This article illustrates how two teachers, a general educator and a special educator, used an interactive process in planning an interdisciplinary science unit for an inclusive Kindergarten classroom and how they addressed Universal Design for Learning (UDL) components. This planning process included capitalizing on each teacher's knowledge and…

Serving over 1.1 million students in more than 1,800 public schools, the New York City Department of Education is the largest school district in the nation. When individuals graduate from college with a bachelor's degree in teacher education the New York City Department of Education assign a school-based mentor for one year. The case study…

The provision of progress monitoring is mandated under federal law for children receiving special education services. In recent years, professional organizations have recommended that this provision be extended to include children receiving services within multi-tiered systems of support. Organizations representing the field of early childhood…

In recent years, there has been a growing body of research on childhood trauma and its potential effects on the development of a child into adulthood. The findings of this research indicate that those who have undergone traumatic experiences might demonstrate effects in their behavior, interactions with others, management of stressful situations,…

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…

The provision of progress monitoring is mandated under federal law for children receiving special education services. In recent years, professional organizations have recommended that this provision be extended to include children receiving services within multitiered systems of support. Organizations representing the field of early childhood…

Stress management programs have been developed to improve teacher coping and prevent burnout. While many of these programs have promise, few have included special educators in intervention studies. Intervention programs may be beneficial for teachers in special education to increase their awareness of stress and use of coping skills, which in turn…

The current study examined what makes special education teachers remain in the profession. We will examine this, uniquely, separately among teachers in special education schools versus special education classes in general education schools. Participants were 212 special education teachers in special education schools and 257 in special education…

U.S. national data indicate that approximately 90% of rural students with a reading disability read at or below basic levels of reading proficiency. A growing body of research demonstrates that the ability to make inferences is essential for reading comprehension but particularly difficult for students with reading disabilities. Compounding…

Across the United States, school leaders and administrators are confronted with widespread shortages of special educators--a challenge that may feel insurmountable at times. Shortages of special educators mean open teaching positions go unfilled or are filled by personnel who may lack the preparation and certification known to lead to positive…

Special educators are among the countless professionals adversely impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. Before the pandemic, the special education profession was associated with increased occupational stress, anxiety, and job dissatisfaction. As we progress through the first post-pandemic school year, special educators continue…

Behavior skills training (BST) with ongoing coaching is an effective form of professional development that creates sustained educator practice change and improves student outcomes. We provide a model for how BST can be used to improve the implementation of evidence-based practices with both teachers and paraprofessionals, the latter of whom often…

With the research reported on here we investigated the motivation of pre-service special education teachers to choose special education as major. The participants were 332 pre-service teachers from 10 universities in Chile. A latent profile analysis with 5 motivational factors of the factors influencing teaching (FIT)-choice scale was carried out…

The focus of the study is District A's expected instructional coaching for veteran special education teachers. A mixed methods study was conducted to analyze the perspective of the teacher receiving the instructional coaching. The study included a semi-structured survey that was compared to individual student growth from start score percentiles in…

Introduction: The shortage of teachers of students with visual impairments is well documented, yet little research exists exploring the motivations of why individuals join the profession. This study evaluated why alumni of a Southeastern teacher preparation program became teachers of students with visual impairments and how they chose which…