Promoting self-determination for students with disabilities has proven to be a critical component of effective transition planning. However, researchers seldom consider race when promoting self-determination for people with disabilities. The purpose of the current phenomenological research investigation was to explore how Black youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families explain transition planning experiences that promote and hinder self-determination. We found that participants in the current study experienced some hurdles during their transition experiences that they perceive are rooted in systemic and structural racism and ableism that prompted advocacy, family engagement, inclusion, building knowledge of rights, and other emergent strategies to promote self-determination. Findings from the current preliminary investigation have implications for transition and self-determination research, as well as improving the quality of services and support for Black youth with IDD and their families.
Special education teacher (SET) persistence and attrition have been investigated for several decades. However, there are several predictors for SETs’ intent to stay or leave that are yet to be investigated. Using Bandura’s social cognitive theory, we developed the Special Education Teacher Persistence in Teaching Survey (SETPTS) and examined multiple factors for SETs’ persistence in their careers despite a range of challenges they face. Ninety-six SETs at various stages in their careers completed the survey to understand the complex dynamics of persistence. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and hierarchical logistic regression analysis revealed factors correlated with teacher persistence, and barriers that may cause attrition. In the findings, we address ways to improve SET retention, as well as possible future directions for research, education policy, and practice for teacher preparation and retention.
Alternate route to licensure (AR) programs in special education continue to increase despite concerns that teachers certified through these pathways leave the profession at rates higher than traditionally prepared teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine special education AR program completers to determine their persistence to stay in the profession despite odds of attrition. For this article, we examined survey results from AR special education teachers (n = 57) and completed focus group interviews with a subset (n =13) from this same sample. Using Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to guide our research, we uncovered three major themes from our focus groups: role conceptualization, barriers experienced, and motivating factors. Our findings suggest that AR special education teachers’ persistence relies on several factors, such as society’s respect for teachers, effective mentoring programs, positive collaboration experience, understanding of their unique role as AR teachers, and self-efficacy. Implications for educational practices, policies, and further research about AR teachers is explored.
It is a common assumption that children with disabilities are more likely to experience victimization than their peers without disabilities. However, there is a paucity of robust research supporting this assumption in the current literature. In response to this need, we conducted a logistic regression analysis using a national dataset of responses from 26,572 parents/caregivers to children with and without disabilities across all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia. The purpose of our study was to acquire a greater understanding of the odds of victimization among children with and without intellectual disability (ID), while controlling for several child and parent/adult demographic correlates. Most notably, our study revealed that children with ID have 2.84 times greater odds of experiencing victimization than children without disabilities, after adjusting for the other predictors in the model. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.