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…

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…

In both the literature on inclusive education and in international policy development, there has been considerable interest in the use of sets of indicators for the implementation of inclusive education at national and local levels. Drawing on sets of indicators developed in Europe and the Pacific Islands, this study proposes a set of such…

This study examined consultants' and consultees' perspectives of itinerant service delivery for students with disabilities in inclusive preschool classrooms. Consultants (i.e., early childhood special education teachers and related service providers) and consultees (lead and assistant preschool teachers) working in inclusive preschool classrooms…

Prior research on new teacher mentoring has focused on reducing teacher attrition rates. However, studies have yet to explore the descriptions of early-career special education teachers in a formal mentoring program. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how early-career special education teachers, located in one school…

Instructional change rarely happens easily in educational settings where complex systems and rigid practices may be well-entrenched (Kovacs, 2018). Yet, educators are routinely called to adapt to shifts that occur when new pedagogical practices are integrated into established models of instruction. For teachers to feel good about their craft, it…

A critical component of blended early childhood/early childhood special education teacher preparation programs is preparing future educators who have the knowledge and skills to work with culturally and linguistically diverse children and families. International field experiences that immerse pre-service teachers (PSTs) in another culture can…

This study aims to determine the metaphoric perceptions of special education pre-service teachers regarding the concept of assistive technology. The phenomenology pattern, one of the qualitative research approaches, was employed in this study. In this study, 81 special education pre-service teachers participated. The study used a questionnaire…