Educators often feel ill-equipped to support autistic students in general education contexts, although research shows that inclusion in these settings can contribute to positive outcomes. Professional development (PD) in evidence-based practices (EBPs) for autistic students can address this need; however, it is essential to understand the…

The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent the identified 25 evidence-based practices were provided in teacher education and in-service training programs for special education teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder. A total of 63 participants completed the online questionnaire. The number and percentage of responses in…

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…

In this study, the authors present findings from a survey of 577 secondary special educators in a large Midwestern state regarding their reading pre-service and in-service teacher preparation and its effect on teachers' sense of preparedness for teaching reading to adolescents with disabilities. Six models were fitted using multinomial logistic…

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…

Enormous resources are committed by universities to prepare special educators to impact student outcomes of our most vulnerable and neediest learners. Generalizing teaching skills from university to K-12 classrooms must be a component of teacher preparation curriculum; otherwise, we continue to merely train our teacher candidates and hope they…

Co-teaching is a widely implemented instructional strategy that poses unique challenges to teachers and may require targeted training. This study considers the role of pre-service and in-service professional development opportunities regarding co-teaching and teacher confidence, interests, and attitudes regarding co-teaching in a sample of general…

Although evidence-based practices (EBPs) for educating children with autism, such as pivotal response training (PRT), exist, teachers often lack adequate training to use these practices. The current investigation examined the efficacy of a 6-hour group workshop plus individual coaching for training 20 teachers to use PRT. Results indicate that the…

Although research identifies a plethora of evidence-based instructional practices, classroom teachers find research difficult to access and often of little relevance to classroom practice; therefore, they do not implement these practices. Bridging the gap between research and practice requires continued and mediated support as teachers translate…

This article presents research that was conducted at the Autism Institute, an organization serving children with autism and their families in the People's Republic of China. The article examines and highlights aspects of the teacher training model at the Autism Institute that have led to the preparation of highly qualified, enthusiastic, and…

This quasi-experimental study examined the effectiveness of Assessing One and All (AOA), a Web-based teacher professional development program. AOA was designed to enhance teachers' assessment literacy and skills in general and inclusive educational assessment practices. Fifty-five teachers from Arizona, South Carolina, and Wisconsin participated…

A study evaluated the Research Lead Teacher (RLT) model in providing follow-up support to 18 general elementary education teachers who were learning and implementing a strategy instruction process. Data indicate it took between 3-9 weeks of the RLT model for teachers to consistently implement all the steps of strategy instruction. (Contains…

Three Head Start teachers who served students with special needs in their inclusive classrooms participated with an early childhood special education teacher conducting peer coaching sessions. Results indicated that all Head Start teachers increased their rate of responsive statements. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Preservice and inservice teachers enrolled in an inclusion course interviewed 28 teachers teaching in inclusive classrooms. Over half of the interviewed teachers failed to mention the importance of support services in their definitions of inclusion and the majority indicated teaching in inclusive settings is to some degree problematic. (Contains…