In the counternarratives shared in this article, the readers will read accounts of day-to-day realities of being a professional that will help prepare them in their professional roles as educators and counselors, in particular, the educational life experiences that influenced their professional development. Each person reflects on their life--as…

Diane Ravitch has emerged as one of the most powerful forces for real education reform. She is a tireless crusader against the baseless claims that drive current educational policy and a clear-eyed visionary of what needs to be done. While at one time she left the educational community and then returned (both of which she addresses in this…

This article provides background and commentary on the articles in this issue of "Journal of Special Education Leadership." Each of the articles describes the agonizing choices and constant struggles in the evolving educational landscape. Two themes emerged: (1) the conflicting intersection of the Individuals with Disabilities…

Outlines the need for interagency cooperation in the vocational development of the handicapped and disadvantaged and develops a futuristic model to be implemented. Discusses advocacy and its role in professional associations, potential barriers to organizational advocacy, and the role of professional associations in organizational advocacy. (CT)

This tribute to Dr. Donn Brolin highlights his interest in and commitment to career development programming for students with disabilities. His development of the Life Centered Career Education curriculum and assessments and his advocacy for appropriate curriculum provisions for special populations are remembered. (CR)

This paper, responding to others in this special focus issue, discusses implications of job barriers which are faced by workers with significantly impaired hearing. Implications include the need for improved literacy of deaf individuals, development of an understanding of work values, and multifaceted advocacy. (JDD)

Noting that concerns about the qualifications, turnover, diversity, and compensation of the early childhood workforce are growing as more children attend private and public preschool programs, the Foundation for Child Development convened a meeting to explore early childhood workforce issues surrounding career development of the workforce serving…

Academia is the author's second career, and his path to that career was unusual. Oklahoma schools had little to offer, and he had given up on education in the ninth grade because it had long since given up on him. The Vietnam War bought him a position in the Air Force that improved his self-image, and the GI Bill bought him an education. He came…

This paper relates the personal and professional experiences of a female minority ethnic researcher in her transition from international graduate student to assistant professor in the United States. It examines coping strategies for such situations, including: (1) assuming that most problems have an external sociohistorical nature; (2) realizing…