Families are critical to children's learning and play a vital role on their children's team. As such, preparation standards across the Division for Early Childhood, National Association for the Education of Young Children, and other key entities include family practices as part of their recommendations. This content analysis examined how states…

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…

The current shortage of fully certified special education teachers is a problem that the nation is facing. The Commonwealth of Kentucky is one of the states that is seeing increased numbers of vacancies within special education. This article explores how liberal arts educator preparation programs (EPPs) offering dual certification in special…

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…

As the teacher shortage continues to sweep the country, Grow Your Own (GYO) programs designed to attract and prepare more individuals into the teaching ranks are gaining national attention, particularly those targeting special education. Assisting paraprofessionals who work with students with disabilities has long been considered as one strategy…

Recruiting special education teacher candidates to teacher preparation programs and to special education classrooms continues to be a national struggle (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022; United States Department of Education, 2021). While a number of solutions to this decades-long problem have been explored, we offer the analysis of…

With increasing demand for early childhood professionals and inclusive opportunities for children with disabilities in the state, the special education (SPED) faculty at State University recognized the need for a new early intervention and early childhood special education (EI/ ECSE) educator preparation program. The department already offered…

For decades, school districts have relied on unlicensed teachers to fill vacancies in special education, leaving students with disabilities to receive educational services from individuals without the necessary preparation, resulting in inequitable educational opportunities. An emergency certification, granted in numerous states, allows unlicensed…

We used 14 years of state licensure and classroom data from Virginia to follow 19,878 special education teachers (SETs) who completed either the alternative route (AR) internship or traditional programs. Findings reveal that a greater percentage of SETs of color participated in AR programs compared to traditional licensure programs, while a…

Dual certification programs are proliferating as the principal means of preparing teachers for inclusive practice. Drawing on the 1,408 university-based teacher education programs on the 2019 Title II database, we examined the institutional website discourse for every program offering prospective teachers the opportunity to earn a general and…

Special education teachers are essential team members in the provision of services to students with complex communication needs. Professional competencies related to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) practices have been outlined for special education teachers as part of their professional standards. Yet, it is unclear to what extent…

Classroom environments were analyzed to better understand adult language modeling rates and whether teacher certification practices contributed to differences with learners with deafblindness (DB). Student characteristics were also examined in relation to communication rates. When there is a dual sensory loss, access to tactile and visual…

Background or Context: With the implementation of three-dimensional science and high stakes testing, policymakers have bolstered science curriculum to include standards that engage students in scientific discourse while providing the needed guidelines for teaching science content. However, the field of science education has not been a policy focus…

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature and extent that undergraduate special education programs teach special education law. Extant data from the state department of education websites and a sample of university department webpages (n = 67) were analyzed to identify educational requirements. In addition, a sample of faculty…

We examined the association between the percentage of students with disabilities (SWD) in general education teachers' classes and their likelihood of turnover, investigating potential internal and external resources (certification, experience, preparation, classroom management, and working conditions) as moderators and disaggregating types of…