Inclusion of students with disabilities has been practiced and advocated for more than two decades in the United States. This practice involves the placement of students with disabilities in a general education classroom for part or all of the day, and the primary instructor is a general education teacher in collaboration with a special education…

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,…

In this article, the authors present a rejoinder to Drs. Boscardin, Mainzer, and Kealy's response to their article "Preparing Special Education Administrators for Inclusion in Diverse, Standards-Based Contexts: Beyond the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium" (ISLLC; Voltz & Collins, 2010).…

The purpose of this commentary is to respond to the article written by Voltz and Collins (2010) that considered the preparation of special education administrators for inclusion in diverse, standards-based contexts by highlighting the Administrator of Special Education Standards that were adopted in 2009 by the Council for Exceptional Children.…

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…

More children with special needs are educated in general education classrooms than ever before. Ideally, special education and general education teachers work together in these settings as instructional teams, but a "one teaching, one assisting" model is often in place with the special education teacher assuming a subordinate role. As such, the…

The authors examine the influence of autism training sessions on a group of beginning teachers. The results of the study indicate that even a limited amount of professional development and/or training, strategically placed within the confines of a teacher training program, can both significantly increase participants' perceptions and knowledge of…

In 2006, the authors' college joined the ranks of those offering programs for young adults with intellectual disabilities on campus. The program includes several inclusive courses in which typical students study together with their peers with intellectual disabilities. This article describes how 12 pre-service teachers who participated in an…

The degree to which special educators serve in a meaningful collaborative capacity in inclusive classrooms has come under scrutiny, and hence, the quality of collaboration training afforded requires examination.This article describes the results of a survey conducted with 53 undergraduate pre-service special education training programs…

When graduate students enter special education programs, they arrive with dispositional knowledge that can assist or hinder them in their professional development. Over the course of two years, the researchers in this study assessed the dispositions of beginning teachers in a special education program at a west coast state university. The…

General education and special education teacher candidates lack experience in collaborating with each other as colleagues; however, upon graduating and entering their own classrooms, most are expected to know how to provide services to students with disabilities in the general classroom. This study describes the efforts of two professors, one in…

As P-12 education changes to meet the needs of children and federal and state regulations, teacher education must change to prepare candidates with knowledge and skills expected of today's educators. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and No Child Left Behind Act increased opportunities for students with disabilities to be educated…

To adequately prepare preservice teachers to implement inclusive classrooms, teacher preparation programs must encourage professional interaction, collaboration, and knowledge about inclusion. Although some of these skills can be presented in coursework, prospective teachers must be provided with opportunities to practice these skills in classroom…

Collaborative problem solving is an activity in which special education teachers and other school professionals work together to solve the academic or behavioral problems of their students. The purpose of this study was to understand preservice teachers' perceptions of a collaborative problem solving activity they implemented with other…

The purpose of the current study was to examine beginning special educators' experiences in their attempts to implement two key requirements associated with reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1997: access to the general education curriculum and participation in general education programs. We conducted in-depth interviews…