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Full-Text Articles in Education

University-Based Principal Preparation Programs In Texas In 2019: Where Is Special Education?, Ann Hoa Lê, Julie Peterson Combs Oct 2021

University-Based Principal Preparation Programs In Texas In 2019: Where Is Special Education?, Ann Hoa Lê, Julie Peterson Combs

School Leadership Review

Most principal training programs in the United States focus very little on preparing aspiring instructional leaders to lead programs for students with disabilities. An examination of principal preparation programs and their SPED components is necessary at a time when standards have been revised and new certification exams have been constructed in Texas. To explore the presence of SPED topics in principal certification courses, we used a classical content analysis with a group of university-based principal preparation programs. Almost half of the universities in our study required 18 semester hours or fewer for principal certification, and none of these had course …


Using Data To Inform An Educational Staff Training Manual: Pilot Study, Jillian Dawes, John Lum, Jennifer Silber Carr, Nathan Lambright, Stephanie Child Feb 2020

Using Data To Inform An Educational Staff Training Manual: Pilot Study, Jillian Dawes, John Lum, Jennifer Silber Carr, Nathan Lambright, Stephanie Child

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Evidence-based staff training in education is limited in the research literature. While several targeted components of staff training exist, no prior research has combined evidence-based procedures into a multi-component staff training manual. The purpose of the current pilot study was to improve training for new staff in a special education setting. A needs assessment indicated social validity in developing and implementing programs for behavior support plan training and phasing-in staff during training. Based on this data, a manual was developed to include comprehensive training procedures. While the amount of data was limited, results indicate some initial support for the manualized …


Improving Practice In Special Education: The Evaluation Process As A Development Tool, Allison Gilmour, Amanda Sheaffer, Caitlyn E. Majeika Jan 2020

Improving Practice In Special Education: The Evaluation Process As A Development Tool, Allison Gilmour, Amanda Sheaffer, Caitlyn E. Majeika

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

Throughout the country, schools are using new teacher evaluation systems as a tool for professional development with the goal of improving teaching quality and students’ outcomes. However, not all teacher evaluation rubrics specifically address or encourage evidence-based practices for special education teachers, and many principals report that they are unsure how to evaluate special education teachers. This article provides an overview of teacher evaluation and special education teacher evaluation, and presents a strategy, based on existing research on effective teacher coaching and performance feedback, goal setting, and self-monitoring, to assist special educators in leveraging the evaluation process as a professional …


Special Education Was Called That For A Reason: Is Special Education Special Yet?, Virginia J. Dickens Ph.D., Cynthia T. Shamberger Ph.D. Mar 2017

Special Education Was Called That For A Reason: Is Special Education Special Yet?, Virginia J. Dickens Ph.D., Cynthia T. Shamberger Ph.D.

Journal of Research Initiatives

The authors of this essay revisit what Special Education for students with disabilities in schools was intended to be in the post-Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) era. They highlight the similarities in pressures and concerns which have plagued, and still plague, the field of Special Education across the last two decades, including issues related to funding and teacher preparation. The authors challenge readers with the statement that, “Now is the time to ask hard questions about the efficacy of special education efforts.” To respond to the title question of the essay, they pose a set of questions based upon …


A Phenomenological Study Of Cultural Responsiveness In Special Education, Kimberly M. Jones-Goods, Marquis Carter Grant Jan 2016

A Phenomenological Study Of Cultural Responsiveness In Special Education, Kimberly M. Jones-Goods, Marquis Carter Grant

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the factors affecting elementary teacher’s ability to understand the academic needs of their racially, culturally, and ethnically diverse special education students and the ways in which their values and beliefs influenced their use of culturally responsive practices in the special education classroom. This study revealed five major reasons for the disproportionate number of Black students in special education as perceived by three White teachers in North Carolina: (a) the inadequate coursework in teacher education programs regarding teaching strategies to effectively teach racially, culturally, and ethnically diverse (RCED) students, (b) the cultural …


How Foucault’S Panopticon Governs Special Education In California, Gail Angus, John M. Winslade May 2015

How Foucault’S Panopticon Governs Special Education In California, Gail Angus, John M. Winslade

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Special education laws in California function to create compliance by creating an environment of constant surveillance and monitoring from a range of perspectives. Even those who do the monitoring are themselves subject to this surveillance. This process is explained with reference to Bentham’s design of the panopticon and analyzed in relation to Foucault’s concept of governmentality. The intent here is to show how professionals’ and laypersons’ actions are governed by seeking to avoid being seen to behave incorrectly or getting caught behaving inappropriately. The governing of people’s lives is thus dispersed through professional decision-making and reporting. The intent of this …


A Review Of Inclusive Education In New Zealand, Denise Powell Ed.D. Jan 2012

A Review Of Inclusive Education In New Zealand, Denise Powell Ed.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

Inclusive education is a worldwide response to the belief that all children have the right to be educated at their local early childhood centre or school. New Zealand’s education system has undergone a series of transformations over the past 20 years, which has included modifications to how schools and their students are funded and managed, and the responsibilities various government departments have for ensuring all children receive the best possible education in a variety of environments. This article outlines those changes, suggests a way forward that will help ensure inclusive education practices in New Zealand match the current policies and …


Federal Accommodation Policy In Practice: Implications For A Substantive Process, Lynn Hemmer, Candace Baker Oct 2011

Federal Accommodation Policy In Practice: Implications For A Substantive Process, Lynn Hemmer, Candace Baker

Administrative Issues Journal

The design of governmental regulations creates an assumption that policy implementation is linear in nature and is unproblematic (Dorey, 2005). As states, local education agencies (LEAs), and eventually school leaders and teachers engage in the policy implementation process, it becomes evident that this hierarchal dissemination of policy results in various interpretations and actions (Spillane, 1996, 2002). In the 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the 2001 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the legislative language clearly states that students with disabilities are to participate in assessments with accommodations as described on their Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Research suggests …


Attitudes Of Beginner Teachers Of Special Education To Classroom Management: Who's The Boss Here?, Tsafi Timor Ph.D. Jan 2011

Attitudes Of Beginner Teachers Of Special Education To Classroom Management: Who's The Boss Here?, Tsafi Timor Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

The study deals with approaches of beginner teachers from a Special Education Training Programs to classroom management and to instruction with regard to two approaches: the Humanistic approach (or Student-Centered Approach), and the Custodial approach (or Teacher-Centered Approach). mixed use of both approaches in classroom management practices with a tendency towards the Humanistic approach. The Custodial approach was observed as related to issues of control and attitude towards violence whereas the Humanistic approach was found to be related to student-teacher relations, belief in students' abilities and perceptions of discipline. However, approach towards instruction and teaching was observed as related in …