Early Career Special Education Teachers Perceived Value of Being Mentored by General Education Teachers

Special education induction research has examined mentor support and working conditions of early career special education teachers (ECSETs) for over 20 years. Recently researchers provide specialized professional development to mentors based on suggestions of special education induction research. Drawing on quality indicators of single-subject research and the belief that social validity data is valuable, we used qualitative methods to discover ECSETs’ perceptions of the intervention and the helpfulness of the mentors. We then compared responses of the participants with the existing research in special education induction. Findings indicate the participants appreciated the specialized training for their mentors and perceived their mentors as helpful and affected their teaching experiences. However, similar to existing research, the participants had mixed feelings about their working conditions

Early Career Special Education Teachers Perceived Value of Being Mentored By General Education Teachers

Special education induction research has examined mentor support and working conditions of early career special education teachers (ECSETs) for over 20 years. Recently researchers provide specialized professional development to mentors based on suggestions of special education induction research. Drawing on quality indicators of single-subject research and the belief that social validity data is valuable, we used qualitative methods to discover ECSETs’ perceptions of the intervention and the helpfulness of the mentors. We then compared responses of the participants with the existing research in special education induction. Findings indicate the participants appreciated the specialized training for their mentors and perceived their mentors as helpful and affected their teaching experiences. However, similar to existing research, the participants had mixed feelings about their working conditions

Examining the Impact of Professional Development and Coaching on Mentoring of Novice Special Educators

The similarity of teaching assignments between mentor and novice teachers are typically regarded as necessary prerequisites for successful mentoring relationships. Yet, due to the personnel shortages and specialized teaching assignments in special education, it is not always possible to match novice special educators with veteran special educators. This multiple-baseline across behaviors study investigated specialized professional development and individualized coaching for general education teacher mentors. Outcomes assessed included the intervention’s impact on the mentors’ special education knowledge, mentors’ ability to identify needed components of special education lesson delivery, and novice teachers’ improvements in instructional practice. Results indicated a functional relationship between the intervention and mentor knowledge as well as the ability to identify components of specialized instruction. Most important, novice special educators improved their instructional practices after being mentored by those who received the professional development and specialized coaching