In the United States, there exists a chronic shortage of qualified special education teachers to provide instructional services to students with disabilities. One policy solution developed to increase the number of qualified teachers is Alternative Routes (ARs), which are broadly defined as nontraditional and accelerated preparation paths to…

Teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD Teachers) that work in a self-contained setting are more likely to experience symptoms of burnout than their general education and special education teacher peers. Attrition for this group of teachers continues to be at an all-time high, leading to poor outcomes for some of our…

This narrative study explored the holistic, interconnected challenges that impact special education practitioners in three cross-categorical (CC) special education junior high classrooms in rural Central Illinois. Participants included three junior high school special education teachers, three special education administrators, and three junior…

Section 300.5 of IDEA (2004) defines Students with Disabilities as those children who, because of their impairments, need special education and related services. Through the process of "declassification," students previously identified as having a disability requiring special education services return to full-time general education…

The ever-growing English learner student population struggles academically more than any other student group except students identified for special education services (Gandara & Hopkins, 2010). Although effective principal instructional leadership behaviors and practices have been directly and indirectly linked to student academic achievement…

This study addresses the problem surrounding low educator self-efficacy for data collection and behavior reduction strategies among elementary special educators. Educators working with students who present behavior challenges do not feel a strong sense of self-efficacy when it comes to data collection and behavior management. Due to this,…

This purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore how general education teachers from southern Arizona perceive collaborating with special education teachers when co-teaching in their inclusion classrooms. The theoretical foundation for this research involved Lev Vygotsky's social development theory. The research questions…

With an increased focus on teacher retention in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic there is a need to understand teachers' perceptions about their work. Many special educators cite job design factors related to case management and lack of administrator support as reasons for leaving education. Nevertheless, case management is not widely studied.…

The shortage of qualified special educators within the workforce historically has been limited since the need arose over 50 years ago. Adding additional factors such as an increase in the population being identified with a disability as well as fewer individuals pursuing a degree within special education, has significantly increased the shortage…

Students in the United States continue to struggle with explaining math concepts or their solutions to math problems, despite knowing how to solve the problems. Compared to other nations, these students have been shown to perform lower in math on state tests, specifically on portions where they have to engage in mathematical writing. The research…

The movement toward inclusive education has transformed the traditional classroom into a collaborative environment where students are able to learn and grow in their least restrictive environment. Although inclusive practices help promote the social, emotional, and academic growth of all students, there are still barriers that prevent its…

The purpose of this study was to understand the difficulties encountered by special education teachers while dealing with students who had dyslexia and demonstrated challenging behavior. The topic was the experiences associated with teaching dyslexic students. There is a lack of research centering on special education teachers' experience teaching…

This mixed methods study addresses special education teachers' (SETs) knowledge and beliefs about specially designed instruction for reading, individualized education program (IEP) development, and aspects of future professional development opportunities that are supportive on these topics. Special education teachers are the primary authors of the…

The quality of a person's life, their success in school, and their options after they exit school for employment, recreation, and independence are impacted by the person's ability to read; therefore, it is of paramount importance that all students receive reading instruction from a teacher who feels prepared to teach reading. Access to equitable…

More than two thirds of students with disabilities enter secondary school with reading difficulties (Capin et al., 2022). Moreover, half of all secondary students who struggle with reading may still have word recognition difficulties (Hock et al., 2009; Leach et al., 2003; Spear-Swerling, 2015) making lack of attention to reading instruction a…