| The purpose of this study was to determine how habits of mind of special education teachers relate to teaching and learning, specifically the concept of empathy and how it impacts the teacher--student relationship. An analysis of quantitative data was completed to ascertain whether empathy and mindset were predictors of special education teacher's efficacy. This study determined the impact of empathy of special education teachers on the academic performance of special education students and the teacher's mindset. The study also determined whether their training causes more emotional disabilities (ED) teachers to send more students for office referrals and discipline infractions. This study featured special education teachers in the state of Indiana focusing on empathy and mindset. An electronic survey was emailed to 660 special education teachers and was completed by 18% of the respondents (n = 122). There was a significant difference on the number of office referrals per week among ED teachers (M = .60, SD = .93) and non-ED teachers (M = .18, SD = .54). The ED teachers were significantly higher than the non-ED teachers, t(67.68) = 2.82, p = .006, two-tailed. A multiple regression revealed that the predictors of mindset and empathy do not have the ability to predict efficacy in special education teachers. The predictor variable within the study did not explain a significant amount of variance within the criterion variable, F (2,119) = 2.35, p = .100. Therefore, mindset and empathy cannot serve as predictors of efficacy. A recommendation of this study is to present current special education teachers, who have a multitude of students coming into the classroom, with a variety of experiences and abilities, professional development in the areas listed in this study to broaden the scope of their minds and open up new possibilities and answers to situations and student needs. Further research should also include professional development for principals in the areas of mindset, learning styles, empathy, and differentiation. Linking these areas of study to the importance of on-going professional development and open communication in the workplace may help to ensure the needs of all students are met. |
