This research examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural special education teachers and their resilience. Special education teachers face unique challenges in supporting students with diverse learning needs, and the pandemic has exacerbated these difficulties. The study focused on rural special education teachers in Nebraska and…

The primary purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate whether special education and general education teacher perceptions of collaboration, leadership, and efficacy beliefs influenced student performance on STAAR. Quantitative data were collected using a Qualtrics survey consisting of 56 items regarding special education and general…

The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between teacher efficacy and enthusiasm using a mixed methods approach. Efficacy as a construct was explored, along with understanding both the positive and negative drivers of that construct. The research was conducted to understand the following: the reliability and construct validity…

Little is known about the quality of the special educators who move schools, switch to general education, or leave teaching. In this study, the author examined if turnover (moving schools within a district, moving schools between districts, switching to general education, or leaving teaching in the state) was associated with two common indicators…

This study aimed to examine and compare the teaching efficacy of paraprofessionals in the four desired domains identified in prior research about teaching special education: academic instruction, behavioral management, assessment, and professional ethics; and to identify what demographic or background factors predicted paraprofessional efficacy in…

As instructional leaders, principals establish a vision of effective instruction in their schools and support that vision through evaluation and development efforts. Thus, their beliefs about instruction in special education may have direct consequences for special educators and their students. Though research suggests principals lack experience…

Whether teachers navigate between inclusion, technology, technology innovations, technology instruction and mobile intervention, they all have one thing in common, their ability and desire to deliver instruction. The researcher explored the relationship between the teacher's self-efficacy to deliver instruction to students with disabilities taking…

This quantitative study examined general and special education teachers' self-efficacy, attitudes, and teaching efficacy in implementing inclusive practices in Texas secondary schools. Grounded in Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory, the research explored how teacher efficacy impacted the successful integration of students with disabilities into…

This research sought to understand the experiences and perceptions of special education inclusion teachers (SEITs) from an urban county in Central Georgia. The qualitative narrative analysis proposed here aims to give school districts insight into why SEITs leave the field. This study followed a basic qualitative design. Participants were pulled…

Students with learning and other education-related disabilities generally demonstrate low mathematics achievement. While this is a complex phenomenon, one related factor may be low teacher self-efficacy for teaching mathematics to these students. The current study was a preliminary investigation (N = 40) into (a) differences in self-efficacy…

In this study, we compared the results of 27 special education teachers' evaluations using two different observation instruments, the Framework for Teaching (FFT), and the Explicit Instruction observation protocol of the Recognizing Effective Special Education Teachers (RESET) observation system. Results indicate differences in the rank-ordering…

Despite the acknowledged importance of integrating creativity into school curricula, students with learning disabilities often lack the skill of creativity, due to its absence in classroom instruction. To address these gaps, the authors developed a needs analysis questionnaire assessing the necessity of a creativity module for primary school…

As more K-12 educators leave their teaching careers, it is unclear why they decide to depart from teaching. Retention is an ongoing problem, particularly with special education inclusion teachers (SEITs). A qualitative narrative analysis was conducted with four SEITs to determine why they departed from their profession. Each participant was…

Burnout is an increasing issue among special education teachers (SETs), impacting students, the education system, and society. This study aimed to identify burnout profiles of SETs and explore the relationship between these profiles and the levels of teacher agency and meaningful work. Latent profile analysis was used to define burnout profiles as…

The transition to virtual learning resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered the work of many teachers. Despite the expansion of remote instruction, more research is needed to demonstrate what works for classroom management during virtual learning. We report the findings from an online survey related to online classroom management.…