This qualitative study adds to the growing body of research on teacher residency programs through exploration of a small university's graduate teacher residency program for urban special education teachers. The author investigated the program over a four-year period to determine if it was meeting its espoused goals and to understand how the…

Special education teacher shortages result in unqualified teachers working with students who have disabilities. Past research has focused on national shortages and the number of special education teachers in schools, but fewer studies have examined the number of new special education program completers, an important aspect of the potential special…

In recent years, there has been a growing body of research on childhood trauma and its potential effects on the development of a child into adulthood. The findings of this research indicate that those who have undergone traumatic experiences might demonstrate effects in their behavior, interactions with others, management of stressful situations,…

Field experiences are often considered by researchers, leading organizations, and accrediting bodies as a critical component of special education teacher preparation. Yet, much remains unknown about the types or numbers of field experiences that will best prepare special education teacher candidates. Given the ongoing changes in the field of…

Teacher preparation programs are designed to prepare teachers to support students. However, the supports and experiences teachers are exposed to are often described as academic support. This study explored how special education teachers depicted how their teacher preparation programs prepared them to manage elementary student classroom behavior by…

Enrollment in traditional special education teacher preparation programs has declined while enrollment in alternative preparation programs has increased in Georgia (Georgia Insights, 2024). Since alternative preparation programs have become the viable recruitment vein for rural schools challenged to fill special education teaching vacancies,…

In 2007, the Act on Special Education for Persons with Disabilities in South Korea was enacted, resulting in various changes to the special education teacher training policy and system. Although special education is being developed and operated in response to societal changes and the budget is increased yearly, the controversy over the teacher…

Alternative pathways to licensure (APL) programs have proliferated nationally as a potential solution to the ongoing critical shortage of qualified special education professionals. Although these programs attract more diverse teacher candidates, they have been criticized for a lack of preparation and support provided to new professionals. This…

Teacher educators can use rehearsal to enhance special education teacher candidates' mastery of foundational teaching practices. Rehearsals (i.e., brief practice teaching segments) are conducted within college and university courses and are intentionally different from field-based or clinical practice. The use of rehearsal reflects a…

Writing is one of the most important forms of communication we have, yet many find it to also be one of the most challenging tasks to do, and in the case of educators, to teach. Becoming a proficient writer is one of the most important lifelong skills teachers can help students develop, but many educators do not have ample preparation to teach…

Youth with disabilities encounter multiple systemic barriers to post-school success, including racism and discrimination. Critical consciousness is the foundation of culturally responsive and anti-racist work and supports self-determination and vocational outcomes expectations among marginalized youth. While secondary special educators are…

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to describe the participants' perceived effectiveness of their teacher preparation program and their experience of teaching students who are identified with a low-incidence disability. The theory guiding this study was the experiential learning theory. Kolb's experiential learning theory…

Although the teacher education shortage is at an all-time high across the United States, particularly in the field of Special Education, an innovative, multitiered approach can help colleges and universities address this scarcity. Teacher preparation programs can bolster their recruitment, training, and delivery of high-quality special educators…

This study investigated how early childhood special education teacher candidates described their professional identities. Professional identity is how individuals think about and act as members of the profession, and it has the potential to impact instructional practice and decisions to stay in the field. Through a qualitative thematic analysis of…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of special education teachers as they relate to teacher preparation programs and how they prepared teachers to work with and lead paraprofessionals. Hersey and Blanchard's situational leadership approach and Adult Leadership Theory are the theoretical basis…