Resources

Billingsley, B. (2005). Cultivating and keeping committed special educators: What principals and district administrators can do. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Billingsley, B., Griffin, C., Smith, S. J., Kamman, M., & Israel, M. (2009). A review of teacher induction in special education: Research, practice, and technology Solutions. Monograph prepared for the National Center to Inform Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development (NCIPP), The University of Florida.

Boe, E.E., Cook, L.H., & Sunderland, R.J. (2008). Teacher turnover: Examining exit attrition, teaching area transfer, and school migration. Exceptional Children, 75(1), 7–31.

Dingle, M., Brownell, M. T., Leko, M. M., Boardman, A. G., & Haager, D. (2011). Developing effective special education reading teachers: The influence of professional development, context, and individual qualities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 34, 1–15.

Griffin, C.C., Kilgore, K.L., Winn, J.A., Otis-Wilborn, A., Hou, W., & Garvan, C.W. (2009). First-year special educators: The influence of school and classroom context factors on their accomplishments and problems. Teacher Education and Special Education, 32(1), 45–63.

Hobson, A.J., Ashby, P., Malderez, A., & Tomlinson, P.D. (2009). Mentoring beginning teachers: What we know and what we don’t. Teaching & Teacher Education, 5(1), 207–216.

Ingersoll, R. M., & Strong, M. (2011). The impact of induction and mentoring programs for beginning teachers: A critical review of the research. Review of Educational Research, 81(2), 201–233.

Johnson, S.M., Kardos, S.M., Kauffman, D., Liu, E., & Donaldson, M.L. (2004). The support gap: New teachers’ early experiences in high-income and low- income schools. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 12(61). Retrieved on February 25, 2009, from http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/216/342.

Johnson, S. M., & The Project on the Next Generation of Teachers (2004). Finders and keepers: Helping teachers survive and thrive in our schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Jones, N., & Youngs, P. (2012). Daily emotions and their association with the commitment and burnout of beginning teachers. Teachers College Record, 114(2), 1–36.

Jones, N.D., Youngs, P., & Frank, K.A. (2013). The role of school-based colleagues in shaping the commitment of novice special and general education teachers. Exceptional Children, 79(3), 365–383.

Kamman, M.L. & Long, S.K. (2010). One District’s Approach to the Induction of Special Education Teachers: A Case Study The Journal of Special Education Leadership, 23(1), 21–29.

Kamman, M., Zimmerman, K., Israel, M., McCray, E., Brownell, M., Sindelar, P., Heretick, J., Rice, S., & Bae, J. (2011). District induction manual: Supporting beginning special educators. University of Florida, National Center to Inform Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development website: http://www.ncipp.org.

Kamman, M., Zimmerman, K., Israel, M., McCray, E., Brownell, M., Sindelar, P., Heretick, J., Rice, S., & Bae, J. (2011). Mentor Handbook: A handbook for mentors of beginning special education teachers. University of Florida, National Center to Inform Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development website: http://www.ncipp.org.

Leko, M. M., & Brownell, M. T. (2009). Crafting quality professional development for special educators: What school leaders should know. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 42, 64–70.

National Association of State Boards of Education. (2013). Teacher induction. Retrieved on January 10, 2014, from http://www.nasbe.org/project/teacher-induction/

National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. (2009). Impacts of comprehensive teacher induction: Results from the second year of a randomized controlled study. Retrieved on January 10, 2014 from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20094072/

Pogodzinki, B., Youngs, P., Frank, K.A. & Belman, D. (2012). Administrative Climate and Novices’ Intent to Remain Teaching, The Elementary School Journal, 113(2), 252–275.

Sindelar, P.T., Brownell, M.T., & Billingsley, B. (2010). Special education teacher education research: Current status and future directions. Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, 33(1), 8–24.

Smith, T. M., & Ingersoll, R. M. (2004). What are the effects of induction and mentoring on beginning teacher turnover? American Educational Research Journal, 41(3), 681–714.

Billingsley, B. (2010). Work contexts matter: Practical considerations for improving new special educators’ experiences in schools. The Journal of Special Education Leadership, 23(1), 41–49.

This article addresses the challenge of special education teacher retention through a combination of practical tips and effective strategies designed to help new teachers deal with a host of classroom issues. On hand here are notes on lesson planning, time management, and classroom behavior, as well as nine specific recommendations for helping special educators to adjust to the rigors of the profession.

Billingsley, B., Carlson, E., & Klein, S. (2004). The working conditions and induction support of early career special educators. Exceptional Children, 70(3), 333–347.

This piece represents an attempt to determine what kinds of school conditions lead to higher rates of retention among special education instructors. The authors piece together a complex picture, but one suggesting that teachers who feel supported by their peers enjoy higher rates of retention than do those who do not, with the overall climate of the school (and the extent to which they feel they are able to make a difference in their students’ lives) also playing a determinative role.

Billingsley, B., Griffin, C., Smith, S.J., Kamman, M., & Israel, M. (2009). A Review of Teacher Induction in Special Education: Research, Practice, and Technology Solutions. Monograph prepared for the National Center to Inform Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development (NCIPP), The University of Florida.

