Olga Karadimou

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.

In educational settings across the globe, a growing number of students with disabilities are being educated alongside their typically-developing peers. With that comes a growing need to provide adequate training and follow-up support to classroom teachers. Unfortunately, while educators are expected to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) in the classroom, teachers commonly attend didactic-based training with little-to-no follow-up support measuring the transfer of knowledge and sustainability of learned teaching practices in the classroom. The research-to-practice gap continues and a growing number of teachers are leaving the field of special education internationally. In this article, we describe instructional coaching used in teacher education and examine different methods of providing performance-based feedback to teachers. There is a specific focus on eCoaching with Bug-in-Ear technology, an unobtrusive technique used to provide teachers with performance-based feedback in real-time while offering repeated implementation opportunities in the classroom. We explain the eCoaching process, required technology, and offer recommendations for practical application of eCoaching procedures.