The purpose of this book is to provide a forum for an interdisciplinary scholarly dialogue with regard to preparing teachers for early childhood special education. In addition, it is aimed at examining and making available relevant and most recent scholarship to practitioners and at addressing critical issues and perspectives around preparing effective educators for the 21 century classroom and the future. This book intends to illuminate a complex and challenging task of preparing effective educators through the lenses of several educational disciplines, including but not limited to, teacher education, general education, special education, early childhood education, and urban education. The information in this work will focus on several educational disciplines that have the most immediate implications for teacher preparation and practice. The overall educational knowledge base will be enhanced due to the educational interdisciplinary approach. This has additional implications for teacher education, special education, educational leadership, curriculum and instruction, educational policy, and urban education, to name a few. The multidimensional nature of the book gives it the freedom to highlight multiple and diverse voices while at the same time providing a forum for different (and sometimes divergent) methodologies, philosophies, and ideologies.

First Published in 2005. This is Volume 12 in the Exceptionality series with the focus of Critical Issues in Training Special Education Teachers. This title features guest editor Laurie U. deBettencourt. The articles in this issue of Exceptionality discuss several issues relevant to special education teacher training: the meaning of highly qualified teachers, especially in the area of special education; the comparison of traditionally and alternatively trained special education teachers; and the reflections of alternatively trained first-year special educators. In addition, this issue provides a reflection of the past 20 years of preparing special education teachers as alternatives to traditional teacher preparation develop.

"What tools are in the toolkit of an excellent special educator, and how can teacher preparation programs provide these tools in the most efficient, effective way possible? This practical, clearly written book is grounded in current research and policy as well as the author's extensive experience as a teacher educator. It identifies what special education teachers need to know to work competently with students with a wide variety of learning challenges and disabilities. Chapters present specific guidelines for helping teacher candidates build critical skills for instruction and assessment, get the most out of field placements, and collaborate successfully with other school personnel and with parents. Subject Areas/Keywords: assessments, curriculum, disabilities, exceptional children, field work, IEPs, inclusion, instruction, learning, lessons, professional development, special education, special needs, standards, students, teacher preparation programs, teacher training, teachers, teaching Audience: Teacher educators in special education, graduate students preparing to be teacher educators, and school district personnel who provide staff development for special education teachers"--

Compilations of research on teacher preparation often include no more than a cursory mention of the specific roles and needs of special education teachers. Although the work that special education teachers perform does indeed differ from the work of classroom teachers, teacher preparation in the two fields has much in common. The purpose of this seven-part handbook is to expand our knowledge of teacher education broadly by providing an in-depth look at the most up-to-date research on special education teacher preparation. Opening chapters ground the collection in political and economic context, while subsequent sections delve deeply into issues related to the current state of our special education workforce and offer insights into how to best prepare and sustain that workforce. Ultimately, by illuminating the particularities of special education teacher preparation, this landmark handbook addresses the state of current research in the field and sets an agenda for future scholarship.

As educational standards continue to transform, it has become essential for educators and pre-service teachers to receive the support and training necessary to effectively instruct their students and meet societal expectations. However, there is not a clear consensus on what constitutes teacher effectiveness and quality within the education realm. The Handbook of Research on Professional Development for Quality Teaching and Learning provides theoretical perspectives and empirical research on educator preparation and methods for enhancing the teaching process. Focusing on teacher effectiveness and support provided to current and pre-service educators, this publication is a comprehensive reference source for practitioners, researchers, policy makers, graduate students, and university faculty.

In the late 20th century, a tidal wave of calls for reform and inclusion of special needs students swept over public special education. The current debates over implementing these themes today are authoritatively addressed by 19 distinguished scholars in this thorough volume. Organized into three cohesive sections, it begins with the issues of educational reform and the emerging discourses of disability and integration in the inclusion movement. Respective chapters appraise specific arguments for inclusion and the federal legislation and litigation surrounding and supporting special education. The second part features the thorny issue of assessment, the technological revolution in special education, and the disposition of teacher training. The third section scrutinizes the inclusion of various populations of students with exceptional needs, particularly how teachers can make an easy transition from ideology to educational practice. Special Education in the 21st Century sets the standard for extrapolating future directions by wisely weighing classroom practices for different groups and the technical problems of resources, management, social groupings, instructional design, and the supposition that teachers will automatically change to accommodate an even greater diversity of learners.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered, and continues to trigger, many changes in K-12 education—some major, like learning remotely from home, and some minor, like sitting farther apart on the school bus. While most students have had routines interrupted, the children perhaps most affected by that disruption are students with special education needs. The challenges we currently face should not undermine what we have accomplished over the last 60 years to protect students with disabilities and those from traditionally marginalized backgrounds. Instead, we must take an honest, proactive and collaborative approach to the challenges laid bare. To do so, we must reckon with the fact that during a pandemic that disproportionately impacted traditionally marginalized communities and people with disabilities, we collectively dropped the ball for students receiving special education services, and we need to consider the continued consequences. Further, we must acknowledge that many students with disabilities have found virtual and remote learning to be more liberating and accessible for their learning strengths, needs, and preferences. This text addresses how we must reconcile disparate realities of the special educational experience during pandemic. Students, parents, teachers, and school officials must align themselves together so that they can provide necessary services and support systems to students with disabilities during unpredictable times. These efforts will help leverage opportunities to disrupt, improve, and ignite educational experiences and opportunities for our children and youth, particularly those with disabilities.