UC Santa Barbara

Objectives: The objective of this study was to gain insight into how Chinese special education teachers1 conceptualize individual education plan (IEP) and how IEP is implemented in their daily work. Method: Fourteen administrators and teachers from several special education schools in three metropolitan cities in China were interviews about their perspective of IEP and IEP practice at their work. Results: The results suggested that despite remaining concerns about the implementation of IEP Chinese teachers highly commit to the value of IEP. It is noted that the IEP process in Chinese schools is quite similar to that of US schools in terms of some major requirements and yet some adaptions are made given the different social-cultural context and that the IEP practice is influenced by a variety of factors such as schools policy, curriculum, and the paucity of educational resources. Conclusion: There is a need for developing a systematic guideline of IEP considering inconsistency of implementing IEP in schools. Improving teachers professional competence is critical to the effectiveness of IEP practice in China, and local governments should put in more efforts in ensuring adequate resource being provided to schools and teachers regarding the implementation of IEPs.