Mediated Development: A Framework for Fostering the Internalization of Concept-Based Materials

Special education continues to suffer from chronic and persistent teacher shortages. For example, in 2000-2001, nearly 53,000 special education teachers, 12% of the teaching force, were less than fully certified, affecting more than 800,000 students with disabilities. In addition, many school districts lose special education teachers as the school year progresses, particularly in urban and rural areas. Since traditional sources of teacher supply, college and university preparation programs, have been unable to meet the growing demand for special education teachers, alternative routes to certification (ARC) have proliferated. Recognizing that there is a need for highly qualified special education teachers, it is essential that we develop innovative and creative alternatives to get interested individuals prepared, licensed, and into classrooms serving students with learning disabilities. As noted in the following statement, the Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD) agrees that strategies for recruiting and developing highly qualified professionals are necessary. Still, we must ensure that ARC programs deliver research-based teacher preparation and that graduates of such programs meet agreed-upon professional standards. ********** No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the proposed Individuals with Disabilities with Education Act (IDEA) have encouraged the development of alternative routes to certification (ARC) in special education. Even prior to these legislative efforts, ARC in special education had become a growth industry. In 1995, Buck, Polloway, and Mortorff-Robb found that 24 states offered ARC programs in special education, an increase of 19 states since 1991. Recently, it was found that 34 states offer more than 175 different ARC options, with California and Texas accounting for the largest number (Rosenberg, Boyer, Sindelar, & Misra, 2003). Analyses of the School and Staffing Survey (Connelly, 2003) indicate that over 15% of those who hold certification in special education earned it through an ARC; among those who are uncredentialed and seeking certification, 24% report being in an ARC program. Factors contributing to the proliferation of ARC in special education include (a) the persistent and growing shortage of special education teachers affecting over 800,000 students with disabilities, (b) the acute need for personnel from underrepresented groups, and (c) criticism from political action groups outside the profession and professionals within the profession (e.g., Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, 1999) that traditional approaches to teacher preparation are self-serving, bloated, and over-regulatory. Unfortunately, our collective knowledge base of ARC programs in special education does not match either the growth or current levels of interest in and advocacy for such programs. Rosenberg and Sindelar (2001), in a comprehensive review of the literature, found very little on the nature and efficacy of specific programs in the professional literature. They asserted that the avail able literature represented merely the tip of the ARC iceberg and that a large underground economy for teaching credentials is in place in many areas of the nation. CLD recognizes the need for highly qualified general and special education teachers. For those responsible for the recruitment and retention of qualified special education professionals, in particular, there is a most troubling trend: As the number of children with special education needs increase, it is increasingly difficult to find highly qualified personnel who want to pursue a career in special education. …

Occupational therapy is the profession of supporting children with special needs to optimise participation in the school curriculum. Occupational therapy service in school is described as an integrated service between stakeholders to support inclusive education, special education, and mainstream programmes. This research explored three main objectives, (1) the status of occupational therapy service delivery for special education in Malaysia, (2) the specification of the occupational therapy capacity within special education, and (3) the challenges in the implementation of the practice in the Malaysian context. The research employed quantitative study and individual semi-structured interviews with occupational therapy professionals and special education teachers. A descriptive analysis was utilised for the quantitative research, and a thematic analysis was applied for open-ended interview questions. The finding showed a scarcity of occupational therapy service provision in the special education programs in Malaysia. The function of school-based occupational therapy practitioners was mainly providing screening, individual assessment and intervention, training to teachers and parents, and consultation on special education school placement. The themes that appeared in challenges encountered in the practice implementation were the inadequacy of school-based occupational therapists in the practice setting, funding deficiency in terms of facilities, political governance impact, and the collaborative practice between teachers and therapists. In conclusion, this study provides insights and discernment on implementing school-based occupational therapy practice to support special education service delivery in Malaysia. This study is significant to highlight the necessity to strengthen special education provision through support service practice.

Challenges faced by Special Education teachers require approaches which are able to lessen the burden shouldered by them. These teachers strive to achieve the goals of Malaysia Education Ministry, the Zero Reject Policy, which is to accept all students that enrolled in schools. The implementation of these programs needs the expertise of special education teachers to ensure their success. This situation burdens special education teachers whom are directly responsible for the development of students with special needs. These individuals are the ones whom execute the curriculum and are essential in the accomplishment of positive results for students with special needs. Therefore, this research is done in order to strengthen the knowledge of special education teacher, so that they are prepared for any future struggles in their line of work. Professional practices that are carried out in the PISMP program, IPGM are the foundation in giving future special education teacher the exposure to the real life challenges to be faced as the educators in Special Need education in schools. This case study follows two trainee teacher which is undergoing their practicum in Sekolah Kebangsaan Coronation Park, Ipoh, Perak. Observations, interviews and documents researching are used in this study. This specific school offers mainstream school programs and special education program, which is the Inclusive Education. These two trainee teacher majors in special education, and minor in mathematics. As teachers whom are minoring in mathematics, they are required to teach the subject in the mainstream school program. The class which they are teaching are to involve the special needs students which are enrolled in mainstream classes. The findings of this study shows the strength and weaknesses of the teachers involved. These educators that are involved in inclusive education have the basics of special education knowledge. The results also highlights the issues and challenges faced by these trainee teacher in the whole duration of their 3 months practicum. The drawbacks faced during the research can be made as reference and guidelines for the further improvement of future programs.

