Special education faculty members (n = 12) from a large Western university participated in a four-year professional development program centered on increasing their cultural responsiveness. During the fourth year the primary investigator interviewed faculty members regarding their perceptions and the impact of the program. Each interview was…

The authors conducted a comprehensive review of research to identify the impact of coaching on changes in preservice and in-service teachers' implementation of evidence-based practices. They identified a total of 13 studies from the 20 years of literature they searched. In general, coaching improved the extent to which teachers accurately…

In this article, the authors propose an agenda for special education teacher education researchers, with particular attention to policy work and studies of innovations in pre-service preparation, induction and mentoring, and professional development. Because previous research is limited and unfocused, the foundation for future research is weak,…

In North Carolina, where the state must hire 10,000 teachers every year just to fill existing classrooms, highly qualified special education teachers are included in the top three areas of greatest teacher shortage, behind math and science. Such needs, which include an increase in teachers from ethnic minorities, challenge teacher educators to…

In Singapore, special education has traditionally been perceived as distinct from general education. Students with learning and behavioral difficulties in general education classrooms are often neglected. Typically, this is due to the fact that many general education teachers lack the competencies required to work with students with diverse…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 904) raise the achievement expectations of all students, including students with disabilities. These requirements place new responsibilities on institutions of higher education and state educational agencies…

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of five years of system-wide reform on factors associated with the job satisfaction of juvenile justice teachers. Prior to this research, no data were available on the effect of reform on the job satisfaction of this population. A comprehensive survey was administered to teachers who had been in the…

A statewide survey was completed by 234 special education teachers with experience in developing assessment portfolios within the Illinois Alternate Assessment (IAA) system. Relationships between these teachers' demographics and their perspectives, concerns, and self-reported practices related to the IAA system was identified and described. These…

This is the first in a series of articles addressing conceptions of teacher learning, and the implications of these conceptions for improving the practice of teaching. This article provides descriptions of three perspectives on teacher learning: knowledge-for-practice, knowledge-in-practice, and knowledge-of practice (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999).…

Assistive Technology (AT) devices and services have been legally mandated for several years. However, the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Act Amendments P.L. 105-17 (IDEA1997), which states that every student with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) must be considered for AT, had enormous implications impacting approximately six…