Preparing Preservice Special Education Teachers to Engage in Family Collaboration: A Case Study of One Preservice Teacher Preparation Program

The role of any teacher education program in the field of special education has been to prepare its graduates to become successful classroom teachers. Teacher education programs have constantly searched for the best available practices to educate future teachers. Historically, textbooks have been the predominant form of information dissemination within the university culture. The use of textbooks, bound by structure and limited by content, has narrowed the knowledge base that teacher education graduates bring to their role as practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to promote the increased use of literature in preservice special education teacher preparation programs to better prepare educators to serve individual learners with special education needs.

Agricultural mechanics has become a primary subject area for school-based agricultural education (SBAE). However, despite a long history and high prevalence in SBAE, preservice and in-service SBAE teachers have frequently expressed concerns regarding teaching agricultural mechanics. Research from the early 21st century documented the characteristics of preservice SBAE teacher training in agricultural mechanics on a national level. However, more recent studies have suggested that the agricultural mechanics training requirements for preservice SBAE teachers have changed. The purpose of this study was to compare the level of agricultural mechanics preparation of preservice SBAE teachers between 2000 and 2021. To accomplish this, I modified an instrument used by Burris et al.to collect descriptive data about preservice teacher preparation in agricultural mechanics that was compared to previously published studies. The instrument was distributed to a representative of every institution with an undergraduate SBAE teacher preparation program in the contiguous U.S. Eighty-five respondents provided usable data, constituting an 86.7% response rate. The resulting data was used to describe the participating institutions and the current approaches to SBAE preservice teacher preparation regarding agricultural mechanics. These results were compared to previously published studies from 2000 and 2005. Additionally, faculty’s perceptions of importance and preparation of preservice teachers in 59 agricultural mechanics competencies were used to generate Ranked Discrepancy Scores (RDS) to evaluate perceived areas for training for preservice teachers. A reduction in the average number of required agricultural mechanics credit hours was found. Additionally, faculty’s perceptions of importance and preservice teacher preparation have increased slightly; however, training deficits were found in all 59 competencies. The areas of greatest need focused on technology-based equipment and renewable energy. Further research is warranted to v determine the perceptions of preservice and in-service SBAE teachers regarding agricultural mechanics. I also recommended that teacher educators evaluate their current methods of preparation for preservice SBAE teachers in agricultural mechanics to determine if they have been meeting their students’ needs. Additionally, I recommended professional development in the areas in which the greatest training deficits were reported.

Merging regular and special education teacher preparation programs: The integrated special education-english project (ISEP)

ABSTRACTSchool‐wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) is a multi‐tiered system of supports that promotes a safe and equitable school environment by supporting the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of all students, including those with extensive support needs (ESN). Research suggests not all students with ESN access and meaningfully participate in all aspects of PBIS, in part due to teachers' misconceptions and negative beliefs concerning the involvement of students with ESN in PBIS. In response to calls for research focused on teacher preparation in this area, we conducted an exploratory survey study of 34 course instructors in undergraduate and graduate teacher preparation programs that prepare special education teachers of students with ESN with a specific focus on universal, Tier 1 PBIS. Instructors at the undergraduate and graduate levels reported addressing a wide range of content focused largely on knowledge acquisition, with fewer reports of course activities involving skill development and practice‐based applications. Overall, instructors viewed the inclusion of content focused on PBIS for students with ESN as important. We present detailed findings, implications for special education teacher preparation programs, and directions for future research extending this line of inquiry.

More than 40 years after passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), some special education teacher preparation programs offer limited coursework on parent involvement, advocacy, or home–school collaboration. For pre-service special education teachers and/or novice special education teachers working with students with disabilities and their parents in practice, prior parent involvement coursework often enhances knowledge and abilities to provide resources, advocacy support, and insight. Yet, for this to occur in practice, special education teacher preparation program faculty should continue to consider how curriculum that instructs and provides resources regarding home–school collaboration, advocacy, conflict resolution, and federal legislation and programmatic support can enhance parent involvement. Therefore, this article examines IDEA parent involvement provisions, IDEA-mandated and federally funded conflict resolution options, and Parent Training and Information Centers that provide parents resources and support. Also, this article offers suggestions for teacher preparation faculty developing or refining parent involvement curricula.

