In this article, issues surrounding the status of special education teaching as a profession are investigated. First, the authors consider what makes an occupation a profession and examine the range of views of professions in American society. Second, the authors describe the evolution and developmental history of three established professions:…

With the proliferation of alternative route (AR) special education teacher preparation programs, many teacher educators are likely to be involved in AR program design and implementation. Unfortunately, few resources have focused on best practices for program developers to prepare the nontraditional participants who typically populate their…

Proponents tout licensure reciprocity as a means for alleviating teacher shortages. In this paper, we describe existing national and regional reciprocity agreements and consider the arguments underlying this proposition. We use research on teacher shortages, the reserve pool, within-state variation in demand, and teacher mobility to draw…

Information from 121 chairs of 1997-98 special educational search committees was collected. The majority of positions were at the rank of Assistant Professor and were left vacant due to faculty mobility. Seventy-three percent of searches ended successfully; 76% of those hired were women; and 20% were culturally or linguistically diverse. (Contains…

This paper describes the growth of private-sector involvement in the delivery of postsecondary education and its effect on institutions and on the development of general and special education teachers. It contends that the corporate approach to activities and governance is antithetical, if not hostile, to teacher-education reform. (Author/CR)

Describes a model for providing individualized and comprehensive support for beginning special educators in the face of acute personnel shortages. Describes the interacting factors in the model specific to the individual teacher and to the teaching environment and tasks. Provides recommendations for implementation of the beginning-teacher support…

Explains the lack of connection between the knowledge base that exists to improve the education of children with disabilities, and the practices of districts and professionals. Discusses the lack of teacher preparation and the difficulties that veteran teachers have in finding the time and energy to implement best practices. (CR)

Discusses the differing viewpoints on special education teacher preparation in previous articles in the same journal. Addresses the need to include special education in comprehensive long-term societal reform efforts, while also ensuring that new roles and activities do not diminish critical day-to-day instructional efforts. (CR)

Five alternatives to traditional field experiences in special education are described and contrasted, including: infusion of experiences within content courses; traditional experiences offered during the summer session; working practica; roving practica; and specialized field-experiences. It is argued that these alternatives can provide…

Johns Hopkins University (Maryland) has developed a field-based two-year experimental program leading to alternative certification (AC) and a master's degree in special education. The program features special recruitment procedures, intensive on-the-job university-based supervision, and local school mentoring. Evaluation of the AC teachers during…