This study examines the relationship of the high school principal and school climate with regard to special education. Perceptions of principals and general and special education teachers regarding school climate were measured by the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire-Rutgers Secondary (OCDQ-RS) (Hoy, Tarter and Kottkamp, 1991). Perceptions of principal behaviors with regard to special education were measured by the Special Education Principal Behavior Profile (SEPBP), developed as a portion of this study. Findings suggested that principals and special education teachers have significantly different perceptions of school climate. Principal behaviors related to special education which were moderately correlated with the openness factor of school climate on the OCDQ-RS include making programmatic changes to meet the needs of disabled students, providing special education students with an opportunity to schedule general education classes, interacting with disabled students, and enforcing the laws and regulations and supervising the IEP process. Other principal behaviors include assisting disabled students and special education classes. Issues related to hiring practices were also identified. The perceptions of special education teachers and principals differed significantly in six areas. These include supervising the IEP process, reviewing IEP records and advising staff of special education laws and regulations. Principals and special education teachers also differed in their perceptions regarding equal access to school resources, reviewing and revising school goals, and that students with disabilities were included in goals for the school. Case studies were conducted on two high schools that received paired dichotomous scores on the OCDQ-RS and the SEPBP. Those findings indicated that both principals were minimally involved in special education programs. Responsibilities involving special education were delegated to a department head and/or an assistant principal. Supportive principal behaviors, consistency in staff, and student integration in the school and the community were primary contributors to the success or lack of success experienced by students and teachers.

Tbere has long been concern in special education about the shortage of teachers who are fully certified in their main teaching assignment. Based on a national probability sample of 46,599 public school teachers, this research provides data on the certification status of both special and general education teacbers. Findings are presented for four types of teachers who enter the teaching force each year, and for two types of teachers who continue in public schools from the prior year. Results showed a chronic annual shortage of about 29, 000 fully certified teachers in special education (9.8%), a level that was almost twice the number in general education (5.59%). The shortage of fully certified teachers in special education was attributable mostly to entering teachers (32% not fully certified) and to continuing teachers who had not become established in their teaching positions (14% not fully certified). These percentages were higher than observed in general education, a finding partly due to the higher rate of turnover of teachers in special education. Implications for teacher education, professional development, and retention are discussed.

Aim: To document the experiences of Special Education (SPED) language teachers in their language teaching, collaboration with parents and interaction with fellow educators in mainstream education.
 Study Design: The study used Qualitative method.
 Place and Duration of Study: Monkayo Central Elementary School, Compostela Valley, Philippines during the school year 2019-2020.
 Methodology: The participants were five male and female Special Education teachers. They used purposive and snowball sampling. Information was gathered through in-depth interviews using validated researcher-made questions written in multilingual (English, Tagalog, and Cebuano). The information was analyzed thematically.
 Results: The special Education teacher dealt with various areas of language learning depending on the learner's impairment. Teachers also improvised approaches and developed coping mechanisms in dealing with experiences. This research provided implications to increase efficiency in language teaching in Special Education programs; increase parents' engagement in school activities and programs; and improve special education and mainstream education teachers' interaction.
 Conclusion: In conclusion, the research highlights the significant challenges faced by SPED language teachers in educating learners with special needs. Despite these obstacles, SPED teachers have demonstrated remarkable resilience, employing various coping mechanisms and fostering cooperation with parents and mainstream teachers. Their unwavering commitment, patience, and positivity exemplify their dedication to providing the best learning opportunities for their special needs students

The Attitudes of Special Education Teachers and Mainstreaming Education Teachers Working in Cyprus and Special Education Teachers Working in the USA towards Mainstreaming Education

