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Fathers of children with complex disabilities can play an important role in the development and learning of their children; however, very little is known about their school involvement experiences. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 fathers of children with complex disabilities to learn how these fathers perceived their involvement in their children’s education and schooling. Fathers constructed their school involvement with a consideration of their work and co-parenting experiences. Their employment was perceived as a form of indirect involvement in their children’s education, but could also be associated with barriers to more direct school involvement. Fathers also discussed the role of the co-parenting relationship in their school experiences and identified several factors that contributed to a greater involvement of mothers in school settings. Among these were a perceived unique expertise of mothers and school environments that were more welcoming to mothers. They also discussed some potentially negative ramifications of being less involved in school settings, compared with mothers.

Co-teaching is a widely implemented instructional strategy that poses unique challenges to teachers and may require targeted training. This study considers the role of pre-service and in-service professional development opportunities regarding co-teaching and teacher confidence, interests, and attitudes regarding co-teaching in a sample of general education and special education teachers. After controlling for key teacher demographics, professional development opportunities around co-teaching were positively associated with each teacher outcome. Teachers with more frequent in-service opportunities in co-teaching were more confident in their co-teaching practice and demonstrated higher levels of interest and more positive attitudes about co-teaching than did those teachers with less frequent in-service opportunities. Pre-service training on co-teaching was also positively associated with teacher confidence.

In 2006, the authors’ college joined the ranks of those offering programs for young adults with intellectual disabilities on campus. The program includes several inclusive courses in which typical students study together with their peers with intellectual disabilities. This article describes how 12 pre-service teachers who participated in an inclusive liberal learning understood their experience. The analysis of interviews with these pre-service teachers suggests that they emerged from the course with a commitment to the idea that students with intellectual disabilities have a right to a challenging liberal education. Most emerged with a stronger commitment to inclusive teaching practice and felt that the use of small group activities and discussions was the best way to build classroom community, create relationships among participants, and maximize learning. All of the interviewed pre-service teachers considered this course a positive academic experience.

Five years ago, a small group of higher education faculty at The College of New Jersey asked the question, "What would it look like if we created a postsecondary program for young adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) on the campus of a highly competitive four-year college?" Ultimately, our answer was that following the logic of normalization and inclusion, we should approximate the postsecondary experience of typically developing young men and women. We were aware of program models that were emerging in other places, but believed that our approach should reflect the characteristics of our existing campus and surrounding community. We had no idea how hard we would work, how much we would learn, and how many benefits would accrue to all the parties involved,