Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the principal components of special supports equivalent to activities promoting independence performed in resource rooms （tsukyu classrooms） for students with developmental disabilities. To do so, a principal component analysis was performed regarding this type of special supports. The survey consisted of teachers in charge of special support services in the resource rooms for students with developmental disabilities in all of Japan’s 47 prefectures. Each respondent was to evaluate, for one of their students with developmental disabilities, the link between each of the 27 items concerning details of activities that promote independence and actual special supports provided in the survey. Samples of students with developmental disabilities were obtained from 874 elementary schools, 564 junior high schools, and 147 high schools. Five components were extracted using principal component analysis. Significance was then examined using items having the highest loads on each factor. Names were given to factors 1 through 5 as follows: “overall special supports,” “special supports on social communications,” “special supports on daily life fundamentals,” “special supports on self-efficacy,” and “special supports on linguistic communications and study habits.” Results suggested that the component scores were impacted by two factors, namely school type and the disability type of students. We consider that these results will be useful for a better understanding of the professional nature and the details of special supports equivalent to activities performed in the resource rooms.
