Special development: The nature, content, and structure of special education teachers’ professional learning opportunities

Abstract

Professional development can support teachers and improve teaching. Special education teachers engage in complex work while implementing special education policy and integrating disabled students. This study applies the occupational perspective to portray the nature of special education teachers’ professional learning opportunities and offer suggestions on how to optimize professional learning experiences for these teachers. We present findings from a phenomenological study of special education teachers’ professional learning opportunities in Connecticut, USA. We surface the extent to which induction for new teachers and the content and structure of professional development align with tenets of effective professional development. While induction experiences and specialized professional development sessions presented strengths, we ascertained gaps in teachers’ opportunities for collaborative, contextualized professional development. We describe how professional development shapes the socialization and professional identity of special education teachers with consequences for teacher retention and the implementation of special education services.