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ISBN: 978-1-960348-86-9
Marcia L. Rock, Bonnie Billingsley, Lisa Dieker, & Melinda Leko, co-editors
This volume offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary examination of the national crisis in special education staffing. The editors and authors bring together innovative research, policy analysis, and systems thinking to propose theoretically sound, empirically validated, and sustainable solutions. Through a blend of empirical studies and conceptual frameworks, the volume highlights the interconnected factors contributing to workforce instability. The authors provide theoretical frameworks for conducting systems thinking using informed workforce research as well as actionable strategies for educators, administrators, and policymakers to recruit, develop, improve, and sustain the special education workforce.
Read the Editors’ Introduction
About the Editors
Marcia L. Rock is a professor in the Department of Specialized Education Services, School of Education, University of North Carolina Greensboro. Her research is currently focused on five strands: (a) technology-enabled coaching in special education teacher preparation and professional development; (b) social, emotional, and behavioral support; (c) effective instruction; (d) systems thinking and the special education workforce; and (e) research practice partnerships. Widely published in leading outlets (e.g., Teacher Education and Special Education, Review of Educational Research, Journal of Special Education Technology, Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions, Preventing School Failure, and Teaching Exceptional Children), her collaborative research and scholarship have appeared in numerous journal articles, books, chapters, and other publications. In 2019 she authored the foundational book on technology-enabled coaching for in-service special and general education teachers and has held national leadership roles, including associate editor of Preventing School Failure as well as president and political action representative for the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children.
Bonnie Billingsley is a professor in the School of Education, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She is a former special education teacher and administrator and has prepared both teachers and leaders at the graduate level. She has also authored numerous articles, chapters, as well as books on topics related to principal leadership for inclusive schools and teacher shortages, retention, and induction. Her research findings have appeared in journals such as Exceptional Children, Journal of Special Education, and Remedial and Special Education. She has collaborated about the importance of and need to sustain special education teachers across numerous universities, state departments of education, and research centers.
Melinda Leko is a professor and director of the School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on (a) educator preparation to promote effective practices for students with disabilities, (b) reading instruction for adolescents with disabilities, and (c) educators’ implementation of evidence-based practices and high-leverage practices. Dr. Leko is also a co-director on the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)–funded Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR Center).
Lisa A. Dieker is Williamson Family Distinguished Professor of Special Education at the University of Kansas and director of FLITE (Flexible Learning through Innovations in Technology and Education). Her research examines inclusive education, teacher preparation, and the use of technology, including artificial intelligence (AI) and mixed reality simulation, to support students with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). She co-founded the TeachLivE™ simulator and holds six patents in education and technology. She has authored seven books and over 100 scholarly publications and has served as editor for four academic journals.
Praise for Volume
Praise for Transforming the Special Education Workforce: Research and Complex Systems Perspectives
“What sets this volume apart is its systems approach: rather than treating workforce issues as isolated problems, it examines how interconnected policies, practices, and structures shape the field’s capacity for meaningful change. The book is an impressive achievement, and it is one the field of special education research has needed for a long time.”
Nathan Jones, associate professor, Boston University
“This text offers the field of special education a fresh approach to identifying and addressing persistently wicked workforce problems. The editors and authors employ a brilliantly integrated framework that includes systems thinking, and implementation and improvement science to infuse clarity into complex systems. As a special education teacher educator and leader of a center focused on workforce issues, these insights are applicable for aligning research, preparation, practice, and policy.”
Erica D. McCray, Associate Dean, Personnel Affairs & Community Engagement at the University of Florida College of Education
“This volume provides a welcomed addition to the professional literature that will be a valuable resource for researchers, teacher educators, policy makers, and others as they strive to improve the education and continuing professional learning of special education teachers to support enhanced classroom practice and improved student outcomes.”
James McLeskey, Professor Emeritus, University of Florida
“A key reference book on the state of the special education workforce. A thorough and well documented analysis of the long-standing special education workforce crisis.”
Naomi Zigmond, University of Pittsburgh