Arab Educational Information Network

This paper focused on the importance of professionalism for special education teachers and how it helps teachers in charge of teaching students with disabilities. The study was conducted through a qualitative approach and data was collected by a researcher developed semi-structured interview which was piloted prior to using in order to collect data. The participants were nine Saudi SET female teachers (six of them in mainstream and three in special school) aged 23-42 with different level of experience. The purpose of the study was investigating the teachers' attitudes towards professionalism and starting with a comparison between special education teachers (SET) who teach in special schools and those teaching in mainstream school. The researcher also extensively elaborates on what it means to be professional in this respect. As well as the researcher came to realize that the teachers who are teaching the students with disability exert too much effort compared with other teachers in mainstream school. In conclusion, the researcher concludes that because of the rise in number of the disabled in Saudi Arabia, only professional teachers should be the candidates to do this kind of job. (Published abstract)