Supply and Demand of Leadership Personnel in Special Education: A Follow-up Study with Analysis of Failed Searches

Abstract

Concern about the problem of declining numbers of special education doctoral graduates and increasing numbers of faculty vacancies in university training programs has grown since the early 1980s. In this study, we investigated the supply and demand of leadership personnel in special education and communication disorders and extended an existing data base to include the years 1988 to 1992. We also conducted an analysis of failed searches that occurred in 1988, which allowed us to (a) determine the number of open positions that went unfilled and (b) identify institutional demographic variables associated with failed searches. Predictions about demand outstripping supply are borne out by these data, and the problem seems particularly acute at institutions with small departmental faculties. Implications for policy development are discussed. N 1988, Sindelar and Taylor predicted that the demand for special education doctoral graduates would soon outweigh the supply.Using data from 1975 to 1987, these investigators found that the number of special education doctoral graduates decreased by nine per year over an 11-year period, while the number of job vacancies reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education increased over a 13-year period by nearly one per year.

Market Demand for Special Education Faculty

“…Smith et al (1988) first discovered that in 1988, only 33% of SE graduates sought faculty positions. In addition, they found that the number of overall graduates had decreased when compared with earlier studies (see Sindelar et al, 1993;Smith & Lovett, 1987). In addition, they found that the number of overall graduates had decreased when compared with earlier studies (see Sindelar et al, 1993;Smith & Lovett, 1987).…”

“…Notably, only 44% intended to work in academe post graduation. Sindelar and Taylor (1988) and others examining various aspects of the demand for faculty in SE (Dil et al, 1993;Eichinger et al, 2000;Pierce et al, 1992;Pierce & Smith, 1994;Pion et al, 2003;Sindelar et al, 1993;Smith et al, 2001;Smith et al, 2011;Smith & Lovett, 1987;Tyler, et al, 2003) have all approached this line of research guided by the fundamental belief in a free appropriate public education for all students, including those with disabilities, as mandated by Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1975 . Pion and her colleagues also found that those in tenure-line faculty positions earned significantly less than their nonacademic counterparts and, due to age and family restrictions, had a low mobility rate.…”

“…A number of studies have sought to track the history of demand for SE doctoral graduates (Eichinger et al, 2000;National Science Foundation, 2010; NORC at the University of Chicago, 2010; Sindelar et al, 1993;Sindelar & Taylor, 1988;Smith et al, 2011). Multiple indicators exist related to demand in SE.…”

“…Sindelar et al (1993) studied failed searches in 1988 and determined that smaller institutions could not compete for qualified candidates against larger institutions. Sindelar and Taylor (1988); Sindelar, Buck, Carpenter, and Watanabe (1993); and Eichinger, Downing, Evans, Feck, and Ike (2000) studies Note: SE = special education.…”

Marketable Features of the Adapted Physical Education Career in Higher Education

“…The second type of analysis was a calculation of regression equations for three data categories: APE job openings, fist priority, and second priority. Each equation was calculated using the academic year as the predictor variable and the position opening as the criterion variable (Sindelar, Buck, Carpenter, & Watanabe, 1993;Sindelar & Taylor, 1988). The linear effect of the predictor variable on the criterion variable in a regression equation was tested with an analysis of variance (F test;Moore & McCabe, 1989).…”