Improve teacher retention by understanding and supporting the work of special education teachers!
Are you concerned about special education teacher attrition? Do you wonder about how to meet the demand for highly qualified special educators? This book highlights the problems that drive many special educators out of teaching and outlines practical recommendations that leaders can use to increase retention. Drawing on field experience as well as research findings, Billingsley provides a comprehensive framework for supporting special educators.
Cultivating and Keeping Committed Special Education Teachers provides effective ways to:
- Recruit and hire qualified special educators
- Provide responsive induction programs for new teachers
- Design effective professional development opportunities
- Create inclusive and collaborative schools
- Provide reasonable work assignments and reduce paperwork
- Promote wellness by reducing stress
This book emphasizes the important role that principals play in supporting special educators and how they can make a difference in what special educators accomplish in their schools. Numerous assessments, tools, and resources are included to help leaders, mentors, and teachers improve the conditions of special education teaching.
Innehållsförteckning
List of Figures
List of Contributors
Dedication
Foreword – James Mc Leskey
Preface
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Part I: Understanding Teacher Attrition and Retention
1. Introduction: A Leader′s Framework for Teacher Retention
Chapter Overview
The Leadership Framework
Types of Attrition: A District and School Perspective
Chapter Summary
2. Why Special Educators Leave and Why It Matters
Scenario: Two Perspectives on Attrition
Chapter Overview
Why Special Educators Leave
Special Educators′ Plans to Leave
Why Attrition Matters
Chapter Summary
Selected Readings
Websites
Part II. Finding and Cultivating High Quality Special Educators
3. Recruiting and Hiring Highly Qualified Special Educators
Scenario: ’Where are the Qualified Applicants?’
Chapter Overview
Recruiting Special Education Teachers
Effective Hiring and Assignment Practices
Tips for Leaders
Chapter Summary
Selected Readings
Websites
4. Supporting New Teachers Through Responsive Induction
Scenario: How We Eat Our Young
Chapter Overview
Reasons New Teachers Struggle
Induction Goals and Planning
Key Components of Induction Programs
Summary
Selected Readings
Websites
5. Designing Effective Professional Development
Scenario: Unclear Boundaries
Chapter Overview
Involve Teachers in Assessing Needs and Planning Goals
Use Effective Professional Development Practices
Clarify Leader Roles in Professional Development
Developing University-School Partnerships for Professional Development
Enhancing Experienced Teachers′ Professional Growth
Tips for Leaders
Summary
Selected Readings
Websites
Part III. Creating Positive Work Environments
6. Creating Inclusive and Collaborative Schools
Scenario: What a Difference a Principal Can Make
Chapter Overview
Eight Leadership Tasks for Inclusive and Collaborative Schools
Tips for Leaders
Summary
Selected Readings
Websites
7. Designing Reasonable Work Assignments
Scenario: ’I Wanted to Teach Kids’
Chapter Overview
Four Types of Role Problems
Designing Reasonable Assignments for Special Education Teachers
Tips for Leaders
Summary
Selected Readings
Websites
8. Promoting Wellness by Reducing Stress
Scenario: ’Where′s the Joy?’
Chapter Overview
Symptoms of Teacher Stress and Burnout
Contributors to Stress and Burnout
Assessing Stress and Burnout
Strategies to Reduce Stress
Tips for Leaders
Understand Local Stressors Affecting Special Educators
Summary
Selected Readings
Websites
9. Strategic Planning for Teacher Quality and Retention
Scenario: Learning From Teachers
Chapter Overview
Key Questions for Understanding and Improving Retention
Strategic Planning for Retention
Summary
Selected Readings
Websites
Part IV. Resources
A. Principal Support Questionnaire
B. Teacher Stress Inventory
C.Teacher Exit Interview
D. Teacher Follow-up Exit Questionnaire
E. Teacher Workforce Survey
F. Focus Group Interviews
References
Feedback Form
Index
Om författaren
Dr. Bonnie S. Billingsley is faculty member in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Virginia Tech. She has taught a range of courses over the last fifteen years in the areas of learning disabilities, emotional disorders, and the administration and supervision of special education. Dr. Billingsley began her career in special education teaching students with disabilities in both Tallahassee and St. Augustine, Florida. She also served as district supervisor of special education in both St. Augustine, Florida and in Roanoke City, Virginia.
Dr. Billingsley’s research interests are in the preparation, support, and retention of special education teachers. Her interests in retention are focused on workplace conditions and the induction of new teachers. Dr. Billingsley has published numerous articles in leading journals on special education teacher retention, teacher support, and the needs of beginning special education teachers. She has served as a consultant in the area of special education teacher retention to various professional organizations, school systems, state departments of education, research groups, and universities and has been an invited speaker as various conferences.
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