scholarly journals The Benefits and Challenges of Special Education Positions in Rural Settings: Listening to the Teachers

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann B. Berry ◽  
Maggie Gravelle
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Teacher Satisfaction ◽  
Team Approach ◽  
Rural Districts ◽  
Instructional Role ◽  
Rural Settings ◽  
Role Responsibilities ◽  
Role Confusion

Special education teachers, through a national survey conducted in 55 rural districts, provided information on the positive and negative aspects of teaching in rural schools. The 203 special educators were asked what they liked best about their position and what they found challenging. Some of the themes identified in the analysis centered on positive features of working in rural areas. Characteristics of the rural community fostered family-like relationships with others in their school and in-depth relationships with parents and students. Half of the teachers also reported they shared the responsibility or took a team approach to delivering special education services, a factor related to teacher satisfaction. The majority of teachers were satisfied with the instructional aspects of their position but dissatisfied with non-instructional role responsibilities. Challenges of the position also included role confusion and a lack of resources. Related implications for rural administrators interested in the satisfaction of special education teachers are provided.  

An Evaluation of the Differences between Big City and Small Town Special Education Services for Students with Low Incidence Disabilities in Kentucky

2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Pennington ◽  
Channon Horn ◽  
Amy Berrong
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Educational Programming ◽  
Rural America ◽  
Rural Districts ◽  
Rural Settings ◽  
Big City ◽  
Low Incidence

Researchers have suggested that educational programming for students with low incidence disabilities in rural settings may be limited. In the current study, researchers surveyed special education teachers across Kentucky and collected demographic data on two exemplar districts. Results indicated that differences existed between urban and rural districts on several variables but that some rural communities in Kentucky were able to overcome barriers to the provision of educational programming for students with low incidence disabilities prevalent in other parts of rural America.

Future Special Education Teachers Perceptions of Rural Teaching Environments

1993 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 31-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teri L. Bell ◽  
Kay Sather Bull ◽  
Jeanne M. Barrett ◽  
Diane Montgomery ◽  
Adrienne E. Hyle
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Special Educators ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Rural Districts ◽  
Rural Teaching

For many rural communities, the recruitment and retention of special educators has emerged as a prominent concern. The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes of future special educators regarding urban, suburban, and rural teaching environments. Specifically, research objectives focused on social, cultural, personal and professional attitudes, future career decisions, and their relationship to teaching locale. Findings indicate that, generally, special education students had chosen their career field for altruistic reasons. The variables that drew beginning teachers to school districts were care for students, parental involvement and educational resources. Districts which could provide these should have few recruiting problems, no matter where they were located. However, if all other things are equal, the majority (60%) desired suburban placements, 23% desired rural placements and urban placements came in last. Students who grew up in rural areas were more likely to favor returning to rural areas to teach than those from urban or suburban areas, but only 20% of rurally raised students would prefer returning to rural districts. Salaries do not seem to be an issue for any except those who want to teach in urban areas.

Conducting Curriculum-Based Measurement with Computerized Data Collection: Effects on Efficiency and Teacher Satisfaction

1988 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn S. Fuchs ◽  
Carol L. Hamlett ◽  
Douglas Fuchs ◽  
Pamela M. Stecker ◽  
Carl Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Teacher Satisfaction ◽  
Curriculum Based Measurement ◽  
Computer Data ◽  
Education Practice ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Measurement And Evaluation

This study assessed the efficiency of and teacher satisfaction with curriculum-based measurement (CBM) when student performance data are collected by teachers or by computers. Participants were 20 special education teachers, randomly assigned to teacher and computer administration groups. Each practitioner selected two mildly handicapped pupils for participation. For 15 weeks, teachers employed CBM in reading, spelling, and math, with data collected by teachers or by computers. Ten weeks into the study, teachers and students were observed during measurement and evaluation activities, and durations of time allocated to CBM procedures were recorded. Teacher satisfaction was indexed with a questionnaire at the study's completion. Observational data indicated that teachers spent less time in measurement and evaluation when data were collected by computers; further, satisfaction data revealed that computer-data-collection teachers were more satisfied with the procedures. However, students spent more time in measurement with computer data collection. Implications for special education practice are discussed.

