TEACHERS SCHEDULES AND ACTUAL TIME SPENT IN ACTIVITIES IN PRESCHOOL SPECIAL-EDUCATION CLASSES

Preparing a schedule for classroom activities is an important componen t of most successful educational programs. However, such preparation i s only as effective as its implementation in the classroom. The purpos e of this study was to compare teachers' schedules of classroom activi ties and direct observations of children's actual participation in tho se activities. Schedules of classroom activities and direct observatio n of actual activities, using the Ecobehavioral System for the Complex Assessment of Preschool Environments (Carta, Greenwood & Atwater, 198 6) were collected in 24 early childhood special education classrooms. Although preschoolers with developmental delays generally engaged in a ctivities that their teachers had scheduled significant differences we re found between the amount of time that teachers allotted for these a ctivities and the amount of observed time that children engaged in the activities. More time was scheduled for play and self-care than was a ctually observed. However, children were observed engaged in transitio n and story for longer periods than had been scheduled by their teache rs. Implications for classroom practices are discussed.