Purpose This study aims to selects a teacher training program located in China’s rural area and focus on its preservice teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in China and their expectations of teacher training programs. Design/methodology/approach The selected teacher training program is in School of Education of a comprehensive university, located in a small town in Northeast China. Five preservice teachers in the Department of Teacher Education were interviewed. The interviewees were randomly selected among those who have already gained at least 60 credits of coursework prior to the interview. Each interview lasted for approximately 0.5 h. Interview notes were summarized and coded using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step approach. In addition to interview data, other data sources were used, such as classroom observation and review of curriculum and program requirement. Findings Although the selected teacher preparation program started offering some selective special education courses to preservice teachers, there are limited number of offerings and a lack of field placement in inclusive settings, and stereotypical opinions towards disabilities still exist as a roadblock for choosing special education teacher profession. Research limitations/implications The current study only focuses on one rural teacher training institution and report preservice teachers’ opinions toward teacher education curriculum, factors that lead to their decision in the teacher education major and their vision towards inclusion in China. Recommendations are provided to increase public awareness of disability, and create more field based experience in inclusive settings for preservice teachers. However, the result may not be generalized to reflect preservice teachers of teacher training institutions located in developed areas where there are rich opportunities for field experience in inclusive setting or special education programs, and who offer more extensive special education courses. Practical implications It is recommended that teacher preparation program modify curriculum and offer more special education courses, as well as develop connections with local special education schools and inclusive programs, thus creating more field based opportunities for preservice teachers to work with children with disabilities. Originality/value There are limited studies on rural preservice teachers’ attitudes towards being a special education teacher and how the teacher training programs prepare them to become a special education teacher. The current study fills the gap and conduct an interview study of preservice teachers’ from a rural teacher training programs perceptions of China’s special education, how they choose the program of study that prepare them to become a special education teacher, and their rating of the teacher preparation program.

Administrative and leadership requirements are crucial to the application of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in special education. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess the availability of administrative and leadership requirements for applying EBPs in special education programs from the teachers’ perspective, as well as determine the differences in their availability depending on the variables of disability category (intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and learning disabilities (LDs)) and school stage (e.g., primary or middle school). The sample included 243 special education teachers working in the city of Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire on the administrative and leadership requirements for implementing EBPs in special education programs (prepared by the researchers) was used to collect data. The results revealed the availability (which ranged from moderate to high) of administrative and leadership requirements for implementing EBPs. Moreover, there were differences in the availability of administrative and leadership requirements according to students’ disability category; these differences were in favor of the learning disability group. However, there were no differences according to the academic stage. We recommend conducting further research on administrative and leadership requirements using different methods.

Students’ trauma-related behaviors are negatively impacting their academic and social/emotional outcomes in our schools. The effects of student trauma are far-reaching, resulting in behavioral outbursts and poor academic achievement. In order to address the trauma experienced by many of today’s students, and particularly students served in special education, programs that prepare teachers to work in special education should include training in trauma-informed pedagogy. To effectively implement trauma-informed instruction, special education teacher candidates should be provided opportunities to learn about, collaborate on, and implement trauma-informed pedagogy within their teacher preparation coursework, as well as field-based coursework within inclusive general education classrooms. Research suggests that one of the most impactful approaches to trauma-informed instruction for K–12 students utilizes a neurodiversity, growth mindset, strength-based framework, which encourages students to see themselves as powerful and increasingly successful in their academic learning. Gathering together these various insights from theory and research, special education preparation programs should incorporate three principled practices to improve our special education student outcomes: (a) preparation and practice in trauma-informed pedagogy, (b) re-framing K–12 learning to a neurodiversity/growth mindset perspective instead of the deficit perspective more common in special education, and (c) training and practice in authentic adult collaboration because collaboration among educators working with special education students has been shown to be highly effective. In this chapter, I provide definitions of and rationales for each of these principled practices from a graduate-level special education teacher preparation program followed by examples of highly effective instructional tools and activities that instructors may adopt and adapt to enhance their work in both special education and general education teacher preparation programs.

