The Demand for Special Education Teachers in Rural Schools Revisited: An Update on Progress. (March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sindelar, Paul T.; Pua, Daisy J.; Fisher, Tiffany; Peyton, David J.; Brownell, Mary T.; Mason-Williams, Loretta
• Is Part Of: Rural special education quarterly. Volume 37:Number 1(2018)
• Page Start: 12
• Page End: 20
• Publication Date: 2018-03
• Subjects: rural schools -- special education -- teacher qualifications; People with disabilities -- Education -- United States -- Periodicals; People with disabilities -- Education; United States; Éducation spéciale; Handicapé; Milieu rural; États-Unis; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Périodique électronique (Descripteur de forme); Ressource Internet (Descripteur de forme); 371.90973
• DOI: 10.1177/8756870517749247
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 8756-8705

Abstract

In this commentary, we revisit "NCLB and the Demand for Highly Qualified Teachers: Challenges and Solutions for Rural Schools, " an article we published in this journal in 2005. We consider the predictions we made then about the impact of the Highly Qualified Teacher mandate on special education teacher (SET) shortages in rural states and regions, acknowledging that we overlooked the diversity of rural areas and their differentiated needs in our original article. We then update strategies and programs for preparing, recruiting, and retaining SETs in rural schools and discuss the implications of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which has replaced the No Child Left Behind Act, for special education in rural areas. We note with optimism the resilience that rural areas have exhibited in the face of teacher shortages and see hope in recent technology applications and other context-based strategies.