Erica D. McCray

Examining the Legacy of Brown The Impact on Special Education and Teacher Practice

The Brown v. Board of Education (1954) case has left a lasting impact on the way children are educated in this country. Much has been written about the legacy of Brown as it relates to current desegregation practices, academic achievement for students of color, and school reform. This paper will examine the implications of the Brown decision on reform efforts in special education, as well as address the need for greater emphasis on teaching that reflects an understanding of the intersection of race, culture, and class.

Mentoring in Action: The Interplay Among Professional Assistance, Emotional Support, and Evaluation

The growing emphasis on teacher accountability has led to increased integration of teacher evaluation and new teacher mentoring. This study examined professional and emotional mentoring supports within an urban school district that centered its induction program on structured teacher evaluation. Five mentors and 16 new special educators participated in this study. Data included evaluation reports for the 2009–2010 school year, mentor time allocation charts, and new teacher interviews. Results indicated the following: (a) Evaluation provided guidance for mentors’ feedback; (b) emotional supports and professional supports were interrelated, wherein emotional supports occurred within the context of professional supports; and (c) the majority of the new teachers did not indicate that the evaluation adversely affected their mentoring experience.

Learning while Teaching: A Case Study of Beginning Special Educators Completing a Master of Arts in Teaching.

In this article, the author details the findings of a study of completers during their last semester of a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program in special education. The purpose of this multiple-case study was to understand how the extent to which the program was implemented, the participants’ background and career trajectories, and the teaching context interacted to yield their success. To understand the interactions of these elements, the researcher examined the academic and personal backgrounds of three teachers completing a MAT program in Varying Exceptionalities, examined the teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, observed their practice, and gained the perspectives of their mentor teachers. Findings indicated that nonacademic characteristics, applied preparation in content and pedagogy, and a supportive context were important to the success of these beginning teachers.

Tutoring Opened My Eyes: Tutor Experiences in the America Reads Challenge

The America Reads Challenge offers colleges and universities an opportunity to make a contribution to the community while enhancing the education of their students, employing tutoring as a service learning experience. At the same time, their efforts will help the institution develop and sustain community partnerships. This paper reports an analysis of America Reads tutors’ reactions to their experiences working with struggling readers. Tutors’ comments were collected from reaction papers written during a course associated with the program and from other sources. Tutors reported numerous benefits, including new knowledge about children and schools, new appreciation for teachers, new awareness of teaching as a potential profession, and preparation for important aspects of parenthood. Some tutors elected to change their major as a result of their experience, and others reported a greater commitment to community service and mentoring. The potential for America Reads is yet untapped.

Redesigning Personnel Preparation Lessons Learned and Considerations for Program Enhancement

Changing legal requirements, economic demands, accountability, and student demographics focus the need for reform among personnel preparation programs. Although redesign efforts in general and special education teacher preparation programs have increased, little evidence from research describes enhancement initiatives. In this article, the authors report the findings of an investigation of contextual variables related to reforming teacher preparation as reported by project personnel at Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) who were awarded 325T priority grants by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) during a 5-year period. This study employed a sequential mixed-methods design, which included (a) the administration of a survey to all project directors and (b) interviews with a purposive sample of project directors. From the analysis, results and future implications are included.

The impact of no child left behind on special education teacher supply and the preparation of the workforce

For decades, special education has been plagued by shortages of fully qualified teachers. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was designed to address the problem of teacher shortage by easing entry and promoting alternative routes (ARs). However, the law was not specific to special education, and the logic on which it is based fits the special education context poorly. Nonetheless, ARs have proliferated in special education. In this chapter, we consider the impact of NCLB generally and AR preparation specifically on special education teacher (SET) shortages. We describe the population of SETs, review research on special education ARs, and consider the problem of diversifying the workforce. We also review research on teacher attrition and policies designed to reduce it.

The efficacy of a literacy intervention for incarcerated adolescents

ABSTRACT This randomized trial with repeated measures investigated the efficacy of a literacy intervention for low-performing readers in a juvenile corrections setting over a 31-month period. Students were randomly assigned to treatment (i.e., Read 180®) or treatment-as-usual (i.e., typical literacy program with computer instruction) conditions. Students were scheduled to receive 110-min of daily literacy instruction. The average total amount of instruction across both groups was 137 h. This article examines treatment effects using curriculum-based measures of comprehension, oral reading fluency, and spelling and standardized diagnostic reading and language assessments. Significant differences in favor of the treatment group were found with reading comprehension and language. Findings are discussed in the context of literacy instruction for male students in small long-term juvenile correctional facilities.