Special Education Teacher Preparation

The Prioritization of Special Educator Well-Being: An Empirical Perspective of Contemporary Importance

“…Rendering the most negative emotion and serving as a constant barrier to well-being for SETs are the copious amounts of paperwork that are required of the special educator role. The amount of time that SETs spend writing and maintaining IEPs, assessments, data collection, behavior intervention plans, lessons plans, progress reports, and communication logs is excessive (Bateman & Cline, 2016;Mastropieri et al, 2017;Ruble et al, 2018). Causing SETs even more frustration is the lack of recognition that is received by division administrators for their efforts.…”

“…Although dated, the most likely demographic to depart the special education field was age, with younger, less-experienced teachers, more likely to leave the profession (Billingsley, 2004; Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2019; Conley & You, 2017). Similarly, an evident challenge is filling SET vacancies perpetuated by the turnover of young SETs with little experience, with similar young and inexperienced SETs (Billingsley & Bettini, 2017;Mastropieri et al, 2017). Also of note is that some SETs take on teaching positions before completing their teacher preparation programs.…”

“…These teachers take upon the role of SET with provisional licensure, seizing the professional teaching role before fulfilling all degree requirements. SETs entering the field through this route have demonstrated a greater likelihood of leaving the profession (Bettini et al, 2020;Mastropieri et al, 2017). This cyclical challenge of replacing younger, inexperienced SETs with young SETs with little experience leaves the field of special education in need of qualified teachers prepared to take upon the unique role requirements of a special educator.…”