Secondary teachers' perceptions of assistive technology use for students with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine secondary general education teachers' perspective of assistive technology use for students with disabilities. A total of four secondary schools participated in this study. Within these schools, 110 general education teachers completed surveys. The survey included three subscales: usage of assistive technology, attitudes and beliefs about assistive technology, and supports and barriers associated with assistive technology. There was one open-ended question that allowed participants to include their thoughts concerning assistive technology. Additional data were collected through interviews and focus groups. Twelve general education teachers participated in two focus groups (one middle school level and one high school level) and four special education teachers as well as four principals completed an interview. The majority of participants was female, held a bachelor's degree, and had less than five years of teaching experience. The data revealed that teachers understood the importance of using assistive technology but felt unprepared to effectively use devices because of lack of a lack of resources, limited planning time, adequate technical support, disjointed professional development, uncertainty of how to use assistive technology within their content area, and poor infrastructure. The implications of these findings for practice and future research are discussed