Special education: overview and key considerations

Special Education Teacher Shortage: An Overview

In the article "The Supply of and Demand for Special Education Teachers" Flippin, Mcleskey & Tyler (2004) discuss the critical shortage of special education teachers that currently exist in the United States. The authors point out that the shortage is a chronic problem evidenced in all geographic areas of the nation.

The authors attempt to analyze what factors have influenced the supply and demand for special education teachers in recent years, and address the magnitude of the shortage of teachers available in the U.S.

Information is pulled from a variety of data sources for the investigation, including the U.S. Department of Education Special Education Unit and the National Center for Education Statistics survey.

Their investigations reveal that 98% of school districts have reported special education teacher shortages in the last several years, with a 1999 survey showing special education as the area with the fewest number of available teachers in most major metropolitan U.S. cities.

Their study also shows that special education teachers were particularly in shortage for treating children with emotional and behavioral disorders, followed by individuals with "multicategorical, severe or profound disabilities" then those with learning disabilities.

Other statistics pointed out by the researchers show that although more than 38% of special education students are culturally and linguistically diverse, less than 14% of the teachers available in the field are from culturally diverse ethnic groups. This may impact a teachers' ability to relate to student with multicultural backgrounds.

Finally, the researchers conclude that drastic measures be taken to alleviate the shortage of special education teachers that currently exist within the U.S. There is some research available which supports the notion that special education teachers are more likely to be recruited via alternative certification programs. The authors conclude that further research is needed however in order to determine whether approaches such as this are likely to be successful for recruiting diverse personnel to work in the field of special education.

In addition, the researchers conclude that three factors determine the perceived demand for special education teachers. These include: student enrollment, teacher caseload and teacher attrition. The research suggest that further research is also necessary within these three areas. The data that is available support the notion that the number of special education teaching positions available in schools will likely remain unfilled but the demand for special education teachers will remain unchanged. In addition there is evidence pointing out that teacher caseloads can vary drastically due to non-conforming state regulations with regard to teacher caseloads.

Fewer teachers are also pursuing special education. The researchers suggest that barriers related to the hiring process must be reduced, more incentives must be introduced, and enticements including salary perks should be adopted by schools to encourage special education teachers to sign on with school districts.

Despite all this information, little data is actually available with regard to why teacher shortages continue. Further research is necessary the authors conclude to help alleviate the problem.

Conclusions/Evaluations

This article is important for several reasons. It points out the critical shortage of special education teachers that is prevalent in a majority of school districts across the nation. It suggests there are several different reasons for teacher shortages, including lack of educational opportunities for special education teachers, lack of incentives for entering the field, and the difficulty associated with this particular job field. There is some evidence suggesting that teacher attrition rates and lack of new teachers entering the filed have contributed the most to special education problems in the U.S.

I agree with the authors concern over the special education crisis in the United States. The authors sampled numerous national educational authorities to draw their conclusions. They suggest that increased or improved pay and incentive programs will help encourage teachers to stay in the special education field.

I agree with this, but also think further education and training is necessary to help teachers cope with the harsh realities of working with emotionally and mentally impaired students. This is as the authors point out, the area where the greatest shortages of teachers currently exist. Working with this population must be extremely challenging. The authors hint that further education and training may help teachers in this area, however this in my opinion should be the primary area of emphasis for future studies related to special education. In addition diverse recruiting techniques should be adopted by agencies to encourage teachers from multiple ethnic backgrounds to join the field. Only then can the inadequacies that currently exist in the special education field be adequately addressed.