Pre­service special educators’ perceptions about collaboration with general educators in Korea: Implications for personnel preparation programs

The purpose of this study is to identify the core competencies that pre-service special educators (PSEs) should possess in order to collaborate effectively with general educators and to investigate their perceptions regarding the importance of and their confidence in the competencies. Based on the review of the literature, this article suggests four core competencies that all PSEs should acquire: instructional expertise, understanding the collaboration process, collaboration skill development, and character building for collaboration. A survey composed of 22 items was developed and distributed and 108 PSEs responded. The results showed that the PSEs’ ratings of the importance of collaboration competencies were significantly higher than their confidence in all subdomains. Finally, practical implications are provided to enhance special educator preparation programs.