In an effort to better support the needs of PK-12 students identified as gifted or high-ability, school leaders need to be familiar and comfortable with supporting gifted education educators and developing and evaluating gifted education programs. Gifted education educators should have defined roles and responsibilities, and school leaders need to…

To enhance teacher proficiency, this study explores the possible effects of integrating STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) principles into the early childhood special education (ECSE) curriculum. The present study centers on science literacy's function in enhancing educators' competencies working with young children. A…

To strengthen inclusion practices in schools, a mandate was passed requiring special education teachers working at the middle and high school levels to become content certified. The purpose of this research study was to examine the outcome the content/dual certification mandate had on special education teachers' roles in co-taught inclusion…

Many states struggle with shortages of special education teachers (SET). To address the shortage problem in the long term, policymakers, preparation providers, and state and district administrators must ensure that any short-term strategies are combined with a comprehensive plan that includes long-term systemic strategies to strengthen the supply,…

To identify promising strategies for full inclusion, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) and the National Center on Special Education in Charter Schools conducted in-depth case studies of five Washington State charter schools as part of a national study of special education in charter schools. These studies were conducted during the…

The primary purpose of this publication is to provide those involved in special education teacher preparation and professional development with a set of high-leverage practices (HLPs) that were identified through consensus among special educators. These HLPs may be used to design a cohesive set of practice based opportunities to support teacher…

The ultimate outcome of this work is to support students, families, and educators (includes all school members who collectively support students) during the transitions back to school during and following the global pandemic in a manner that prioritizes their health and safety, social and emotional needs, and behavioral and academic growth. This…

The diversity of teacher roles has been a long-standing concern in the field of special education. Role complexity has been implicated in teacher burnout and attrition and in the inefficiency of service delivery models. Recent evidence suggests that new policy may be further complicating teacher roles and that teachers may not be prepared for such…

With more than half of children with disabilities being educated in the general education classroom, and with federal education law requiring improved learning outcomes for these students, preparing general education teachers to work effectively with all students is critical. This report on teacher certification requirements in the nine Northeast…

This paper is the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ) fourth annual review of state laws, rules and regulations that govern the teaching profession. This year's "Yearbook" takes a different approach than the past editions, as it is designed as a companion to the 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook", NCTQ's most recent…

Project TRREE (Teacher Recruitment and Retention for Educational Excellence) is a three-year, federally funded project conducted by the Kentucky Department of Education. The purpose of the project is to develop a systemic approach to increase the number of highly qualified special education teachers with a focus on recruitment of linguistically,…

Attrition statistics were analyzed for the entire teaching population in Wisconsin from 1984-1988. Teachers with provisional certification were more likely to leave teaching than were fully certified teachers during the first 2 years of the study, but during the third year of the study, attrition rates were comparable. Attrition rates of special…

This study examined the teacher personnel needs of special education programs in Alabama utilizing data from a survey of the 130 local education agencies and the annual child count of students enrolled in special education classes. Data are presented in narrative and tabular form and address, first, personnel shortages and deficiencies according…

The report documents the evaluation of a New York City program, the State Incentive Grant to Improve Pupil Performance, in which high school special education teachers received training in general education curriculum and instructional techniques to fulfill a new regulation allowing high school special education students to meet general education…

This study of 82 general educators with certification in special education found that over half would consider special education positions. Primary deterrents to special education teaching included paperwork and factors related to working with special populations; potential incentives included adequate teaching resources, minimal nonteaching…