As one component of a program improvement grant provided by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEPs), the authors' teacher preparation program (TPP) underwent substantial program redesign. In this article, the authors provide a detailed overview of the process they undertook to revamp their program based on the fundamental question,…

Effective classroom management skills are essential for teachers. Unfortunately, many teachers do not receive adequate classroom management training prior to beginning their teaching careers and feel unprepared for the demands of managing student behaviors in their classrooms. In this article, we describe (a) the number of states with state policy…

In this review of the literature, the authors examined studies investigating course delivery methods for preparing special education teachers. Ultimately, 17 studies were reviewed using a constant comparative qualitative method of analysis. This analysis led to the emergence of five themes: (a) established needs, (b) effectiveness, (c) logistics,…

Teacher preparation has been under intense scrutiny in recent years. In order for preparation of special education teacher candidates to remain viable, candidate assessment practices must apply practices identified in the extant literature base, while special education teacher education researchers must extend this base with rigorous efforts to…

Through a mixed-methods study, teacher educators investigated recent graduates' perceptions of their preparation program. Beginning special education teachers completed surveys and indicated (a) their level of preparation and confidence associated with 25 core competencies, (b) the most beneficial components of their preparation program, (c)…

Efficient lesson planning with universal design for learning (UDL) enables teachers to more effectively meet students' individual needs. In this study, a comparison of lesson plans by teacher candidates in a teacher preparation program before and after UDL training is presented. After training, teachers (n = 45) incorporated more differentiated…

Understanding the context of the demand for special education (SE) teacher education (TE) faculty is important because it can provide faculty at doctoral-granting universities with useful information for program planning. Knowing more about SE teacher preparation programs currently in place and program revisions being planned allows doctoral…

Family-centered care and responsiveness to diversity are issues of great import for early childhood special education teachers. Nevertheless, the research for these related areas is divided throughout the field. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a master's-level course designed to integrate instruction in family-centered…

In this article, the author details the findings of a study of completers during their last semester of a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program in special education. The purpose of this multiple-case study was to understand how the extent to which the program was implemented, the participants' background and career trajectories, and the…

Distance teacher education programs employing videoconferencing technology and other online teaching tools are increasingly being used to prepare teachers of students with disabilities in rural and remote communities. This evaluation study compared the effectiveness of a distance and an on-campus teacher education program for teachers of students…

Teacher education programs are limited in terms of available face-to-face instructional time for preparing general education teacher candidates to work with students with exceptionalities. Given this constraint, developing innovative use of technologies may assist in meeting the demand for highly qualified teachers for such students. In this…

Training received by teachers of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in one southern state was investigated. Teachers (n = 90) reported training received via an online version of the Autism Treatment Survey. The most common type of training reported was attendance at a full- or half-day workshop; fewer than 15% reported receiving…

The author's preservice program prepares both single and dual certification master's students to teach in inclusive classrooms. This article provides an overview of the context in which, and for which, the program was designed, a description of the program, including what the author means by inclusive education and critical special education,…

Although collaborative teacher education programs have grown in number over the past two decades, we still do not understand the ways in which these programs, or the practices in those programs, improve the preparation of inclusive teachers. At a time when teacher education's viability is being questioned, it is problematic that little information…

The alignment of the teacher quality provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the transparency of low achievement of students who have disabilities under the testing mandates of NCLB have converged to create substantial renewed interest and activity in collaborative programs…