Mathematics is a critical content area and assistive technology can benefit students with high incidence disabilities in accessing and achieving in this domain. Yet, the field lacks awareness of how often teachers use assistive technology in mathematics and what types of technology they are using. This study sought to understand teachers' self…

Within the educational research community, there have been a growing number of published research studies in teacher education that adopt a self-study approach. Researchers suggests that self-study in teacher education has the potential to animate the idea of teaching as reflection, model an inquiry-based approach to pedagogy, and generate rich…

Parent empowerment includes the ability to meet the needs of one's family while feeling in control. This phenomenological study seeks to understand the experience of 71 parents of children with disabilities who participated with pre-service teachers in a 16-week special education course between 2006 and 2010. Analysis of pre-course and post-course…

Alternative schools serve a population of students who have come in conflict with the codes of conduct of their home school district. Students with disabilities are subject to the same codes of conduct and occasionally are referred to alternative schools. These referrals constitute a change in placement mandating alternative schools to provide…

Special educators must engage students with special needs in transition planning to help students set and achieve goals with regard to postsecondary education, vocation, community engagement, and independent living. Researchers have examined many aspects of transition planning, but few have examined how students with special needs experience the…

This research study reveals the stories of 19 special educators who participated in, or were summoned to testify, in one of the forms of special education litigation in the state of California. For most participants, their involvement was in a due process hearing conducted by the Office of Administrative Hearings under contract with the California…

Bullying perpetration and victimization have become pervasive problems in American schools. Recent research suggests a causal association between prolonged periods of victimization and overt acts of school violence. These findings are germane to students with disabilities in light of evidence suggesting these students are victimized more often…

Because of the important role secondary special educators have in the transition to adulthood of adolescents with disabilities, it behooves educators to have an understanding of human development. The lifespan perspective on human development is particularly relevant to transition planning. Individuals with a lifespan perspective believe…

A national mail survey of Head Start preschool teachers (N = 500) was conducted to assess their practices, the availability of specialist support, and their views related to emergent literacy instruction for Head Start children who have a disability or developmental delay. The responding teachers (n = 254) reported that (a) nearly one quarter of…

In this study, researchers operated from cognitive and situated perspectives to understand how individual qualities and contextual factors influenced elementary special education teachers' learning in a multifaceted professional development (PD) project, Literacy Learning Cohort, focused on word study and fluency instruction. Grounded theory…

Despite a rural Georgia school district's effort to increase the academic performance of all students, the achievement gap persists between general education and special education students. The purpose of the study was to explore what factors hindered coteachers from consistently applying differentiated instruction in elementary inclusion…

This issue of the Occasional Papers Series aims to draw attention to the use of storytelling as a medium for provoking dialogue about inclusive classrooms and school communities. It offers readers stories of classroom life that provide insights into understanding the complexities that make up the lives of children with disabilities, their…

Advances in online learning have benefited rural special education teacher preparation programs through increased recruitment, access, and collaboration. This paper describes how additional challenges, such as monitoring teacher candidate use of evidence-based practices, can be addressed through a digital teaching platform. Project REACH online is…

Young writers, especially students with disabilities, have difficulty writing complete essays, and when asked to revise often make only surface-level changes. Individualized feedback may lead to gains in writing achievement, but finding class time for feedback is difficult. Using a multiple probe across participants design, the effectiveness of…

The authors consider the future of special education personnel preparation by responding to an overarching question: "What frameworks might teacher educators use as a basis to promote special education teacher effective performance now and in the future?" In answering this question, they summarize current trends in the context of…