotional problems arising from partial loss of vision (4), the ability to observe the partially seeing child's behavior and provide for his special needs (7), and to counsel partially seeing children on their personal attitudes toward their handicap (12). They also considered skill in counseling partially seeing children on their social problems (22), and their vocational problems and life goals (29) as "very important."

Evaluating the child by means of educational interpretations from psychological (16), medical (21), and social workers' (26) reports was thought to be "very important." The 130 teachers considered it “important" to have the ability to use cumulative records of partially seeing children (46) and the knowledge of the special evaluative materials such as diagnostic and achievement tests in large type (66).

On the average, the participants considered the ability to administer screening tests of visual acuity (72), group achievement (76), aptitude (77), individual tests of mental ability (79), and screening tests of auditory acuity (82) "important" but rather far down the list. The raw data show considerable difference of opinion on the relative importance of teachers' ability to administer tests. The reasons for these relatively low evaluations are not known. In some communities teachers perform these testing

In each case the number in parentheses refers to the rank order of importance in table I.