Project Activities
The research team iteratively developed the professional development intervention and tested the final version in a randomized controlled trial (RCT).
Structured Abstract
Setting
The research was conducted virtually in rural elementary, middle, and high schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Sample
During phase 1, an eight-member advisory board composed of a national expert on rural special education and key stakeholders who represented Wisconsin rural schools provided input to inform intervention development. During this phase, the research team also received feedback from a total of 25 special educators who were working under emergency certification in Wisconsin and who provided instruction to students with disabilities in any of grades K–12. For the phase 2 pilot study, the sample included 54 early career special education teachers in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
The professional development intervention consists of two integrated components designed specifically for emergency-certified special educators in rural settings delivered virtually over a 7-month period. The first component is individualized coaching to support teachers' adoption, application, and reflection of implementation of specific EBPs connected to HLPs in the area of behavior teaching and support. During the project, each teacher and coach engaged in 18, half-hour, one-on-one virtual coaching sessions that included clear structure and content, as well as time to meet teachers’ individual needs. Teachers reviewed videos of their use of EBPs with their coaches and coaches provided ongoing assessment and coaching in areas of need. The second component is a virtual community of practice (CoP) including teachers and coaches. During the project, the virtual community of practice met 12 times over the course of the intervention and included 5-7 early career special educators in each group. The goal of the CoP was to create community among experienced and novice special educators, reduce isolation for teaching in rural settings, and support understanding of challenging behaviors from a strengths-based perspective.
Research design and methods
The research team utilized an iterative process to develop the professional development intervention. During phase 1, they completed ongoing assessment of the utility, effectiveness, feasibility, and efficiency of the professional development intervention through observations of instruction, interviews with teachers, collection of intervention fidelity data, assessment of teachers' self-efficacy and intent to stay in the profession, and surveys of participant satisfaction. During the phase 2 pilot study, an RCT was used to determine the intervention’s promise for improving teacher behavioral management capabilities and student behavior outcomes. Teachers were randomly assigned to one of two conditions—business-as-usual or the full PD intervention. In addition to continued assessment of the intervention's utility, effectiveness, and feasibility, the research team analyzed student engagement during the pilot study.
Control condition
Teachers randomly assigned to the business-as-usual control condition received whatever professional development or other services were typically offered by their school districts.
Key measures
Key teacher measures included the Maslach Burnout Inventory, teacher report of intent to stay in the profession, and teacher report of self-efficacy. The key student outcome was frequency counts and durational measures of engagement and behavior collected via direct observation using MOOSES.
Data analytic strategy
Analyses of covariance were used as the primary means to gauge the relationship of the professional development intervention to teacher practices. These analyses tested the main effect of the treatment on teacher outcomes controlling for baseline group differences (pre-test scores). Further analyses examined relationships between fidelity measures and outcomes for teachers participating in the treatment. Multiple regression analyses were conducted wherein each outcome was regressed on data pertaining to dosage, adherence, implementation quality, and student responsiveness in sessions to determine the relationship between implementation fidelity and each outcome. The research team utilized qualitative data analysis to validate, interpret, clarify, and illustrate findings, as well as assess teachers' perceptions of the social validity of the intervention. Systematic content and inductive analysis were used to analyze the interviews.
Cost analysis strategy
Using an ingredients approach, the research team identified all required intervention components and assigned costs using their respective market values. Ingredients were categorized by type (e.g., personnel, materials/equipment), as were costs (fixed, variable, lumpy/step-wise). Finally, the expected cost of the ACRES intervention was standardized per participant.
Key outcomes
The main findings of this project, as reported by the principal investigator, are as follows:
- Preliminary evidence suggests that Project ACRES may support early career special educators’ self-efficacy and intent to stay in the profession, as well as decrease their levels of burnout.
- Results of the pilot study indicated that teachers in the intervention group had higher self-efficacy and intent to stay, and the comparison group teachers had higher levels of burnout. At the post-intervention data collection point, the two groups differed significantly on overall self-efficacy and the Classroom Management subscale, as well as the Depersonalization subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Analysis of student-level engagement data yielded inconclusive results.
- Results of the cost analysis showed that using a societal perspective, the total incremental cost of implementing the ACRES intervention was estimated to be $33,070.11 relative to business-as-usual. Standardizing by the number of teachers and students served, the cost is expected to be $1,377.92 per teacher and $55.86 per student.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
Project website:
Publications:
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Select publications
Wilkerson, K. L., Olsen, R., Leko, M. M., Ruppar, A., & Dai, R. (2025). Supporting rural special educators working toward licensure: Creation of virtual professional development. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 44(2), 66-75. https://doi.org/10.1177/87568705251318372
Questions about this project?
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