Youth involved in multiple systems, such as special education, juvenile justice, and foster care, often face complex challenges. Professionals inherently contribute to youth outcomes by supporting multisystem-involved youth. Through interviews, we explored the perspectives of a special education teacher, a school resource officer, a school…

Successful technology integration takes many forms and performs several functions, but at its core, the integration of technology into a curriculum must feel seamless, be student-centered, and begin with the end goal in mind. The purpose of this study was to explore how the role and function of middle and high school special education teachers…

This article shares the results from a quasi-experimental mixed-methods study of a promising transition-focused professional development approach. The 12-week team-based intervention resulted in positive outcomes among intervention group participants' knowledge and capacities. The intervention group exhibited statistically significant changes in…

Children and adults are frequently engaging in shared reading activities and storytelling within early childhood settings. This includes children with varying abilities and intersecting identities learning in inclusive or special education settings. Researchers recognize the importance of representation in children's stories, and stories that…

This paper critically examines the centrally administered pre-service teacher preparation program for learning disabilities in India. With no equivalent Indian competency standards, this paper analyses components of the teacher preparation curriculum in the light of 22 high leverage practices (HLPs) outlined by the Council for Exceptional Children…

Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are the legal documents guiding the education of students with disabilities served under IDEA. Despite the importance of these documents, noncompliance and lack of quality remain in the present levels of academic and functional performance, annual goals and objectives, and supplementary aids and services…

Limited research has examined the qualities of paraprofessional and teacher relationships in schools. Teachers' and paraprofessionals' ability to communicate and collaborate are important for guiding supports for their students. The present study examined characteristics affecting the professional relationship of paraprofessional and teacher pairs…

Paraeducators are critically important members of school communities, but there is little statewide research on the characteristics of paraeducators. We therefore use over 25 years of longitudinal data from Washington state to provide a descriptive portrait of the paraeducator workforce. Paraeducators are more racially and ethnically diverse than…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of promoting special education teacher candidates' reflective ability through a comprehensive field experience that combined (a) reflecting-on-action through video analysis with (b) reflecting-in-action through bug-in-ear coaching with real-time feedback. First, we implemented two…

Many studies have investigated the inadequacy of training and support for special education paraeducators, but few have examined prehire activities or recommended a comprehensive plan to train and hire paraeducators. This quantitative action research study of 267 special education paraeducators and special education teachers was conducted in a…

Multilingual learners labeled as disabled have less access to bilingual educational programming compared to their nondisabled peers. As well, special education teachers have not been prepared to support multilingual learners. Therefore, the present study examined whether coaching may be an effective form of professional development for special…

Research on teacher retention and attrition suggests that it may be particularly difficult to fill special education positions in rural, economically disadvantaged, high-minority, and urban U.S. schools. Although teacher retention and attrition have received considerable attention in the literature, less is known about the reasons special…

The 2022 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Review in England has proposed changes to the way in which SENCos are trained before working in English schools. Although the DfE collects data relating to the demographics of all teachers, the 2022 SEND Review Green Paper does not draw on this to support or inform the changes being…

Increasing the post-secondary readiness of students is a critical focus for districts nationwide. Many schools offer college, career, and military readiness counseling (CCMR) for general education students; however, little attention to no attention is paid to the post-secondary needs of students in special education programming. Federal…

This professional practice dissertation examined the application of Program Transition Points implemented in a K-12 Special Education Initial Licensure Program to ensure effective teacher preparation and successful program completion. Feedback from educational stakeholders, data results from program and internship evaluation outcomes, and the…