Special education teachers' personal time and money

Abstract

Because of state and federal budget deficits. teachers are using thcir own time and rnoney to meet student nceds. This research seeks to determine the amount of time and money spent on work related duties. Specific research questions include: How much personal time and money are Wisconsin's K-12 speclal educators using to meet expectations, and what do they purchase? Three hundred fourteen Wisconsin K- 1 2 special educators across four CESAs (#I, #4, # 8, and +I 2) completed a survey regarding their personal time and money spcnt on work-related expenditures. The majority of special educator's participation indicated they did spend pcrsonal time and money on work-related duties, supplies and professional development. Special educators indicate TEPs consume the largest portion of personal time, while classroom supplies deplete the largcst portion persona1 money spent on work-related supplies. The majority (31%-54% of respondents) of special educators reported spending personal money on professional development. However, the majority (63%-78% of respondents) of spccial educators reported the NCLB was not the reason for spending personal time and money on workrelated activitres and expenditures.