Professional Self Development for Teachers of Intellectual Disability in the Light of the Requirements of Knowledge Economy in Riyadh

The study aimed to identify the role of self-professional development in developing the educational, specialized, social, and personal fields for teachers of individuals with intellectual disabilities, considering the requirements of the knowledge economy. The study used a questionnaire directed to teachers of individuals with intellectual disabilities in the programs attached to public schools in the primary stage, and institutes of intellectual education in the city of Riyadh. The sample size was (251) individuals. The study found that there is a high role for self-professional development in developing the educational field with average (4.06), the specialized field with average (3.85), the social field with an average (3.95), and the personal field with an average (4.09). The results also showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the responses of teachers regarding self-professional development in developing the four fields, while there were statistically significant differences in the responses of the study sample with higher qualifications (postgraduate studies) regarding the four fields, higher than the responses of the study sample with other qualifications. There were also statistically significant differences in the responses of the study sample with higher experience (ten years or more) in the axes of developing the specialized and social fields, higher than the responses of the study sample with less experience. The results also showed statistically significant differences between the participants' responses regarding the four fields due to the variable type of self-professional development programs, in favor of those who received long-term programs over those who received short-term programs.