Improving the quality of the teacher workforce is high on the nation's education policy agenda, but school systems continue to face difficulties in staffing STEM and special education classrooms with qualified teachers. This article documents the mismatch between the supply and demand of STEM and special education teachers in Washington State,…

Discrete-trial instruction (DTI) is a behavioral method of teaching young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that has received a significant amount of research support. Because of a lack of qualified trainers in many areas of the world, researchers have recently begun to investigate alternative methods of training professionals to…

Collaboration between special educators and transition coordinators is important to lower recidivism rates among juvenile offenders with disabilities. This column provides best practice transition guidelines and urges special education teachers, special education coordinators, and transition coordinators in juvenile correctional facilities to…

Recent research has explored the efficacy of the CRA-I (concrete-representational-abstract) strategy with students with disabilities (Strickland & Maccini, 2012, 2013). The CRA-I strategy is a promising practice that special educators have used to teach algebra to students with high-incidence disabilities. The CRA-I strategy is a modification…

Body image disturbance continues to be recognized in increasingly younger populations. Eating issues among elementary school children have become more overt and statistically prevalent in recent years. Elementary school counselors are in important positions to provide their communities with early detection information and prevention strategies.…

Young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face unique social skills challenges as they transition into independent living environments and seek fulfilling relationships within their communities. Research has focused on social education and interventions for children with autism, while transitioning young adults with ASD have received…

A single-subject multiple baseline design across four teacher-student dyads was used to investigate possible functional relationships between the independent variable of coaching and electronic performance feedback and dependent variables of teacher behaviors (BSP, general praise, OTR, reprimand) and student disruptive behavior. Subjects were four…

The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) supports research that contributes to the identification of effective strategies for improving the performance of current teachers and other instructional personnel, and related services providers in ways that increase student learning and achievement, social and behavioral skills, and…

Teacher education programs are typically seen as innovative models of teaching, but how do teacher educators stay current in methodologies that reach diverse and underserved students? This study documents the initial teaching concerns of seasoned teacher educators (PK-8th grade), across areas of study, and followed them across two years as they…

Becoming an expert special educator is no easy task! Even if you have mastered the basic expectations for your job, those expectations are continually evolving, becoming increasingly complex and rigorous. Unfortunately, your efforts to develop the knowledge and skill to effectively meet these expectations and serve students with disabilities are…

With the growth in blended and fully online K-12 instruction, all students, including those with disabilities, are finding online learning a viable option to address learner variability. Personalized learning or the individualized education program appears to align well with the many features of blended and fully online instruction. The purpose of…

The purpose of this research was to study the content of the work of two special education professions in Sweden, special teachers and special pedagogues. In addition, we compare their work to the work of Finnish special teachers. The Swedish participants were 74 special educators: 27 special teachers and 47 special pedagogues. The Finnish data…

Teacher-preparation programs across the nation are faced with multiple mandates that aim to increase rigor and effectiveness of future educators. In the state of Illinois, all teacher-preparation programs must revise and redesign their coursework to align with the new professional teaching standards and licensure requirements. This article will…

An increasing number of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are being educated in general education settings. Teacher attitudes can play an important role in the successful inclusion of students with ASD. The present study investigated general educator attitudes toward students with ASD. One hundred and fifty-four general education…

A three part experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of coaching as a support for special education teachers, and the impact that coaching has on teacher behavior. First, 6 focus group dyad interviews were conducted utilizing a coach and special education teacher, for a total of 12 participants. The purpose of the focus group was to…