Beginning teachers face a wide array of challenges in today’s PreK-12 classrooms. These challenges are magnified for beginning special education teachers who must meet the needs of an extremely diverse student population. To prepare beginning special education teachers for classroom realities, teacher educators must recognize and use high-leverage preparation practices in coursework and field-based experiences during teacher training. The goal of the present study was to conduct a state-level analysis that examined ways in which teacher educators implemented field-based experiences with preservice special education teachers. A cross-sectional survey research design was used to gather qualitative data from a sample of teacher educators who were affiliated with university-based teacher preparation programs.
Data were analyzed with two levels of coding and generated four themes. Findings and limitations with the present study were discussed, as well as best practice strategies for field-based experiences in special education teacher training
