Policy is a powerful tool that guides many gifted education services and practices in states across the U.S. In addition to student services, policies can govern teacher preparation standards and qualifications for educators responsible for instructional delivery to academically talented learners. Essential to the process, institutions of higher…

We examined the effects of a computer-based strategy to develop self-advocacy skills for 15 middle school students with mild and moderate disabilities. A pre- and posttest experimental design with random assignment to treatment and wait-list control groups was employed to investigate changes in student participation and level of…

Introduction: Anthony cautions that the training of teachers of students with visual impairments (i.e., blindness and low vision) and orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists covers a broad age range, which may result in limited curricular content essential for those who will work with very young children with visual impairments. The current…

Dr. Carl Smith shares his reflections on a varied career that included many different roles and responsibilities but shared a focus on children with behavior disorders. Dr. Smith also provides insight into where he believes the field is heading and offers his advice to those just entering the field. Perhaps the lasting advice to all is to focus on…

Introduction: Professionals working with infants and toddlers with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) were surveyed regarding their preservice training and their awareness and use of 29 resources related to young children who are visually impaired. Methods: Early intervention visual impairment professionals (n =…

To explore the accessibility of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) for students with severe disabilities, we conducted a survey of 179 schools implementing SWPBIS during the 2015-2016 school year. Personnel from each school reported the frequency and level of importance of SWPBIS implementation across Likert-type…

In this study, the authors represent an exploratory investigation of current preparation of preservice teachers related to response to intervention (RTI) in institutions of higher education (IHEs) in the Office of Special Education Program (OSEP) Regional Resource and Federal Centers (RRFCs) North Central Region and Pennsylvania. In this study,…

Secondary special educators are in desperate need of progress monitoring measures in mathematics that appropriately reflect their students' instructional content. As educators across the country respond to increasing standards for challenging curricula, growing numbers of students with disabilities are participating in more advanced mathematics…

The purpose of this study was to determine the types of psychiatric disorders and the corresponding medications prescribed to children enrolled in Early Childhood Special Education Programs (ECSE) and to ascertain teacher attitudes related to this topic. Data were collected via surveys disseminated to five hundred-twenty five Early Childhood…

Professional development that focuses on supporting teachers' abilities to work with diverse families is keenly needed. This article outlines three instructional strategies and how they were used with undergraduate students in an inclusive early childhood teacher education program: (a) involving diverse family members as instructional supports;…

This article describes Iowa's journey to establish and implement a unified endorsement in early childhood and early childhood special education, birth through third grade. It describes the formation of the Unified Institute of Higher Education Consortium and the support the consortium provided to help faculty make major curriculum changes.…

A survey of teachers (n=547) of the learning disabled in Iowa found that teachers possess well-developed beliefs and perceptions about learning disabilities and are knowledgeable and well informed. The questionnaire covered four areas: nature and characteristics of learning disabilities, assessment and diagnosis, service delivery and intervention,…

Describes how focus groups comprised of speech-language professionals, paraprofessionals, general and special education teachers, and parents in Iowa were used to conduct a needs assessment of issues in staff development and use of paraprofessional personnel and to design job-relevant personnel development programs. An attached chart lists themes…

Few differences are found between regular teachers and special education teachers in perceived quality of evaluation and five attributes of teacher evaluation. Results with 619 regular education teachers and 246 special education teachers from randomly selected schools in Iowa indicate that evaluation of special education teachers is relatively…