Date of Award

January 2012

Degree Type

Open Access Thesis

Document Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Special Education

First Advisor

Susan Mahanna-Boden

Department Affiliation

Special Education

Abstract

This study was designed to further investigate the relationship between teachers' knowledge and perceptions of stuttering before and after an in-service training. Specifically, to determine whether providing teachers with training on stuttering increases their knowledge of stuttering and contributes to more positive perceptions towards their students who stutter (SWS). The participants were twenty-three elementary and secondary teachers from Wolfe County Kentucky who currently had students in their classrooms who stuttered and volunteered to participate in this study. The participants' knowledge about stuttering was measured using the Alabama Stuttering Knowledge Test (ASK) and their perceptions were measured using the Teacher Attitudes Toward Stuttering Survey (TATS). Both instruments were used to measure the teachers' knowledge and perceptions before and after an in-service training was provided. Analysis of the study's results suggested that a statistically significant difference existed between teachers' overall knowledge about stuttering after the in-service training. The results also suggested that a statistically significant difference existed between teachers' perceptions of their SWS after the in-service training. The results of this study suggest that a relationship exists between teachers' knowledge of stuttering and their perceptions of SWS in their classrooms.

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