This study investigated special educators' perspectives about an online toolkit that offers teachers example goals and objectives statements to use in service plans for students with special educational needs as well as teaching strategies and assessments. Special education teachers in a large school district in a Pacific Northwestern state…

Principals play a critical role in creating inclusive schools for students with disabilities, but few studies focus on how principals foster meaningful engagement for parents of children with disabilities, especially within Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings where important education decisions are made. Research focused on principal…

The term nature deficit disorder describes the "human costs of alienation from nature" (Louv, 2019). While not meant to be a medical diagnosis, Louv argues that the condition has, "profound implications, not only for the health of future generations but for the health of the earth itself" (Louv, 2008). Children most at risk are…

Existing approaches for training paraeducators rely heavily on intensive one-to-one coaching and may not be feasible in practice. In this study, we test a tiered training model in which all paraeducators first received group training, and then coaching was provided only for the subset who did not meet performance criteria after group training.…

A shared sense of responsibility for the education of students with disabilities can have positive effects on both teachers and students. When special education (SE) and general education (GE) teachers work together, this collaborative relationship is a positive variable in teacher satisfaction and retention. Furthermore, teacher collaboration and…

The purpose of this review was to synthesize research on the effect of professional development (PD) targeting data-based decision-making processes on teachers' knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy related to curriculum-based measurement (CBM) and data-based decision-making (DBDM). To be eligible for this review, studies had to: (1) be published…

The demand of providing adequate services for students with disabilities has evolved over the years requiring districts to provide free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. As districts are held increasingly accountable for meeting these demands, the roles and responsibilities of the school principal has become…

Purpose: The goal of this study was to investigate the initial feasibility of the Communication Matrix Professional Development Program (CMPDP), an online program created to help educational professionals teaching students with complex communication needs. Method: A one-group pretest-posttest design was employed with 102 educational professionals…

Students served through special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is to be provided an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that is an articulation of the student's individual program of educational and related services and instructional focus for the school year. In a standards-based educational environment,…

The current study examined teacher-reported asthma management practices in school and adherence to federal guidelines for students with asthma. 593 kindergarten-eighth grade teachers completed surveys regarding compliance with federal laws and policies, information-seeking behavior, asthma-related professional development, and asthma management…

Federal laws mandate students with disabilities, including students with complex instructional needs (SWCIN), be involved and progress in the general education curriculum and that schools be accountable for continuous and substantial improvement of academic achievement for all students. The limited research on teaching academic content to SWCIN…

From August 2009 to January 2010, fourteen educational leaders in B.C.'s School district #64 chose to participate in an individualized educational leadership coaching initiative. These participants were coached to develop and focus on specific goals and objectives of their own choosing, often related to school goals or, in some cases, personal…

An individualized education program is a legal document that details information regarding the special education program of a student with a disability. For parents to determine whether they agree with the individualized education program that is proposed by the school, they must first be able to read and comprehend the document. This study aimed…

How does professional learning look and feel in high-poverty schools where every student makes at least one year's worth of progress every year? How do schools and leaders put all the varied components of professional learning together so that they support all students learning every day? What professional learning grounds and sustains educators…

Educators are primary consumers of information provided in school psychology reports. There is disagreement in the literature as to whether teachers prefer briefer recommendations as compared to more detailed and specific recommendations. Specific recommendations can been seen as prescriptive and leading to higher requirements for accountability…