The authors of this informative report offer an overview of our current understanding of teacher induction efforts and the extent to which they curtail the rate of retention, particularly among special educators. Included are a comprehensive set of recommendations and guidelines for improving those efforts as well as a look forward at the research and work to come.

Bishop, A.G., Brownell, M.T., Klingner, J.K., Leko, M.M., & Galman, S.A.C. (2010). Differences in beginning special education teachers: The influence of personal attributes, preparation, and school environment on classroom reading practices. Learning Disability Quarterly, 33, 75–92.

One goal of researchers is to build a better understanding of the factors and characteristics that might incline certain educators to leave the profession. In this article, the authors explore that question, overviewing an interplay of personal characteristics, school environments, and credentialing backgrounds that might make some special education instructors more likely to leave the field than some of their peers.

Collins, L. W., Sweigart, C. A., Landrum, T. J., & Cook, B. C. (2017). Navigating common challenges and pitfalls in the first years of special education: Solutions for success. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 49(4), 213–222.

The high rate of special education teacher turnover during the first few years in the profession remains a significant challenge for instructors and schools alike. Fortunately, a growing number of promising practices are now available to help stem the tide of teacher attrition. Here the authors examine a few of them, including the application of self-assessment of professional support and practice, and performance feedback to improve the identification and use of evidence-based practices in the classroom. A list of reliable resources is also included for those wishing to learn more.

Gehrke, R.S., & Murri, N. (2006). Beginning special educators’ intent to stay in special education: Why they like it here. Teacher Education and Special Education, 29(3), 179–190.

In this report, the authors examine how special education teachers react to their first encounters with the classroom via interviews with a number of instructors. Their findings indicate that, though first- and second-year teachers are committed in principle to overcoming the initial challenges presented by the profession, significant frustrations stem from curricular demands and the expectation that their students will be included in general education classrooms for at least some part of the day.

Gehrke, R.S., & McCoy, K. (2007). Sustaining and retaining beginning special educators: It takes a village. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 490–500.

This study sets out to gauge the importance of support systems for new special education instructors. In it, the authors detail the experiences of five first-year teachers and find that the stronger their network of support, the more likely they were to remain in the profession past the first few, sometimes difficult, years.

Rock, M. L., Zigmond, N. P., Gregg, M., & Gable, R. A. (2011). The power of virtual coaching. Educational Leadership, 69(2), 42–48.

If in-person teacher coaches are not available, what about a virtual coach? This article overviews the effectiveness of such professional distance-relationships on the attrition rates of new educators. Included is an overview of the practice, thoughts on its relative value, and advice for those who might take up or otherwise be involved in virtual coaching.

Rock, M. L., Gregg, M., Howard, P. W., Gable, R. A., Zigmond, N., L. Bullock, B., & Blanks, B. (2012). Time after time online: An extended study of virtual coaching during distant clinical practice. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 20(3), 277–304.

This detailed and informative resource sets out to sound the effectiveness of virtual or distance coaching through a close examination of the practice via individual interactions. Virtual coaching sessions were recorded and examined, and the findings indicate that virtual coaching can indeed have a positive impact on teacher effectiveness and attrition rates.

Sindelar, P.T., Heretick, J., Hirch, E., Rorrer, A., & Dawson, S.A. (2010). What district administrators need to know about state induction policy. The Journal of Special Education Leadership, 23(1), 5–13.

How do state policy and standards affect the overall success of teacher mentoring programs? The authors of this informative study set out to discover the answer. On hand here is an overview of the interaction between state education policy and the relative value of teacher mentoring, as well as how individual parts of that policy might serve to strengthen or weaken those programs.

Whitaker, S. D. (2003). Needs of beginning special education teachers: Implications for teacher education. Teacher Education and Special Education, 26(2), 106–117.

This study—which examined the experiences of new teachers in South Carolina—found that, though help with behavior management and curricular demands were high on the list of perceived needs, the most commonly expressed sentiments were for greater support (including emotional support) and more help acclimating to an individual school’s culture. Implications of the study and a suggestion of further work are also included.

White, M., & Mason, C. Y. (2006). Components of a successful mentoring program for beginning special education teachers: Perspectives from new teachers and mentors. Teacher Education and Special Education, 29(3), 191–201.

This wide-scale examination of the practical effect of teacher mentoring programs—conducted at schools around the country and involving hundreds of teachers and mentors—found that those programs are indeed perceived as valuable by new special education instructors and that they do appear to lessen the attrition rate among those just entering the profession.

Billingsley, B. Brownell, M., Israel, M. & Kamman, M. (2013). Survival Guide for First-Year Special Education Teachers, Jossey Bass: San Francisco, CA.

This book-length work serves as a practical how-to guide for surviving the early days as a special education instructor. Practical tips—including notes on creating good relationships with one’s fellow teachers and managing classroom behavior—are on hand, among much more.

The National Center to Inform Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development website
(http://ncipp.education.ufl.edu)

This national center provides information and resources for teachers engaged in the instruction of students with disabilities. The focus here is on influencing public policy and fostering the creation of strong and effective mentoring programs for new teachers.

The CEEDAR Center website
(https://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/)

The CEEDAR Center supports state efforts at creating education professionals who are better prepared and better able to create strong outcomes for educate students with disabilities.