Adolescents with behavioral disorders suffer academic and social struggles when compared to general education adolescents in the United States. As behavioral health strategies gain greater priority in schools, interest has increased in the use of yoga practices as one of the key approaches to addressing student well-being. The majority of previous…

Highly qualified and well-prepared transition professionals are arguably the most important piece to improve postsecondary outcomes for youth with diverse needs. A dearth of dynamic field placements for preservice teachers to connect coursework to practice has been identified as a gap in teacher training. This need could be potentially filled by…

This study examined special education and general education teacher understandings of inclusive education for their students with complex support needs. Teachers were asked to discuss their experiences with inclusive education, focusing on their students with complex support needs in the areas of behavior, cognition, or medical/physical needs. The…

Despite extensive advocacy and research underscoring the benefits of inclusive education, students with Extensive Support Needs (ESN) continue to be predominantly placed in segregated educational settings, making inclusion a "wicked problem" within the field of education. Wicked problems are characterized by complexity, interconnected…

Accumulating research points to the effectiveness of clinical simulations as a means for improving pre-service educators' social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies. However, no available research addresses in-service educators. The present study attempts to add to the research literature by exploring the differential effect of clinical…

As a response to the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) federal statute, Maine enacted a rule requiring all schools to provide additional support to students who are not on track for meeting state learning standards beginning in 2012. One intent of the requirement was to improve student achievement, and another was to reduce…

High rates of special education teacher attrition negatively impact teachers and students. In an effort to address attrition and support new special education teachers, many school districts pair mentor teachers with novice teachers. Effective mentoring programs have been shown to alleviate some of the stresses of novice teaching and reduce the…

The similarity of teaching assignments between mentor and novice teachers are typically regarded as necessary prerequisites for successful mentoring relationships. Yet, due to the personnel shortages and specialized teaching assignments in special education, it is not always possible to match novice special educators with veteran special…

This study compared two goal-setting approaches found in the Precision Teaching literature, namely the minimum celeration line and the beat your personal best during the mathematical practice of three male students diagnosed with autism, aged 8-9. An adapted alternating treatments design with a control condition was embedded in a concurrent…

This study had two research questions: how do special educators describe their experiences implementing mindfulness and their perceptions of its usefulness for students with autism spectrum disorder. Multiple data sources were used, including interviews, document analysis, and analytical memoing. A qualitative multiple-case descriptive case study…

The high attrition and turnover rates of qualified special education teachers (SETs) is a significant concern exacerbated by COVID-19. Unfortunately, there are limited studies available on research-based interventions to decrease burnout. The purpose of this study was to describe our processes and results for adaptations and modifications of…

The high attrition and turnover rates of qualified special education teachers (SETs) is a significant concern exacerbated by COVID-19. Unfortunately, there are limited studies available on research-based interventions to decrease burnout. The purpose of this study was to describe our processes and results for adaptations and modifications of…

The question of how to best meet the social and emotional needs of PreK students in Maine has been a legislative focus in recent years, including two attempts to convene legislative task forces to restructure the provision of special education services for children aged 3 to 5. This Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) study sought to…

Parent-to-Parent individualized mentoring is an understudied strategy that has potential for supporting parents of children with disabilities as they learn to navigate the special educational planning process. Preliminary findings from a formative evaluation of individualized, intensive parent-to-parent mentoring services are shared. Data were…

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of technology-supported sexual abuse prevention training provided to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In addition, the social validity of the research was investigated based on the opinions of the mothers of the children participating in the research. The study was conducted with 4 male…