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…

With the research reported on here we investigated the motivation of pre-service special education teachers to choose special education as major. The participants were 332 pre-service teachers from 10 universities in Chile. A latent profile analysis with 5 motivational factors of the factors influencing teaching (FIT)-choice scale was carried out…

The focus of the study is District A's expected instructional coaching for veteran special education teachers. A mixed methods study was conducted to analyze the perspective of the teacher receiving the instructional coaching. The study included a semi-structured survey that was compared to individual student growth from start score percentiles in…

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…

There is a shortage of special education teachers, particularly in rural locations. The revolving door of special educators is a burden on district taxpayers, administrators, and students in need of special programming. Therefore, increasing and improving special education teacher longevity is a need in most school districts in rural areas. The…

Special education teachers do not always include assistive technology (AT) in instructional practices to promote the academic success of students with learning disabilities. The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons special education teachers only sometimes include the use of AT in instructional practices. The conceptual framework was…