Preparing Special Education Teachers to Affirm LGBTQ+ Students and Themselves

Within their work, special education teachers are tasked with being knowledgeable on a wide array of human diversity. Although attitudes have been changing rapidly toward sexual and gender minorities in recent years, data from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) most recent National School Climate Survey indicated that 52.4% of students reported hearing homophobic remarks and 66.7% of students reported hearing negative remarks about gender expression from their teachers or other school staff (Kosciw et al., 2020). This article identifies three areas in which special education teacher educators can interact with their teacher candidates to support learning about the LGBTQ+ community and equip them to work with their future students who identify as a sexual or gender minority. Techniques included address the use of qualitative assessment through discussion and journaling; building cultural empathy via affective learning, perspective taking, acceptance of cultural differences, awareness, and appropriate responding via an understanding of intersectionality and intention versus impact.

Contemporary Issues of Special Education in Turkey

The first international declaration of inclusive education through the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994) underlined the importance and necessity of inclusive practices and recommended that all students should benefit from the same educational approaches in the same environment. In addition to that, growth in field applications, published research papers, the number of trained professionals, and general awareness around students with disabilities triggered the improvement of special education services in Turkey during the last three decades. This article displays a brief history of special education, laws and regulations, the path of special education, and introduces contemporary issues in special education in Turkey. Without recognizing the existing situation and contemporary issues of the field of special education, it is not possible to take steps for planning and obtain better outcomes.

Using a Culturally Responsive Lens in the Revision of a Core Preparation Course

With increasing cultural diversity in schools and in special education, teachers must be prepared to meet the needs of students from diverse backgrounds. In addition to evidence-based practices, culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) is critical to helping students make meaning of their learning. Therefore, teacher preparation programs must be intentional and explicit in their instruction related to CSP for teacher candidates. We describe a replicable process of course review and revision for the inclusion of CSP with an example from a core course in a special education preservice teacher licensure program. The course, Intersectionality and Disability, is a course in a newly-implemented undergraduate licensure program.

Disability at the Intersections: Expanding Critical Disability Reflective Practices

The development of more culturally competent special education teachers is integral to striving for a more equitable education system for all students. However, the development of cultural competency around disability as diversity, especially from an intersectional lens, is often underrepresented in teacher preparation programs. As a result, if it is included at all, it is often at the discretion of individual teachers willing to incorporate such content into their teacher preparation classes. For teacher educators who are searching for ways to infuse disability as diversity content into their coursework, critical disability studies provides a framework for implementation by supporting teacher candidate’s critical reflective practice. In adopting such a framework, teacher educators can better target the development of cultural competency in their special education teacher candidates. As such, the aim of the present article is to provide a method of instruction to support the development of critical reflective practices in special education teacher preparation programs.

Three Buckets and Eight Strategies: Recruiting, Supporting, and Retaining a Racially Diverse Special Education Teacher Workforce

Cultivating a racially diverse special education teacher workforce is critical to the success of students with disabilities, particularly students of color with disabilities. We examine the literature and provide suggestions for recruiting, supporting, and retaining special education teacher candidates of color. Specifically, we present a vignette that highlights the decision-making process of a Black male on a journey to become a special education teacher. We propose recruitment strategies (e.g., anti-racist mission and vision statements), support strategies (e.g., racial affinity groups), and retention strategies (e.g., adopting anti-racist curriculum) that Institutions of Higher Education must consider to promote efforts to diversify the special education teacher workforce.

Considerations for Incorporating Trauma-Informed Care Content within Special Education Teacher Preparation and Professional Development Programs

Trauma-informed care (TIC) is the practice of consciousness and awareness of trauma that guides educators in developing academic and behavioral support for students with exceptionalities who have experienced trauma. TIC can support students from the lens of Positive Behavioral Intervention Supports (PBIS) and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) within Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). The purpose of this article is to explore the integration of TIC practices within classrooms that utilize the MTSS framework and to assist pre-service and in-service teachers with implementing TIC practices within inclusive and restrictive K-12 learning environments.

Incorporating High-Leverage Practice 7 in Classroom/Behavior Management Courses

In a joint effort, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR) published instructional practice guides for special educators called High-Leverage Practices (McLeskey et al., 2017). These High Leverage Practices focus on four areas of practice (collaboration, assessment, instruction, and social/emotional/behavioral). High Leverage Practice 7 (HLP 7) is under the social/emotional/behavioral domain and guides teachers to establish positive and constructive learning environments for students. For special education training programs, opportunities to focus on HLP 7 can be presented in classroom/behavior management courses as a function of setting up classroom structure (atmosphere, rules, and procedures) that support developing positive, culturally responsive learning environments and student-teacher relationships. This paper provides support for why topics should focus on HLP 7 and how topics of structure, culturally responsive teaching, student-teacher relationship development, and social emotional learning should be included in classroom/behavior management courses in special education training programs.

Systematic Identification, Implementation, and Evaluation of High-Leverage Practices in Teacher Preparation

An emphasis on practice-based teacher education has led the Council for Exceptional Children to develop 22 high-leverage practices (HLPs). Each HLP is research based, used frequently in classrooms, and applicable across age, grade, and content area. In this article, we discuss the importance of a systematic process for teacher preparation programs to consider when identifying, implementing, and evaluating HLPs. The extent and quality that HLPs are integrated within preparation programs will affect graduating teacher’s professional readiness and their ability to immediately affect student outcomes. It is our intent that this article supports teacher educators and scholars to continue the conversation around HLPs in teacher preparation. In addition, we encourage preparation programs to consider data-based decision making when identifying, implementing, and evaluating HLPs within program curricula.

The Positive Implications of Intentional Feedback

Positive and constructive feedback is a high leverage practice that can be learned and practiced through scaffolded and structured experiences. Teaching preservice candidates to provide effective feedback is an efficient way to increase P-12 students’ learning and behavioral outcomes. Teacher educators can craft experiences for their preservice teachers that offer rich coursework experiences, practice-based opportunities, and aligned clinical placement. Using the scaffolded approach provided in this article, teacher educators can ensure these experiences are robust and aligned with evidence-based pedagogy.

From the Editor

Letter from the editor for the inaugural issue of the Journal of Special Education Preparation.