This mixed methods program evaluation examined teacher and administrator perceptions regarding fidelity of implementation of components of the teacher evaluation program with middle school special education teachers. These components include pre-conferences, observations, and post-conferences; summary evaluations; and professional development…

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often struggle with comorbid disorders like anxiety. However, special education teachers may lack the training to implement specific interventions in the classroom setting for adolescents with ASD and anxiety. This qualitative action research study was conducted to examine how special education…

Beginning special education teachers often leave the field within the first 3-5 years of employment. There is ample research available on mentoring programs for beginning teachers. However, limited research exists on mentoring programs for beginning special education teachers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived…

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…

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of special education teachers with general education teachers who are not in a co-teaching model of inclusion in North Carolina high schools. The study examined how inclusion is implemented at the school level and how special education teachers and general…

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have trouble in the classroom when it comes to social interactions, changes in routine, disordered environments, and intense sensory stimulation. In this study a workshop was designed to assist special education teachers and school administration to manage challenging behaviors of students with…

The COVID-19 pandemic not only caused a disruption to the education of children, but has contributed to the ever-growing teacher shortage in the United States. In an effort to better understand the effects of the pandemic on special education teachers, this study utilized a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology to explore the lived experiences…

Students of all ability levels, including those identified with intellectual disabilities (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), can benefit from improving their ability to take their knowledge out of the lower-order learning realm and transferring or applying into higher-order learning. Practical application of knowledge is important for…

The researcher examined literature and data related to policies and organizational structures of special education case management within California public schools. A review of literature exposed issues related to special education teacher attrition, burnout, role ambiguity, and growing expectations all while lacking support. Previous studies also…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore two research questions around how novice special education teachers in the United States describe their experiences, obtained in formal preservice training programs or informal settings, that positively affected their self-efficacy to manage a classroom of students with complex…

Pacing guides are commonplace yet controversial in American public schools. For teachers who question their usefulness, one means to circumvent them is to exercise autonomy in pedagogical decision-making, though doing so comes with challenges. Through interviews, we examined how 87 gifted and general education 4th and 5th grade math and…

This quantitative study researched teachers' efficacy in inclusive settings to determine if teacher education programs adequately prepared teachers to teach in an inclusive environment. Over one hundred Michigan-certified teachers responded to the validated Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) survey, exploring teacher efficacy toward…

Previous educator occupational burnout literature has focused on how its presence compromises student outcomes, educators' occupational performance, and the quality and effectiveness of the learning environment, itself. To date, only a handful of scholarly articles have been published exploring or comparing educator occupational burnout prevalence…

Soft skills are the much sought after skills employers are seeking from their employees. In the workforce there is a significant gap in employment rate between individuals with learning disabilities and their same-aged peers. The problem this study sought to address was that high school students with learning disabilities are graduating from high…

This report provides data about the special education teacher pipeline in Pennsylvania and projects associated with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Special Education's Attract, Prepare, and Retain (APR) efforts. We first used administrative data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education to provide a historical portrait of the special education…