The Special Educator Workforce: A Research Collaborative

Co-Principal Investigators: Bettini, Elizabeth; Feng, Li; Gilmour, Allison; Mason-Williams, Loretta; Scott, LaRon

Focused Program of Research: SPARC will conduct a series of studies using SLDS and qualitative data from seven states (Hawai`i, Indiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington). Together, these states include more than 90,000 special education teachers and more than 1.5 million students with disabilities receiving special education services, representing approximately 20% of all special education teachers and students receiving special education services in the United States. Studies will address the following three research objectives.

• The first objective is to describe the current composition, distribution, stability, and effectiveness of the special education teacher workforce within and across states. SPARC researchers will conduct a quantitative investigation using SLDS to determine the extent to which these factors vary across states, districts, schools, and classrooms and to determine how they relate to math and reading performance among students with disabilities.

• The second objective is to assess the connections between special education teacher preparation pathways and programs and the composition, distribution, stability, and effectiveness of the special education teacher workforce within and across states. Quantitative analyses using SLDS and Title II data will determine how preparation pathways have changed over time; how special education teacher preparation pathways and programs relate to the composition, distribution, stability, and effectiveness of the workforce; and to what extent variability in special education teacher effectiveness is due to differences across teacher preparation pathways and programs.

• The third objective is to examine how policies and practices contribute to the composition, distribution, stability, and effectiveness of the special education teacher workforce within and across states. SPARC researchers will collect data through public websites, document reviews, and surveys on district and state policies intended to influence the special education teacher workforce and conduct a quasi-experimental evaluation of the impact of these policies on the composition, distribution, stability, and effectiveness of the special education teacher workforce and the math and reading performance of students with disabilities. In addition, they will conduct two qualitative multiple-case studies using document reviews, interviews, and focus groups. In the first, they will identify high-poverty districts with a more diverse, equitably distributed, and stable special education teacher workforce than comparable districts in their state based on analyses addressing the first research objective and then determine the policies and practices that contribute to a stronger special education teacher workforce in those districts. In the second, they will identify teacher preparation programs whose graduates are more diverse, equitably distributed, stable, and effective compared to other preparation programs in their state and examine the policies and practices that contribute to a stronger special education teacher workforce in those programs.

National Leadership and Capacity-Building Activities: SPARC has three leadership objectives.

• The first objective is to move current and emerging scholars and data administrators toward improved special education teacher workforce data collection and infrastructure. SPARC will engage in and inform national conversations regarding existing data, including strengths and limitations, and additional data and research needed to better understand the special education teacher workforce, within the context of the broader teacher workforce.

• The second objective is to engage a wide audience—including practitioners and policymakers at all levels of education systems—in SPARC research activities. Using a continuum of strategies, SPARC will engage policymakers and practitioners to ensure the utility and use of resources and research findings, facilitating ongoing two-way communication among researchers and practitioners that will inform and guide the research.

• The final objective is to build the field’s capacity to conduct and interpret rigorous, policy-relevant research on the K-12 special education teacher workforce using SLDS. This objective includes developing the SPARC Scholars program in which SPARC researchers will mentor emerging scholars with expertise in special education and education policy. In addition to this program, SPARC researchers will provide professional learning experiences for researchers and state and local education leaders using a variety of strategies, such as conference presentations and trainings about using SLDS to address special education teacher workforce challenges.

Outcomes/Products: SPARC will contribute to the research literature and develop materials—such as policy briefs, infographics, and working papers—to ensure awareness of activities and findings among policymakers, state and local education leaders, and teacher educators to help them make informed decisions using the best available evidence. SPARC resources and products will be housed on an accessible website.