Teachers make numerous decisions each day, yet processes undergirding these decisions are elusive and have not been the subject of many in-depth investigations within special education. The purpose of this qualitative investigation, therefore, was to complete a micro-level analysis of the influence of curriculum on 11 middle school teachers'…

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…

When the Higher Education Consortium for Special Education (HECSE) convened in January 2016 in Washington, we celebrated both IDEA's and HECSE's 40th anniversaries. As we reflected on those two anniversaries, the convictions that generated this special issue became increasingly evident: the irrevocable significance of the impact of public policy…

Challenging behavior can have adverse effects on both students and teachers, and preservice teachers often report feeling ill prepared to manage this behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine (a) preservice teacher perceptions of student and teacher behavior during scenarios of challenging behavior, (b) alternative solutions or strategies…

The provision of special education for students with disabilities depends upon the availability of well-qualified special educators, which, in turn, depends upon the availability and characteristics of preparation programs. In countries of the world where special education systems are still developing the capacity to provide the education that…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the discourse patterns characterizing individual special education teachers as they participated in a collaborative professional development (PD) group, and how these individual discourse patterns influenced other group members' opportunities to learn about reading instruction for upper elementary…

Many students with disabilities (SWD) are not meeting proficiency, and achievement scores disaggregated by disability status show that SWD are often not meeting progress targets established by states. A survey was developed to collect data from 218 general and special educators to analyze trends in teachers' attitudes and practices that may be…

In this article, the authors provide a summary of the current techniques being used to recruit, retain, and support a diverse range of scholars, including students with disabilities, in a doctoral program. The manuscript provides a summary of the current need for leadership personnel who are scholars with knowledge in special education, general…

Nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior (NSSIB) is one of the most perplexing and challenging behaviors special educators come across in their schools. Thus, there is a need for special educators to be equipped with information regarding NSSIB to help identify students with disabilities who engage in these behaviors and provide them with appropriate…

A service-learning component was embedded as the centerpiece in the Culture of Disability Across the Lifespan course, designed for students' exploration of issues related to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society. Participants included 19 university freshmen, 6 representatives of community agencies, and 3 consumers…

This manuscript examines how teacher candidates enacted their extensive inclusive classroom preparation within simulated interactions. Diffusing a common medical education pedagogy to teacher education, the researchers situated inclusively-trained teacher candidates in front of standardized paraprofessionals. Data from these simulated interactions…

Special education administrators must be prepared for their leadership roles in inclusive, culturally diverse, standards-based school settings. These challenges create the need for new skills, required for effective special education leaders in the 21st century. In this article, the authors examine the standards used to prepare special education…

Researchers have conducted two prior longitudinal retrospective syntheses of the journal "Teacher Education and Special Education." The present authors' approach is different; they analyze only the content published during their tenure as editors. They define big ideas that they believe are representative of what they published. They found that…

China has initiated experiments on "Learning in Regular Classrooms" (LRC) since the mid-1980s in response to the international trend of inclusive education and the domestic need of serving large numbers of children with disabilities. LRC is the main strategy to promote compulsory education for youngsters with disabilities. Despite the…

In teacher preparation most supervisory feedback is deferred, allowing learners to perform skills incorrectly and delivery of on-site immediate feedback may interrupt instructional flow. This study used a multiple baseline design to examine effects of immediate, corrective feedback delivered via wireless technology on completion of three-term…