Over 7 million students in the United States of America meet special education eligibilities and are serviced in public schools. Life skills teachers teach a specialized group of students with intellectual disabilities. Each of these students has their own Individual Education Plan (IEP). It is a legal requirement for each IEP to be implemented…

The purpose of this study was to explore how teachers engaged in data use for instructional decision making. A grounded theory research design was used to analyze interviews of 10 special education teachers. Special education teachers were asked to complete an online survey and were interviewed with questions to reveal their experiences with…

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the factors Vermont rural special educators reported as impacting their persistence and what institutional barriers and supports they identified as needing. The complexities and challenges experienced by all teachers, special educators, rural teachers, and rural special educators informed the…

Stress management programs have been developed to improve teacher coping and prevent burnout. While many of these programs have promise, few have included special educators in intervention studies. Intervention programs may be beneficial for teachers in special education to increase their awareness of stress and use of coping skills, which in turn…

Inclusive education in Ireland has made major advances in the past two decades, with an increasing number of students with special educational needs (SEN) attending mainstream schools. This paper is part of a bigger study which examines the Special Education Teacher Allocation Model (SETAM) (Circular 0013/2017 Department of Education and Skills…

Team collaboration is an essential component of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) services that directly impacts outcomes for students in special schools. Given the central role of the Special Education Teacher (SET) in the AAC team, there is a need to explore and understand SETs' perceptions to support effective team collaboration.…

Traditional teacher-led Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) typically provide limited opportunities for students receiving special education services to meaningfully participate in the process. Even with a significant body of literature supporting the benefits of student-led IEPs, many school-based personnel maintain the traditional…

The purpose of this study was to explore how special education teachers perceive the concept of teacher leadership in special education and to discover the barriers that disempower them from acting in a leadership capacity in the context of Saudi schools. The research employed phenomenological research design and used semi-structured interviews…

This research aims to determine teachers' problems in the early stages of their careers and to offer solutions. In this context, the research is a phenomenological study of 21 teachers selected by maximum variety sampling. The study's data were obtained through semi-structured interview questions prepared by the researchers with the opinions of…

This study investigated reasons special education teachers leave their current position and ways campus administrators can promote special education teacher retention. The persistent issue of special education teacher shortages has a negative impact on the success of students receiving special education services. Research surrounding supports…

This dissertation presents a qualitative study investigating the challenges encountered by Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) teachers during the dynamic landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants, comprising ECSE teachers, shared their experiences, highlighting key themes such as transparent decision-making, a yearning for…

Research has shown that schools across the Nation are continuing to face the challenge of a special education teacher shortage. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore how the systemic factors of Bronfenbrenner's (1979) Ecological Systems Theory explain selected special educator's decisions to stay in the profession in a…

Rural school districts face a unique set of challenges. This dissertation focuses on two rural counties in three school districts in southeastern Ohio and examines the difficulties special education teachers and administrators in rural communities often face. Two special education teachers, a general education teacher, two principals, a special…

This qualitative study investigates the knowledge, perceptions, and adoption factors of special education teachers and support specialists regarding video modeling (VM) as a vocational intervention for high school students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Grounded in Rogers' theory of innovation diffusion, the research explores their…

This study used mixed methods to explore how Israeli special education preschool teachers' professional identity and social support predict their job satisfaction. Participants in the quantitative portion included 192 Jewish special education preschool teachers (Mage = 34.37, SD = 8.75) with an average of 10.66 (SD = 8.40) years teaching. A…