Lee, Y., & Vega, L. (2005). Perceived knowledge, attitudes, and challenges of AT use in special education . Journal of Special Education Technology , 20 (2), 60–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/016264340502000208

Special education teachers' perceived knowledge, attitudes, and challenges of using assistive technology (AT) were examined in this study.

A total of 154 special education California personnel in a county with 48 school districts participated. Personnel included teachers, specialists, and coordinators. The county's population in general, and the student population, were described in detail.

How AT has been implemented since the passing of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), paying particular attention to the following issues: special education personnel's attitudes toward AT, perceived knowledge and skills surrounding AT, and teacher preparation course satisfaction were the focus of this study. The survey included four multiple choice questions, 15 open-ended questions, and 20 Likert-scale items.

More than half of the respondents (64.3%) were comfortable using AT in classrooms was reported. Relatedly, respondents indicated they were more confident using academic software than AT for students with physical or sensory disabilities. Respondents who received over 40 training hours in AT strongly agreed that AT was an important part of their students' routines. However, survey responses revealed that nearly half of the respondents (48.7%) received no, or very limited, training in AT use. With the rapid changes of technology, researchers concluded more training is necessary. This lack of knowledge and training was identified as the biggest barrier to using AT.