Are Leaders Influenced by Advocates in the Special Education Eligibility Decision?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of private practitioner and educational advocate opinions on instructional leaders’ decision-making thought processes when making a recommendation for special education eligibility. School-based administrators (N = 56) with varying years of experience as a special education administrator participated in this study. Using data from a series of vignettes and from structured interviews, results indicated that private practitioners and educational advocates significantly influence administrators’ recommendations for special education eligibility.

The Need for Inservice Training in Instructional Technology for Special Education Personnel in Small Rural School Districts

One special education teacher and one special education administrator from each of 17 small rural school districts (N=34) were interviewed via a 65–item interview guide relative to staff development needs. A lack of staff development activities was identified as a critical problem for special educators in such districts in New Mexico. Training in the area of instructional technology was the most frequently mentioned inservice need. A majority of respondents indicated that instructional technology would be useful in the provision of special services. The vast majority of respondents felt competence in instructional technology would improve the special educator's effectiveness in the classroom, while the response to the question of whether competence in this area would improve the special education administrator's effectiveness was mixed.

Training and Certification of Administrators in Special Education

A national survey of state certification offices was conducted to determine requirements for administrator certification in special education. In addition, the status of special education training programs was assessed. A 100% return was achieved. Over half of the states offer separate special education administrator certification and over half have at least one training program available. Some inconsistencies of the data are apparent, indicating possible transition or communication problems.