Jonna L. Bobzien

This research examined child care center directors’ perceptions of inclusion, specifically related to staff’s knowledge and skills of how to care for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with developmental delays and disabilities. They were also asked if their center’s ability to care for these children could affect performance on classroom observation measures such as those included in quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS). Two hundred forty-four directors in one southeastern state in the United States responded to a cross-sectional, electronic survey and provided the following insights: (1) staff were likely to have at least some knowledge of how to include and care for young children with delays and disabilities and (2) more than half of directors thought their program’s ability to care for young children with delays and disabilities affected their center’s performance on classroom observation measures. Implications for research, training, and child care operations are discussed, including the need for systemic changes in how child care professionals are provided training and technical assistance to facilitate high quality care for all children.

Hiring and retaining qualified special education teachers (SETs) in rural areas is an ongoing challenge. We disseminated an electronic national survey to learn about the preservice preparation of current and former rural SETs and their preferences for receiving in-service professional development (PD) and support. A total of 314 current or former rural SETs across 26 U.S. states completed the survey. Results show statistically significant differences in perceived preparation between SETs who completed a preservice educator preparation program (EPP) with clinical experiences, compared with those who held a provisional/emergency license when initially hired. Nonetheless, both groups highlight a desire to receive ongoing, in-service PD and administrative support. Recommendations for supporting SETs in rural school districts are offered.

Chronic special education teacher (SET) shortages are a national concern and particularly problematic in rural school districts. That is, rural districts face challenges when it comes to hiring and retaining qualified SETs. To understand the contributing factors related to retention and attrition, it is essential to gain insight from rural SETs first-hand. The purpose of this study was to listen to and learn from current and former rural SETs and gain insight on their needs and how they believe retention can be improved in geographically isolated areas. Including the voices of current rural SETs and those who chose to leave their position shed light on the benefits of being employed in rural areas while bringing attention to current issues that need to be addressed to improve SET retention. Using a qualitative descriptive research design, we analyzed open-ended survey responses from 185 U.S. participants. In all, a total of six themes and 11 subthemes emerged. Findings highlight the needs of rural SETs, and corresponding recommendations for administrators and school leaders in rural communities are offered.

This study examined how students with orthopedic impairments experienced strategies identified in the literature to support ‘inclusion’. An interpretative phenomenological analysis research approach was used, and six students with orthopedic impairments (age 10–14 years) served as participants. Data sources were written prompts, semi-structured, audiotaped interviews, and reflective interview notes. Based on thematic data analysis, four themes were constructed: “It’s kind of embarrassing”: experiences with support; “I don’t want to be different”: equipment, activity, and rule modifications; “I like to be a part of the conversation”: autonomy and choice in PE; and “I would rather be like the other students”: discussing disability. The experiences portrayed through these themes highlighted the differential effects of these explicated strategies, where each strategy contributed to feelings of inclusion, as well as marginalization among participants. As such, the findings indicated that ‘inclusive’ strategies should not be considered as blanket recommendations; instead, attempts to promote ‘inclusion’ of students with disabilities should start with a reflexive look at the unique needs of each individual student.

Children with hearing loss often experience communication and language delays that result in difficulties acquiring novel vocabulary and literacy skills. This research examined the effectiveness of using repeated storybook reading paired with explicit teacher instruction to teach novel vocabulary to young children with hearing loss who were receiving instruction with an oral approach. Data from a multiple baseline design across 4 children demonstrated that all children acquired the instructional vocabulary words, demonstrated generalization of the words in a novel situation, and maintained vocabulary for 2–4 weeks following intervention. Vocabulary that had not been explicitly taught was learned at a low rate across the 5 books. Implications for teaching young children with hearing loss and communication delays are discussed.

The field of special education has begun to concentrate its efforts on developing objectives and procedural strategies that promote a positive quality of life for students with profound multiple disabilities, while determining which educational strategies are the most appropriate. A multielement design was used to compare the effects of two educational conditions, academic skills instruction and functional life skills instruction, on the quality of life indicators of four students with profound multiple disabilities. Results indicated that all four students demonstrated a greater number of behaviors associated with happiness while receiving academic skills instruction. Implications for current educational practices are addressed and directions for future research are discussed.