Providing Effective Special Education Teachers in Low-Income Urban Settings: Implications for Educational Leadership

Abstract

Similar to other urban centers, many of the school districts located in California State University Dominguez Hills’s (CSUDH) geographic region struggle to provide their K-12 students with quality teachers. This is particularly true in the areas of Special Education, Math, and Science (California Department of Education, 2012; United States Department of Education, 2013). In CSUDH’s efforts to produce quality teachers, mitigate severe teacher shortages and assist school districts in meeting federal legislative mandates stemming from The No Child Left Behind Act (2001) and The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004), an Alternative Certification Credential Route program based upon precepts of the Professional Development School model was developed, implemented, and funded through a Transition to Teaching (TTT) Federal Grant. These authors hold that this unique TTT SPED program is a viable means of easing SET shortages where they are greatest urban centers. In doing so, these authors suggest a model that other universities striving to meet the needs of K-12 students in urban centers can implement. As such, this program overview seeks to add to the extant teacher preparation and ACR literature, specifically in the context of SPED teacher preparation.

Citation

Esposito, M.C., Hamdan, K. and Benitez, X. (2014), "Providing Effective Special Education Teachers in Low-Income Urban Settings: Implications for Educational Leadership", Pathways to Excellence: Developing and Cultivating Leaders for the Classroom and Beyond (Advances in Educational Administration, Vol. 21), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 205-219. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-366020140000021021