This article describes the Reaching American Indian Special/Elementary Educators (RAISE) program, a community-based native teacher education program located on the Navajo reservation in Kayenta, Arizona. The preservice teacher preparation partnership program is designed for uncertified Navajo special and elementary education preservice students…

Teachers' perceptions of incentives and deterrents for teaching special education, teachers' movements between districts over a 5-year period, and teachers' future professional goals were queried through a survey of 484 Alaska special education teachers conducted by the Alaska Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD). Retention of…

Survey and case study data were analyzed to determine differences between the credibility and effectiveness of support teachers teaching mathematics. Results indicated the importance of cooperation between mathematics teachers and support teachers and significant differences between the perceived roles and abilities of the two groups. Includes…

Freddy, a student diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder served for part of the school day in special education, was having difficulty staying on task. Teachers reported that Freddy was continuously getting up out of his seat, bothering classmates, and making verbal comments or requests without raising his hand. Observations were…

This research study focused on the special nature (i.e. different from mainstream education) of special education and the experiences of teachers with regard to the challenges they face in teaching the mentally handicapped child. Special schoolteachers have the responsibility to offer not only good, but also highly individualized and goal-directed…

With a view to developing support for university accreditation, this small-scale study assisted 18 special educational needs coordinators (SENCos) to identify significant learning at work and consider possibilities for accredited learning projects. Participants wrote and shared narratives of critical learning incidents, assessed the contribution…

Twenty-five recent graduates of a Master's Program in Early Childhood Special Education participated in focus group interviews designed to explore their perceptions and experiences regarding their first years of practice in urban schools. Findings revealed that participants faced many challenges including collaboration with colleagues, seeking…

Special education is now an established part of public education in the United States--by law and by custom. However, it is still widely misunderstood and continues to be dogged by controversies related to such things as categorization, grouping, assessment, placement, funding, instruction, and a variety of legal issues. The purpose of this…

This thesis reports on a study in which 10 Swedish special education teachers were interviewed concerning the following six topics: (1) personal background and choice of a career; (2) professional knowledge; (3) the role of a special education teacher; (4) educational goals and methods; (5) cooperation; and (6) thoughts about the future.…

This paper describes the professional development team (PDT) concept, reports results of a study of the development and year-long implementation of a PDT, and describes the effects of the PDT on school personnel and on subsequent implementation of a professional development school (PDS). The PDT is presented as a viable option for improving K-12…

This paper identifies issues associated with the supply and demand of culturally and linguistically diverse teaching professionals, particularly special educators. It notes an alarming disparity between the supply and the demand of special education teaching professionals representing diverse populations. First, data on general and special…

This paper looks at trends toward more inclusive education for students with disabilities in Sweden in the context of budgetary cut-backs in school resources. It reports on a project that investigated processes of defining target populations for special education in Swedish schools. Special educators (N=27), classroom teachers (N=35) and…

This paper reports on the perceptions of West Virginia teachers and administrators regarding the effectiveness of individual education plans (IEPs) in guiding discipline decisions for students with disabilities. Telephone interviews were conducted with 141 regular and special education teachers and administrators in all 55 West Virginia counties.…

The annual review of the activities of the Colorado Commission for Achievement in Education found that the primary focus of the Commission's activities during 1996 was a study of graduate education, and to this end a task force on graduate research and education was created to study issues related to current basic and applied research at graduate…

A 3-year research and development project examined ways to improve the retention of special education teachers in the Memphis (Tennessee) City Schools. Several individual studies identified sources of dissatisfaction with teaching and the conditions that would encourage career longevity among teachers. Responses from 470 special education and…