Research shows the number of paraprofessionals who provide support to students with exceptionalities is increasing (Data Accountability Center [DAC], 2010) and that special educators are becoming increasingly responsible for managing, training, and supervising paraprofessionals who support students with exceptionalities (Carlson, Brauen, Klein,…

This study examines the effect of teacher preparedness and the effectiveness of professional development that has been designed to enhance special education instructional strategies. The purpose of this qualitative study is to determine the preparedness level of general teachers and special education teachers that enable them to effectively teach…

This "Equity by Design" research brief summarizes a study published by Waitoller and Maggin (2018) in the special education journal "Remedial and Special Education." The purpose of this research was to examine whether charter schools mitigate racial inequities evidenced in access to general education classrooms in neighborhood…

Anxiety disorders are highly comorbid with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and can negatively impact student functioning, particularly relationships with peers and teachers. Though cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) is increasingly used to address anxiety in school-aged youth with ASD, few studies have included school personnel in CBT treatment…

Self-management is an effective, well-researched set of strategies for increasing, decreasing, and maintaining one's own behavior. Self-management strategies have been shown to be effective in supporting students with disabilities, with the ultimate outcome of greater independence. Self-prompting, an important step in self-management, has become…

The purpose of this study was to determine if self-advocacy and social skills were targeted areas of instruction on a collected sample of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). We also measured student attendance at IEP meetings as a potential step towards self-avocation. Utilizing secondary analysis with data collected from 170 IEPs, we…

Disability studies (DS) within rhetoric and composition has productively challenged us to reexamine our commonplace assumptions about "normal" students and enabled us to understand the generative capacities of disability as critical lens. Such presence has created more space for more minds and bodies not only in classrooms but among…

Using a case study, researchers examined how preservice school counselors experienced course content and activities related to students with disabilities. Course content, activities, and pedagogical strategies were based on recommendations from counselor education scholars and Bandura's model of self-efficacy. Aligned with case study research…

African American males with disabilities meet challenges in K-12 public education and higher education. Educational practices often focus on a deficit interpretation of the abilities of African American males with disabilities. Educational stakeholders who do not reflect their layered identities of race, gender, ability, and socioeconomic status…

This study investigated whether a link may exist between the grit level of students who require special education services and their assignment completion rate and occurrence of in-class behaviors. The study was performed over a ten-week period between October 2017 and December 2017 in a high school in New Hampshire. The study comprised both pre…

A Toolkit of Emerging Best Practices and Opportunities for Charter Support Organizations Approximately 6.4 million students--roughly 13 percent of the student population between ages 6-21--receive special education and related services in public schools every year. While students identified as eligible for special education require supports and…

Learner variability exists in every classroom, can present itself in many forms, and applies to all students. There has been a positive shift in practitioners acknowledging the need for differentiated instructional practice for students' academic and behavioral learning needs. However, there is still little insight into how to successfully…

Although solving word problems involves both literacy and mathematics skills, research to date has only targeted mathematical learning. This study sought to increase teaching efficiency by embedding literacy instruction within mathematical word problem solving instruction for three elementary students with intellectual and developmental…

A set of schools located across the United States partnered with a federally funded inclusive schools systems approach to improving outcomes for "all" students--both general and special education students, including students with extensive support needs stemming from intellectual and developmental disabilities. Two years of data from the…

Self-determination skills are a critical skill set that may increase the likelihood of students with disabilities attaining positive inclusive experiences in school that lead to inclusion into society. Although a number of self-determination curricula exist, there is limited research that evaluates the effectiveness of the "ME!"…