Data were gathered from 65 teachers of students with learning disabilities to assess their perceptions of one of two school-based special education evaluation reports: a primarily deficit-oriented report or the same report with embedded protective factor (resiliency) information added. Results suggested that the learning disability teachers who…

The purpose of this article is to analyze factors that influence special educators to remain in the field of education. School administrators are perplexed by the large number of teachers who decide to leave the field of education after three years. The retention rates of special educators' require school administrators to focus on developing a…

Project TRREE is a three-year, federally funded project conducted by the Kentucky Department of Education. The purpose of the project is to develop a systemic approach to increase the number of highly qualified special education teachers with a focus on recruitment of linguistically, culturally and ethnically diverse educators. Taskforce members…

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…

The purpose of this study was to (a) investigate current teachers' attitudes toward inclusion, and to (b) explore possible difference in the general and special education teachers' attitudes toward inclusion of students with disabilities in the integrated education classroom. A total of 10 participants from a large mid-western state university…

The inclusion of students with disabilities at the university is a relatively new occurrence in the field of special education. Although legislation in the United States has supported the acceptance of students with disabilities at the post-secondary level, it has only provided minimal support with the emphasis on the learner rather than the…

This article discusses the principle of synnoetics as defined by Dr. William A. Kritsonis in the "Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning" as it chronicles the teaching career of Rhodena Townsell. Rhodena, an African American female, began her teaching career as an uncertified special education teacher in a small East Texas town.…

The 2008-2009 Annual Reading First Progress Report reflects on the final year of implementation for Round I schools and the third full year of implementation for Round II schools. This report focuses on the effect that Reading First implementation has had on selected schools across Nebraska with a special focus on vulnerable populations: English…

The authors evaluated the procedures designed to recruit qualified applicants from traditionally under-represented populations into a special education doctoral program. A review of the literature revealed that candidates from culturally and linguistically diverse populations were more likely to enroll in doctoral work when universities used…

The important issue of special education services is the special education teacher who have been trained on instruction strategies for children with special needs. Special education teachers have been trained in short term in-service education programs and certificate programs in Turkey until 1983, after 1983 special education teachers are being…

This report includes observations from the first year of a three-year study of seven small high schools in Washington State. It discusses the results schools are beginning to see from knowing students and their learning needs more deeply. Progress to date includes teachers recognizing the need for personalization, designing structures to support…

Academic institutions that prepare personnel to work in the field of special education face considerable challenges in finding and retaining qualified faculty. At the same time, a growing number of special education teachers and administrators choose academia as a second career. Few studies have sought to capture their lived experiences as shift…

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether a similar a line of reasoning holds true for special educators. Though critical teacher shortages in the area of special education remain an ongoing problem in the United States (Billingsley & McLeskey, 2004; McLeskey, Tyler & Saunders Flippin, 2004), little work has been done on the teaching…

Compassion fatigue is a theoretical framework researchers have applied to helping professions other than teaching. The purpose of this report is to propose the use of this theory to better understand the prevalent rates of special education teachers' exit from the profession often labeled as burnout. A qualitative study with six middle school…

The mission for Urban SEALS (Special Education Academic Leaders), a federally funded doctoral preparation program, is to prepare doctoral-level special educators, including those who are culturally and/or linguistically diverse (CLD) to assume leadership roles in the education of urban students with disabilities who are CLD. This paper provides…