The overrepresentation of U.S. minority students identified for emotional and behavior disorders special education programs plagues schools and challenges researchers and practitioners. Arcane methods including teacher nomination continue to guide referral processes, despite compelling evidence of their influence on disproportionate special education placement for children of color. As universal screening practices are deployed, emerging evidence suggests that requiring a teacher, parent, or student to complete a rating scale may reduce disproportionality. By using available research to posit that if schools engage in universal screening of behavioral and emotional risk using formal scales, fewer children of color would be placed in special education programs. The logical and evidentiary case for universal screening is made and questions requiring more research are presented.Keywords: disproportionality, emotional behavior disorder, behavioral and emotional risk, special education referralEarly intervention and prevention programs have been linked to positive school outcomes such as high school completion, promoting increased well-being, and enhanced resilience (Blair & Diamond, 2008; Greenberg, Domitrovich, & Bumbarger, 2000). Blair and Diamond (2008), for example, found that intervening to improve emotional and behavioral regulation among students at risk for school failure increases their likelihood of academic success. However, current practices for identifying students in need of behavioral and emotional support in schools often fail to identify all students who need support, are implemented after student problems have increased in magnitude, and tend to identify a large number of minority students (Ferri & Conner, 2005; Skiba, Simmons, Ritter, Kohler, Henderson, & Wu, 2006).Increasing pressures on school districts and state education agencies to address the disproportionate number of African American students in special education programs have had little impact on the practices employed for identifying students for these programs (Artiles & Bal, 2008; Artiles, Bal, & King-Thorius, 2010). School districts continue to use teacher referral practices that identify an over representative number of African American students for special education and related services (Ferri & Conner, 2005; Semmel, Gerber & MacMillian, 1994). These practices also overlook the value of norm-referenced child data; these data are rarely used in special education decision-making, including the eligibility determination process (Ferri & Conner, 2005; Kim & Rowe, 2004). For these reasons, a change in the methods used to identify students with behavioral and emotional disorders is warranted. This article reviews research suggesting that the use of student self-report universal screening instruments may diminish the overrepresentation of African American students in special education programs, and guide early intervention for students at risk for behavioral and emotional disorders.DlSPROPORTIONALITYDisproportionality refers to the disproportionate or unequal number of students of color in special education programs. Research in the area of disproportionality generally investigates both the overrepresentation of minority students in special education programs and the underrepresentation of these groups in programs for the gifted and talented, (Waitoller, Artiles, & Cheney 2010). This article will focus on the overrepresentation of Black students being referred for special education services.Researchers have attempted to understand the cause of, and develop remedies for, the overrepresentation of African American students in special education programs for more than five decades (Dunn, 1968; Ferri & Connor, 2005; Ferri, Connor, & Connor, 2010; Harris, Brown, & Richardson, 2004). According to the U.S. Department of Education (2006), African American students are identified with a disability and placed in special education programs at a significantly higher rate than their White peers. …

We used data on the student teaching placements, degrees, teaching credentials, and workforce outcomes of more than 1,300 graduates of special education teacher education programs in Washington to provide a descriptive portrait of specific measures of special education teacher preparation and their relationships with workforce entry and early-career retention. Although rates of workforce entry and retention for these special education candidates were high, we documented considerably lower rates of entry into and retention in special education teaching positions for candidates who hold a dual endorsement in special education and another subject. These patterns have potential implications for the state’s new dual-endorsement requirement and for dual-licensure programs more broadly. Student teaching with a cooperating teacher who is endorsed in special education was also associated with a higher likelihood of becoming a special education teacher, even when controlling for whether the placement was in a special or general education setting.

This study aims to improve the operating guidelines of the Special Integration Education Program (PPKI) in Malaysia through qualitative methodology. The problem statement for this study is the insufficient operational guidelines for the Integrated Special Education Program, leading to sub-optimal results for students with special educational needs. Research objectives include identifying key challenges in the implementation of Special Integration Education Program operating guidelines, exploring stakeholders' perspectives on the current system, and developing recommendations to improve Special Integration Education Program operating guidelines. The literature review highlighted previous studies on the subject, emphasizing the need for a more comprehensive approach to the operationalization of Integrated Special Education Programs. The conceptual framework shows how the research will be conducted, using qualitative methods such as semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The findings are expected to contribute to the improvement of the implementation of the guidelines for the operation of the Integration Special Education Program in Malaysia, which will ultimately benefit students with special education needs.

Over the past three decades, the severe shortage of special education teachers has continued to pose a significant challenge for schools in several countries. This study investigated factors that influence an individual’s decision to choose a career in special education. Understanding more about the experiences of those entering the field of special education provides insight to assist in recruiting individuals to meet this demand. Nineteen graduate students enrolled in a university’s special education program in the United States completed a survey and participated in semi‐structured interviews to examine factors that contributed towards their decision to choose a career in special education. Seven factors were identified: experiences with individuals with disabilities, degree program/career goals, a preference for special education, a desire to be an advocate, influence from others, other educational experiences, and personal reasons. In addition, the participants provided recommendations for teacher preparation programs to effectively recruit special education teachers. The recommendations included providing more information to others about what special education teachers do and the impact they make, and providing more exposure to individuals with disabilities.

A critical requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education is that school personnel and parents collaborate in the development and implementation of students’ special education programs. Collaboration has been a crucial requirement of the IDEA since 1975. Collaboration is necessary in formulating student’s special education services and implementing programs that meet students’ needs. In this article, we examine the critical importance collaboration plays in special education law. To do so we examine (a) the history, evolution, and language of the IDEA; (b) rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts addressing issues in collaboration; and (c) regulations and policies from the U.S. Department of Education. To meet the mandates of the IDEA, school districts need to employ general education teachers, special education teachers, and building-level and district-level administrators with skills in collaborating to support the education of all students and to meet the requirements of the IDEA.