Special education teacher preparation programs vary in their usage of practices (e.g., modeling and performance feedback) that have consistently been shown to effectively coach pre-service teachers to sustain high-quality implementation of teaching practices. Research even suggests that some pre-service special education teachers may not receive any of these coaching practices during their field experiences. In this article, we describe a feasible multimedia coaching option for teacher educators and teacher candidates to use to streamline the observation and coaching process using effective coaching practices and improved consistency. Specifically, this multimedia tool can be used to document pre-service teacher practice, generate feedback, deliver targeted instruction, and provide the opportunity for structured self-reflection.

In reference to the reflective nature of the methodological design of the current pre-service English teacher education program at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, considerable challenges related to teacher-education were noted during the emergency online switch. For this reason, the theory/practice connections, typically strengthened via the practical, experiential and reflective components of university teacher-education programs, were put to the test. The research is aimed at identifying the challenges of the online switch and focuses on comparison of the effectiveness of in-person versus online instruction in the pre-service English teacher preparation program. The research questions seek to examine whether teacher-training sessions online are more demanding and challenging, and potentially less effective (as perceived by the respondents), compared to the in-person teacher-training practices. The study results offer a valuable insight into the teacher-trainees’ perceptions of the challenges and effectiveness of the online English teacher-training course implementation in comparison with the in-person mode.

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.

Using racial formation theory as the ballast of this study, I interviewed seven Black men who were in preservice special education teacher preparation programs about what motivated them to enter the field. Data collection methods and analysis focused on participants’ educational trajectories and introductions to the field of special education. I found that Black men in this study chose to enter special education as a result of varying influences, including prior experiences working with children or the suggestions of mentors. All participants indicated that they were “doing it for the culture”; that is, their career choices were in response to a pressing desire to be agents of change, primarily driven by an awareness of the needs of Black boys who are disproportionately represented in special education programs across the United States. Finally, I explore implications for future research and practice.

The purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of pre-service special education teachers in South Korea towards teaching physical education to students with disabilities. The qualitative descriptive case study was used to examine the perceptions of five pre-service special education teacher candidates using in-depth semi-structured interviews, a review of the teacher education curriculum, and the researchers’ field notes. The data were analyzed using constant comparative data analysis and exposed three themes, which were: (a) teaching students with disabilities in South Korea, (b) a lack of competency in teaching physical education, and (c) the challenges of teaching students with disabilities. In this study’s results, pre-service special education teacher candidates showed a lack of competency in teaching physical education to students with disabilities. Nevertheless, teacher candidates realised the many benefits of students’ participation in physical education classes. Therefore, it has been suggested that university faculty in teacher education programs should provide an opportunity for pre-service special education teachers to engage in practicum training and take classes to increase their content knowledge in teaching physical education.

Research suggests that teachers' definitions of advocacy are highly influenced by their academic preservice education, even more than their other experiences (Mevawalla & Hadley, 2012), leading to this being a critical focus for undergraduate pre-service teacher preparation (Snyder, 2012). Advocacy can be viewed by preservice teachers as a worthy, albeit intimidating, goal. This chapter describes a structured advocacy project in an undergraduate teacher preparation program. The project was broken down into component parts across the students' final semester and served as the capstone seminar for the teacher preparation program.

Special education teacher preparation programs typically require training in delivery of standardized achievement assessments. Appropriate administration of standardized assessments in eligibility and instructional planning process are critical. To insure production of valid assessments, pre-service teachers at Utah State University must deliver a valid checkout assessment directly to course instructors. On-campus, this process is accomplished with ease. However, when the course is offered at a distance, cost of checkouts is substantially greater. To reduce costs, checkouts were conducted over a teleconferencing system using an online support tool. In this article, authors describe online checkout procedures and an initial evaluation of the online tool to facilitate valid assessments of pre-service special education teachers' achievement test delivery skills over a distance delivery system.

Agricultural mechanics is a primary subject area in school-based agricultural education (SBAE). Despite a high prevalence in SBAE, preservice and in-service SBAE teachers have frequently expressed concerns regarding teaching agricultural mechanics. Early 21st century research documented the characteristics of preservice SBAE teacher training in agricultural mechanics, although more recent studies have suggested that the agricultural mechanics training requirements have changed. This study sought to compare the agricultural mechanics preparation of preservice SBAE teachers between 2000 and 2021. A survey instrument was distributed to a representative of every institution with an undergraduate SBAE teacher preparation program in the contiguous United States, resulting in an 86.7% response rate. The results were compared to previous studies from 2000 and 2005. A reduction in the average number of required agricultural mechanics credit hours was found. Faculty perceptions of importance and preservice teacher preparation had increased slightly; however, deficits were found in all competency groups. Further research is warranted to determine the perceptions of preservice and in-service SBAE teachers regarding agricultural mechanics. Recommendations include that teacher educators evaluate current preparation methods for preservice SBAE teachers and provide professional development in the areas where the greatest training deficits were observed.

