The purpose of this applied dissertation was to gain an in-depth understanding of the factors that lead to retention of exceptional student education (ESE) teachers and what role leaders play at the school level in influencing quality teachers to remain in the field of education. The attrition rate of ESE teachers nationwide grows as school…

An effective teaching technique for a university extension course for rural special education teachers is the respond/read/replicate/report system. The four-step system was developed to stimulate tired, beleaguered teachers with differing experiences, knowledgeability, and teaching/learning styles who drove up to 60 miles on country roads to…

Sexuality education, part of the comprehensive school health education component of a Coordinated School Health Program, interests many health educators as well as special education teachers. In this study, Florida special educators reported their beliefs about teaching sexuality education to educable mentally disabled students, the range of…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The 2011 State Teacher…

This paper reports on efforts of several states in the southern United States (Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia) to respond to the mandate for training early childhood special education professionals. The paper describes how teacher certification standards are being met in these states and examines the role of the state…

Discusses the results of a survey administered in three states, California, Colorado, and Florida, to determine the scope of training requirements and to gain an understanding of the needs for services, personnel, instructional materials, and competencies needed by teachers who work with limited-English-proficient handicapped students. (Author/VWL)

In this study, the researcher has examined and presented the perceptions and attitudes of K-12 school teachers regarding students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In addition, these same teachers were asked to evaluate their own professional preparations that might enable them to identify and effectively teach these…

This paper discusses the results of a survey on the professional knowledge of and feelings about inclusion of 180 Florida general educators, special educators, administrators, and support personnel. These four groups were asked to respond to the following questions: (1) What is inclusion? (2) How do you feel about inclusion? and (3) how do you…

Describes an advocacy group of teachers and parents concerned with gifted children in rural northern Florida. Discusses an unusual collaboration between university and school district, in which three teacher education courses led to advocacy group formation, and each teacher-student became an expert in one problem area of gifted children. 15…

The Florida edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the third annual look at state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers can make changes that will have a positive impact on teacher…

A telephone survey of 93 Florida teachers who did not return to their special education teaching position after the 1992-93 year, found the largest portion of teachers who left did so because they were dissatisfied with conditions of work. In addition, the majority of leavers remained in education. (Author/CR)

Troubled by students' attitudes toward disabled children, a Florida elementary school principal asked special education teachers to brainstorm some awareness activities. The resulting program, Handicapped Awareness through Stimulation (HATS), had four objectives: sensitizing students, providing interaction opportunities, developing empathy, and…

A survey of 1,576 Florida special-education teachers examined factors that contribute to their propensity to leave or stay in the special education classroom or transfer to a new school. Teachers left special education teaching primarily due to insufficient certification, perceptions of high stress, and perceptions of poor school climate.…

The Unified Elementary ProTeach (Professional Teacher; http://www.coe.ufl.edu/school/proteach/index.html) program at the University of Florida (UF) prepares teachers with a dual emphasis in elementary education and mild disabilities. All graduates are also prepared to work with students who are English speakers of other languages (ESOL). The…

One of a series of nine reports of Project ACTIVE (Attaining Competence for Teaching in Vocational Education), this report focuses on the criteria for assessing mastery of the professional competencies (skills) important to vocational educators serving disadvantaged students. An overview of competency-based vocational teacher education (CBTE) and…