In a study that examined transition services for students with disabilities aged 18-21 years in the state of Wisconsin, respondents completed and returned 231 surveys. Survey data indicated that 50% of respondents lived in rural communities. The authors analyzed data for participant perspectives on components of transition planning in the areas of…

Poverty most likely will always be a concern in the United States, particularly in at-risk populations of the public schools. Many students in poverty enter public schools behind in academic and social skills due to a lack of quality early learning experiences. Regular education teachers work diligently to catch these children up in vital skills;…

Just as the popular television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" targets the demolition and reconstruction of a home so that it better meets the needs of its owners, Fink's approach to integrated course design (ICD; 2003) provides higher education faculty with the tools to deconstruct and do a major remodel of their college courses. Teaching…

Using the expert opinion of more than 30 professionals, this Delphi study set out to develop a set of assistive technology competencies for teachers of students with visual impairments. The result of the study was the development of a highly reliable and valid set of 111 assistive technology competencies. (Contains 2 tables.)

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) made significant changes in the roles of general and special educators, especially related to inclusion and collaboration. This pilot study examined the perceptions of beginning elementary and secondary school special and general education teachers in a midwestern state in the…

Although the idea of educational coaching is not new, the way teachers-in-training across six west Alabama counties are receiving job-embedded support is far from routine. Educational consultants 764 miles away are pioneering the use of virtual coaching for professional development. From their offices at the Pennsylvania Training and Technical…

Assistive technology approaches to aid students with visual impairments are becoming commonplace in schools. These approaches, however, present challenges for assessment because students' level of access to different technologies may vary by school district and state. To better understand what assistive technology tools are used in reading…

The purpose of this study was to determine adapted physical educators' perceptions and practices about teaching social skills to students with disabilities. A questionnaire based on Bandura's social learning theory concept of modeling was developed and mailed to an entire frame of 426 adapted physical education teachers in the state of Ohio. Face…

No Child Left Behind mandates have given teachers new responsibilities in data analysis and the implementation of strategies that meet individual student needs. Providing tools and methods for data collection, managing it, and then analyzing it is now a basic need for teachers. By aligning assessments for the specific purpose of addressing…

High teacher turnover was a problem at the preschool for students with autism where this study took place. The primary purpose of this project was to create and implement a mentor program that would effectively decrease turnover rates of newly hired teachers. The secondary purpose was to determine whether newly hired teachers changed their…

This is a preliminary evaluation of a program aimed at providing training, consultation, and resource materials to educators in public schools in order to build the capacity of those educators and schools to meet the needs of students with autism spectrum disorders. Educator and school level outcomes were evaluated and information about program…

Teachers of students with visual impairments and paraeducators who work with students with visual impairments were surveyed to determine if previous research related to the competencies needed by teachers who supervise paraeducators applied to this subset of special educators. Both groups confirmed the importance of the competencies, but…

For some time, special education has been plagued by shortages of qualified teaching staff and by high turnover rates for these staff. While several factors--external, employment and personal--are largely responsible for this situation, the research demonstrates that the initial professional experiences of early career teachers are closely…

Increasingly paraprofessionals provide inclusive special education services to identified students in general education classrooms within public schools today. Often, however, professional development opportunities for paraprofessionals are limited in scope or are insufficient to match the paraprofessionals' expanded instructional roles. This…

Legislation, research, and practice support access to technology by young children with disabilities. Yet barriers to technology use--lack of training, inadequate funding, failure to acknowledge technology as a relevant issue, or disbelief that technology can positively impact young children with disabilities--often prevail among many disciplines…