Familiarity with local disability information and resources can impact the ways educators support students with disabilities and their families. We surveyed 462 educators regarding their awareness of and access to disability-related information and resources. Specifically, we examined (a) their familiarity with resources and services across…

Bullying in schools is a national problem receiving much needed attention. Teacher workplace bullying is a lesser known but equally debilitating problem. Our purpose in doing this study is to examine the problem of teacher workplace bullying and its effect on teachers, students, and schools. We surveyed 173 general and special education teachers…

Most students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) have significant reading difficulties, but educators have few in-service professional learning opportunities geared to reading instruction for these students. The "Integrated Literacy Study Group" was developed as an online professional development program to prepare elementary…

Despite evidence that tiered instruction within response to intervention (RTI) frameworks is important for students with reading difficulties, no complementary professional development (PD) research demonstrates how teachers can develop knowledge necessary to implement coordinated evidence-based instruction across instructional tiers. One…

As paraprofessionals gain more instructional responsibilities for individual students, feasible training strategies must be established to promote effective delivery of instruction. This train-the-trainer study was designed to teach paraprofessionals how to implement an evidence-based instructional practice under the direction of the classroom…

Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) is a set of practices designed to build on students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds as teaching and learning occur. Although CRT can have positive effects on student outcomes, little research has examined teachers' self-efficacy to implement CRT practices. Using the Culturally Responsive Teaching…

Skilled reading is a complex process in which many subskills are involved, including an awareness of the morphological structure of language. Morphological awareness is the ability to understand how words are broken into meaningful units (e.g., affixes, root words). Explicit and systematic teaching of morphological concepts are reported to help…

Most students with autism engage in the general education (GE) setting for a majority of the school day. Though there are standards to identify the expectations for educating students with autism in the inclusive classroom, GE teachers and paraeducators report limited knowledge and self-efficacy in supporting students with autism, and both…

Special educators assume an essential leadership role in school-wide multilayered instructional systems for teaching culturally and linguistically diverse learners with and without disabilities, including learners at risk of being inappropriately referred for special education. Research findings from a model demonstration project are presented…

This mixed methods descriptive study examined the effects of job-embedded professional development (JEPD) in reading on the content knowledge and instructional practice of teachers of English learners (ELs). Four first-grade teachers of ELs at one urban elementary school received JEPD over the course of a year. Results of pre- and posttests of…

Few teachers receive adequate preparation to provide effective individualized instruction for children with intensive early writing needs. In this article, the authors describe an attempt to close this learning gap, by developing Data-Based Instruction-Tools, Learning, and Collaborative Support (DBI-TLC), a comprehensive professional development…

Enhancing all students' academic performance continues to be a national priority, and although achievement gains have been made overtime, shortfalls in mathematics learning for students with disabilities (SWD) remain. Research reveals that a substantial portion of the variability in students' mathematics achievement gains is due to the teacher. To…

There is a need to advance inclusive education for students with significant disabilities, and one way to support this effort is to ensure educators have expertise in, and are prepared to implement, inclusive practices. We surveyed and interviewed general and special education teachers to understand their experiences and preparation to demonstrate…

The Learning and Engagement Questionnaire (LEQ) measures instructional and environmental variables associated with learner engagement. The present study sought to determine the suitability of the LEQ to measure learner engagement with a sample of Canadian teachers and to further investigate the factorial structure in comparison with the Australian…

The current prevalence rates for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) coupled with the mandate to provide services to students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms warrants the need to examine the dynamics of inclusion for students with ASD. Focus groups were conducted with special and general educators at the elementary, middle, and high school…