The purpose of this study was to examine the supervision of special education instruction in urban public elementary schools by interviewing three principals regarding their roles in the supervisory process. Through these interviews the researcher attempted to identify concepts or themes that might guide principals in identifying effective strategies for supervising special education teachers and programs within urbans schools. The review of literature within this topic yielded several related themes including current special education legislation, the skills needed by principals to supervise special education teachers, school principal preparation and training, and supervisory processes. This study was qualitative in nature and utilized a case study method to examine the principal's role in supervision of special education instruction in urban school settings. It investigated the central processes involved in the supervision of special education instruction, needs that are addressed by the process of supervision, circumstances that cause supervision to be conducted the way it is, and elements that are considered barriers to the implementation of special education instruction. The research topic, the overarching research question, and the four sub-research questions yielded five major themes. The themes emerging from the study represented the competencies principals need in order to provide effective supervision for special education programs within schools. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]