Dual Certification in Special and Elementary Education and Associated Benefits for Students With Disabilities and Their Teachers

Abstract

Researchers and policymakers use certification as a metric of teaching quality in subject areas as well as subfields of education. We examined the association between having a teacher with dual certification in elementary and special education and math and reading achievement for students with disabilities (SWDs). We also examined whether dual certification related to teachers’ efficacy and job satisfaction. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study: Kindergarten Class of 2010–2011, we employed ordinary least square regression models supplemented with school and child fixed effects to examine differences for children with disabilities based on certification type of their teachers in kindergarten, first, and second grades. After controlling for confounding variation at the school and child levels, we find that SWDs with teachers with dual certification score better in math. Results also suggest that teachers with dual certification exhibit more positive dispositions related to teaching SWDs.