Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have complex and unique needs that can impact their success. Evidence-based practices (EBPs) have been identified that are effective with this population, yet educators may not be adequately prepared to implement such EBPs. Special education administrators are frequently responsible for developing and…

In an effort to better support the needs of PK-12 students identified as gifted or high-ability, school leaders need to be familiar and comfortable with supporting gifted education educators and developing and evaluating gifted education programs. Gifted education educators should have defined roles and responsibilities, and school leaders need to…

Despite legal mandates and evidence of predictors of success in transition, there continue to be poor outcomes for students with disabilities as compared to students without disabilities. This article describes the first steps of a quality improvement project, including a needs assessment and description of the current constraints of transition…

In this article, we describe the evolution of a statewide alternative teacher preparation program for teachers of students with disabilities and explain current processes to revise and expand the program to increase accessibility to teacher candidates in rural schools. We will identify important features of the program including (a) significant…

In spring 2014, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) announced that it was beginning to implement a new accountability framework for special education. This framework, known as Results Driven Accountability (RDA), is intended to shift from a compliance to an outcomes focus to improve educational…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the relationship of pre-service teachers with action research. Faculty researchers wanted to find out if pre-service teachers could learn and apply the principles of action research in their teaching and to investigate how action research could be used to promote or encourage reflective teaching…

Teacher preparation programs (TPP) rely on school-based mentor teachers and university mentors to assist their teacher candidates with bridging the information presented in courses to the "real world" of teaching. Given the important role that the clinical components of teacher preparation provide in terms of candidate development, the…

Beginning teachers face significant challenges as they assume the complex work of teaching while they are still learning to teach. In addition to the activities involved with learning to effectively teach, they must also learn to work with others; collaborate with colleagues, administrators, paraprofessionals, and parents; and manage varied…

This study was conducted to designing a model of vocational training programs for disables. For this purpose desk review was carried out and the vocational training models/programs of Israel, U.K., Vietnam, Japan and Thailand were analyzed to form a conceptual framework of the model. Keeping in view the local conditions/requirements a model of…

Peer tutors can facilitate the inclusion of students with disabilities into regular education classrooms, especially in schools where money is not available for aides. The first steps in such a program are determining the best placements for students with disabilities and training the peer tutors. Training should cover expectations of peer tutors,…

This practicum was designed to improve the delivery of special education services to all students with special needs in a rural Canadian school district. The goal was for teachers, as members of program planning teams, to design and implement individual program plans for exceptional students according to district special education policy…

This study surveys states' mandates, definitions, and components of transition programs that assist disabled students in successfully moving to the community environment. Among the 60 state-level directors of special education surveyed, 34 state and 4 territorial directors responded to the questionnaire comprised of 8 questions, and nominated 230…

Check & Connect was created in a five year period from 1990 to 1995. The original manual, entitled "Keeping Kids in School: Using Check & Connect for Dropout Prevention" and written by David Evelo, Mary Sinclair, Christine Hurley, Sandra Christenson, and Martha Thurlow, was published in 1996 (ED398701). This newly revised Check…

The paper provides guidelines for establishing and operating teacher aide programs in special education. Chapter I considers legal aspects of using paraprofessionals with emphasis on the stance of the Nebraska Professional Practices Commission. A second chapter outlines the roles and duties of teachers and aides, offers sample job descriptions for…

A county (Harris County, Texas) education agency, along with Special Education Directors and Personnel Officers from the county's 24 school districts, identified problems in recruiting special education teachers and such related service personnel as psychologists, psychological associates, educational diagnosticians, speech therapists, art…