Over 7 million students in the United States of America meet special education eligibilities and are serviced in public schools. Life skills teachers teach a specialized group of students with intellectual disabilities. Each of these students has their own Individual Education Plan (IEP). It is a legal requirement for each IEP to be implemented…

The purpose of this study was to explore how teachers engaged in data use for instructional decision making. A grounded theory research design was used to analyze interviews of 10 special education teachers. Special education teachers were asked to complete an online survey and were interviewed with questions to reveal their experiences with…

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the factors Vermont rural special educators reported as impacting their persistence and what institutional barriers and supports they identified as needing. The complexities and challenges experienced by all teachers, special educators, rural teachers, and rural special educators informed the…

This study investigated reasons special education teachers leave their current position and ways campus administrators can promote special education teacher retention. The persistent issue of special education teacher shortages has a negative impact on the success of students receiving special education services. Research surrounding supports…

This dissertation presents a qualitative study investigating the challenges encountered by Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) teachers during the dynamic landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants, comprising ECSE teachers, shared their experiences, highlighting key themes such as transparent decision-making, a yearning for…

Research has shown that schools across the Nation are continuing to face the challenge of a special education teacher shortage. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore how the systemic factors of Bronfenbrenner's (1979) Ecological Systems Theory explain selected special educator's decisions to stay in the profession in a…

Rural school districts face a unique set of challenges. This dissertation focuses on two rural counties in three school districts in southeastern Ohio and examines the difficulties special education teachers and administrators in rural communities often face. Two special education teachers, a general education teacher, two principals, a special…

This qualitative study investigates the knowledge, perceptions, and adoption factors of special education teachers and support specialists regarding video modeling (VM) as a vocational intervention for high school students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Grounded in Rogers' theory of innovation diffusion, the research explores their…

The problem to be addressed in this study was most special education high school teachers are not adequately teaching job transferable skills to students with intellectual disabilities in American. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to investigate the beliefs of special education high school teachers within a rural Colorado school…

This study examines job satisfaction among special educators while focusing on factors such as workload, administrative support, compensation, and self-efficacy. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, and informed by push and pull theory, the research in this study combines both quantitative and qualitative data analysis through the collection of…

To date, research on the importance of effective and appropriate technology integration to improve teaching and learning in the 21st century classroom, and the preparation of future educators for effective technology integration through their teacher preparation programs, has been focused primarily on those pursuing careers teaching the general…

Annual goals are an essential component of Individual Educational Programs (IEP), which are developed for students with disabilities, and which are informed by data. However, the methods and practices that special educators use to make sense of data to inform the annual IEP goals represent a gap in research literature. This qualitative study was…

Kindergarten and first-grade students who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have additional learning needs impeding the learning of self and others. The purpose of the qualitative study was to investigate: (a) the successes, challenges, barriers, and needs of teachers working with students who have ADHD;…

Within general education settings, students with disabilities may not gain maximum benefit from the use of emerging inclusive pedagogical frameworks unless the role of special educators is reconfigured so that their expertise can be applied to instructional design and delivery. The purpose of this study was to investigate how special educators…

Education equality and the inclusion of students with disabilities have been a long-traveled journey. Though there has been an increase in this student population within the general education classroom, research suggests less of students with mild to moderate disabilities are mainstreamed. It is important to understand how any existing barriers…