Rural regular and special education teachers’ perceptions of teaching hyperactive students

1988 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 10-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Peterson ◽  
Cleborne D. Maddux
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
School Counselors ◽  
School Psychologists ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Special Educators ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Potential Value ◽  
Use Of Time ◽  
Time Out ◽  
Rural Settings

This article explores the perceptions of teachers in rural settings concerning the teaching of hyperactive students. Regular and special educators (N=101) identified minimizing distractions, providing clear expectations and rules, and the use of time-out techniques as the most successful strategies for teaching such students. Although both regular and special education teachers believe that the skills of teaching and managing hyperactive students are important, regular teachers were critical of the emphasis given these skills during their training. The teachers rated the advice they received from peers as the most useful, while advice from school psychologists, principals, parents, and school counselors were rated as least helpful. The results suggest the potential value of peer problem-solving committees, peer consultant models, and more effective preservice and inservice preparation in the area of hyperactivity.

The Rural Special Education Project: A School-Based Program that Prepares Special Educators to Teach Native American Students

1996 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg Prater ◽  
Susan A. Miller ◽  
Sam Minner
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Native American ◽  
University Students ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Teacher Preparation Program ◽  
Native American Students ◽  
American Children ◽  
Retention Of Teachers ◽  
The University

The preparation, recruitment, and retention of teachers for rural areas and Native American reservations has long been a serious problem. This article describes a teacher preparation program that prepares preservice special education teachers to effectively work with Native American children and their families in a remote reservation area. University students receive practical classroom experience. The instruction is managed by an on-site instructor. The university students also experience almost total immersion in the Navajo culture. Recommendations are made for establishing similar programs in other locations.

edTPA: Assisting Rural Special Education Teacher Candidates to Incorporate Self-Regulation Skills in Planning and Instruction

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-175
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Rivera ◽  
Bethany McKissick ◽  
Madison Adams
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Evaluation Tool

Forty-one states and 928 teacher preparation programs across the United States are using the Teaching Performance Assessment (edTPA) as an evaluation tool to determine teacher readiness and/or meet licensure requirements. Nationwide, pre-service special education teachers struggle to demonstrate proficiency in specific areas of the edTPA (i.e., plan assessments to monitor and support student learning, analyze teaching effectiveness, and incorporate learner feedback into future learning goals). A commonality across these areas is the incorporation of self-determination skills (e.g., self-regulation) into student learning. Assisting pre-service special education teachers to help students become more self-determined may increase these lower scores on the edTPA. More importantly, increasing self-determination is particularly important for students with disabilities in rural areas who often face challenges related to poverty, decreased opportunities for post-school employment, and underemployment due to geographic location and isolation. This article provides a description of how a special education department sought to assist pre-service special educators in embedding self-regulatory behaviors within lesson plans to better promote self-determination for their students in rural communities across eastern North Carolina.

Children with Disabilities in Rural Areas: The Critical Role of the Special Education Teacher in Promoting Independence

1992 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quentin W. Smith ◽  
Carl E. Fasser ◽  
Stacy Wallace ◽  
Laurel K. Richards ◽  
Carol G. Potter
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Special Education Teacher ◽  
Related Services ◽  
The Subject

Although data on the subject are incomplete, available national data suggest that somewhat more than one million children with disabilities live in rural areas. These children face the special challenges of preparing for community life in environments where service systems are inadequate if not totally absent, funding for educational and other programs is typically meager, and persons with knowledge of disability-related services and issues—including the independent living philosophy and its application in the community—may be unavailable. It is important, therefore, that special education teachers become familiar with the independent living philosophy and its application for people with both physical and cognitive disabilities.

Meeting the Speech and Language Needs of Minority Children in Rural Settings

1992 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda R. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Community Life ◽  
National Data ◽  
Minority Children ◽  
Related Services ◽  
Rural Settings ◽  
Language Needs ◽  
The Subject

Although data on the subject are incomplete, available national data suggest that somewhat more than one million children with disabilities live in rural areas. These children face the special challenges of preparing for community life in environments where service systems are inadequate if not totally absent, funding for educational and other programs is typically meager, and persons with knowledge of disability-related services and issues—including the independent living philosophy and its application in the community—may be unavailable. It is important, therefore, that special education teachers become familiar with the independent living philosophy and its application for people with both physical and cognitive disabilities.

Training special education teachers in rural areas: A viable model

1988 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean K. Mcintosh ◽  
Gail I. Raymond
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
College Of Education ◽  
Regular Classroom ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
University Of South Carolina ◽  
Exceptional Children ◽  
Degree Level

In 1983, the Program for Exceptional Children, College of Education, University of South Carolina, received funds from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services to design, develop, and implement a service delivery model that would meet the unique learning needs of mildly handicapped children in sparsely populated areas of South Carolina. The model emphasizes the training of regular elementary teachers at the master's degree level to function as teacher-consultants to other regular classroom teachers to maintain these children in the regular classroom.

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