In this issue, Marilyn Cochran-Smith provides the first of two Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) articles based on her chapter in the upcoming fifth edition of the Handbook of Research on Teaching (Cochran-Smith, Villegas, Abrams, Chavez Moreno, Mills, & Stern, in press). Her handbook chapter presents the findings from the review of 1,500 teacher education research studies published between 2000 and 2012. JTE is publishing the review in two parts. The first part, the lead article in this issue, describes the procedures and theoretical/analytical framework used in the literature review and outlines three major trends that have influenced the nature of research programs in teacher education: increased attention to teacher quality and accountability, changes in our conceptions of teacher and student learning, and changing demographics. Part 1 also presents the findings from the first of three major research programs in teacher education identified through the search--teacher preparation accountability, effectiveness, and policies. Part 2, to be published in the next issue of JTE, discusses the findings from the remaining two research programs. The first research program includes studies on alternative certification and pathways, analyses of policy trends and discourses, assessment of preservice teachers (PSTs) and/or teacher preparation programs (TPPs), and program evaluation studies. Cochran-Smith's reference in the article to her JTE editorial 10 years prior (Taking Stock in 2005; Cochran-Smith, 2005) prompted us to reflect on the contributions of JTE to advances in teacher education research in the areas identified in the first program described in the study. We comment briefly on research and issues associated with accountability, effectiveness, and policies in relation to the Cochran-Smith article and previous JTE articles published during our tenure as editors. Advances in Research on Teacher Preparation Accountability The theme of accountability has been widespread and persistent over the past 5 years, and JTE has published theme issues and articles related to the use of value-added models to determine the effectiveness of TPPs (Volume 63:5) and to examine the role of performance assessments in accountability (Volume 65:5). The articles on value-added modeling (VAM) for TPPs in the theme issue provide some support for the potential of the approach to provide feedback to policymakers and educators on the achievement of students taught by teachers in different TPPs (Gansle, Noell, & Burns, 2012; Plecki, Elfers, & Nakamura, 2012). However, the potential of using VAM for teacher preparation is diminished by the complexity and limitations of the choice of variables selected for the VAM models; the nature of the accountability criteria; the unidimensional focus on student standardized tests; decisions made about selection, estimation, and reporting; and the unintended consequences of the approach (see Floden, 2012; Goldhaber & Cowan, 2014; Henry, Kershaw, Zulli, & Smith, 2012; Lincove, Osborne, Dillon, & Mills, 2014.) The pitfalls associated with VAM make it less acceptable to educators as a high-stakes accountability measure and appear to outweigh the potential. On the other hand, performance assessment of teacher candidates (TPA) has been suggested as an alternative or addition to VAM to determine TPP effectiveness (Knight et al., 2014) and was the theme of the previous issue of JTE (Volume 65:5). While performance assessments appear to receive more support from educators as they can be used for program improvement as well as evidence for certification and licensure, problems with validity and reliability as well as questions about conceptualization of teaching and accompanying value assumptions have emerged (see Caughlan & Jiang, 2014; Duckor, Castellano, Tellez, Wihardini, & Wilson, 2014; Sato, 2014). More research is needed to address the concerns of both accountability approaches and to determine the feasibility of using a combination of VAM and TPA for high-stakes TPP accountability. …

Shifts in special education over the last 25 years have increased the pressure on special education teacher preparation programs to improve the quality of opportunities to learn provided to teacher candidates. One aspect of quality that has not been extensively explored in the literature is the interaction between the individual candidate—the learner—and preparation experiences. Using survey and interview data from special education teacher candidates across six teacher preparation programs, we explore how candidates with differing levels of teacher self-efficacy (TSE) experience preparation. Findings suggest that TSE shaped how candidates made sense of preparation and what they took up from their opportunities to learn. Across phases, candidates with low- and high-TSE differed in how they reported on their learning opportunities and then how they interpreted these opportunities as shaping their future practice. We end with implications for research, policy, and practice in special education teacher preparation.