The school environment has been described as "the second most important social environment for the child after family"1. Hence, it can also be said that the teacher is the second most important figure in the child's life after family. Given the significant impact a teacher has in a child's life it is not a stretch to imagine that the attitude of the teacher can positively or negatively affect the child's ability to learn. In fact, recent studies have demonstrated that teachers' attitudes may be translated into behaviors that can have problematic results for students with epilepsy. As such, Malachy Bishop, Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Counseling at the University of Kentucky, and Barbara Slevin pioneered a study examining teacher attitudes toward epilepsy and students with epilepsy. Their research could very well pave the way for how we educate our teachers to overcome long held negative beliefs about epilepsy.

Results of a survey of elementary and middle school teachers

Bishop and Slevin surveyed 135 elementary and middle school teachers in the state of Kentucky. They used an indirect measure called the Knowledge About Epilepsy (KAE). The KAE is a 40-item measure based on the error-choice technique of attitude measurement consisting of multiple-choice questions in which all the alternatives are incorrect. According to Bishop, "We used an indirect measure because indirect questions are less vulnerable to socially desirable measures. No one wants to be identified as having a negative attitude and with indirect measure questions the intent of the question is not obvious, whereas with direct measures questions like, 'Are you afraid of a seizure?' make it more likely that a person will give a more socially desirable response."

The results of the study showed a significant number of the responding teachers, 29.6% of the sample, had negative scores on the KAE, associated with more negative attitudes about epilepsy. "It's complicated, in that I think a big problem is that teachers don't get educated in working with children with epilepsy and therefore they don't have a good understanding of it," said Bishop. He believes that fear leads to having a more negative attitude towards epilepsy, "Teachers are afraid that if a child has a seizure they won't know what to do."

Educating Teachers

Jay R. Shotel, Professor and Chair of the Education Department at George Washington University, believes teachers don't need special education about epilepsy stating, "In general, it is highly unlikely that a student specializing in teaching would be specifically trained in epilepsy. It is unlikely there would be more than a cursory look at epilepsy as a disability because the focus is on disabilities that hinder learning. And the majority of kids with epilepsy have controllable seizures."

Philip Langer, Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, disagrees and believes educating prospective teacher about epilepsy is an important part of any teaching curriculum, "The person with epilepsy is seen as somehow different from the rest of society and through educating prospective teachers we can combat this misperception as well as empower the teacher to act promptly in the event of a seizure and without fear."

Future Research

Bishop is currently conducting a large-scale study among elementary and middle school teachers throughout the United States. The study, which is being funded by the Epilepsy Foundation through the support of funding from Shire U.S., is aimed at further understanding teachers' attitudes toward and knowledge about epilepsy in the classroom. The results will guide the development of information and resources for use in teacher education programs.

Advice for Educators

Bishop advises teachers to get in touch with their local Epilepsy Foundation and to take a more proactive role in educating themselves about epilepsy. "Given the importance to quality of life and psychosocial adjustment of the school experience, and the impact teachers can have on students within that environment, understanding and improving teacher attitudes toward epilepsy must be a priority."

For more in-depth information regarding epilepsy please refer to www.epilepsy.com.

References:

1. M. Bishop & B Slevin, Teachers' attitudes toward students with epilepsy: results of a survey of elementary and middle school teachers. Epilepsy & Behavior 5 (3) (2004) pp. 308-315.