Council for Exceptional Children Annual Conference
April 2009-Seattle
Strand G: Recruiting, Developing, and Retaining Highly Qualified Special Education Teachers
Lead Presenter: Mary Brownell
This strand addresses the challenges of finding an adequate supply of qualified special education teachers to effectively educate students with disabilities. In this introduction, participants learn about the factors contributing to chronic shortages of well qualified teachers; an insufficient supply of new teachers, particularly those who are culturally and linguistically diverse increasing numbers of special education teachers entering through fast track alternative routes, insufficient mechanisms for inducting special education teachers into the profession, and struggles retaining teachers in high poverty environments. Individual presentations following this overview provide participants with information about how these challenges can be addressed through effective partnerships among state education agencies (SEAs), local education agencies (LEAs), and Colleges of Education as well as strong induction and mentoring programs.
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Session 1: Securing and Keeping Quality Special Education Teachers: Lessons from the Research
Presenters: Mary Brownell, Bonnie Billingsley, Naomi Tyler & Paul Sindelar
In this presentation, factors are described contributing to shortages of quality special education teachers and strategies administrators and teacher educators can employ to ensure that every child with a disability has access to a quality special education teacher. Special attention is given to increasing the diversity of the special education workforce.
Supplementary material: SLIDES
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Session 2: Building Effective Partnerships for Recruiting, Preparing and Mentoring Beginning Special Education Teachers
Presenters: Michael Rosenberg, Phoebe Gillespie, Erica McCray & Steven Kroeger
This presentation outlines the common characteristics of effective partnerships between state education agencies, local education agencies, and Colleges of Education for recruiting, preparing and retaining special education teachers. In addition, a statewide partnership between the Ohio State Department of Education and a consortium of higher education institutions is presented.
SESSION 2Supplementary material: SLIDES
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Session 3: Teacher Induction and Mentoring: What We Know and Steps for Future Success
Presenters: Bonnie Billingsley, Cyndy Griffin & Margaret Kamman
This presentation presents major themes from the research literature on teacher induction in special education, considered in the context of the broader general education literature; unique aspects of these programs for special educators and descriptions of programs identified as promising from the literature.
Supplementary material: SLIDES