The use of special education teachers of the methods of punishment in controlling the behavior of Students with mental disabilities in the light of some of the variables Field study in institutes of mental disabilities in the city of Damascus

The goal of the present research is to uncover the most used methods of punishment by teachers to adjust the behavior of students with intellectual disabilities: the method of corporal punishment, Time-out, the method of verbal reprimand and non-verbal, cost Response method. The aim of the research is to detect differences among teachers in the use of methods of punishment to control the behavior of students with intellectual disabilities in the light of some of the variables (sex of the teacher, the number of years of experience, academic qualifications, age, to undergo training courses). The study sample consisted of (70) teachers of students with mental disabilities. The research found the following results: 1- All teachers use the methods of punishment to control the behavior of students with mental disabilities and the methods of punishment was the order of most used to least frequently used as follows: cost response method, the method of Time-out, the method of verbal reprimand and non-verbal method, corporal punishment. 2- There are no statistically significant differences in the methods of punishment used to control the behavior of students with mental disabilities due to the variable of sex of the teacher. 3- There is no statistically significant differences in the methods of punishment used to control the behavior of students with mental disabilities due to the variable number of years of experience, except where the method of Time-out found significant differences in favor of teachers who have more experience than ten years. 4- There is no statistically significant differences in the methods of punishment used to control the behavior of students with mental disabilities due to the variable of educational qualification, except where the cost response method, and there wene statistically significant differences in favor of teachers who obtained the diploma. 5- There are no statistically significant differences in the meth ods of punishment used to control the behavior of students with mental disabilities due to the variable age of the teacher. 6- There are no statistically significant differences in the methods of punishment used to control the behavior of students with mental disabilities due to the variable of undergoing training courses.