The Western Carolina University Teacher Support Program: A Multi-Component Program to Improve and Retain Special Educators

Abstract

T he many job-related problems faced by special education teachers have been well documented (e.g.

The Teacher Support Program

“…As shown in Table 1, the other components of the TSP included electronic networking and communication, information and materials searches, peer mentoring arrangements, opportunities for teacher release, and participant-directed staff development sessions. These support services are briefly described in Table 1 and have been described elsewhere (Westling & Cooper-Duffy, 2003;Westling, Cooper-Duffy, Prohn, Ray, & Herzog, 2005). Requests can be made for printed matter on teaching practices or instructional materials that the teacher can read or borrow and use in the classroom.…”

A Comparison of On-Campus and Distance Teacher Education Programs in Severe Disabilities

“…Although a number of approaches have been described in the literature to address the personnel needs of rural and remote school districts (Rosenkoetter et al, 2004;Spooner, Spooner, Algozzine, & Jordan, 1998;Williams, Martin, & Hess, 2002), there is a consensus that the most effective programs are designed to identify, recruit, train, and support teacher candidates from the local area (Ludlow et al, 2005;Sebastian & McDonnell, 1995). In response, some IHEs have turned to distance education programs as a means to provide comprehensive teacher preparation programs in these communities (Bullock, Gable, & Mohr, 2008;Cegelka & Alvarado, 2000;Cooke & deBettencourt, 2001;Grisham-Brown, 1998;Knapczyk, Chapman, Rodes, & Chung, 2001;Ludlow & Duff, 2002;Sebastian, Egan, Welch, & Page, 1996;Spooner, Agran, Spooner, & Kiefer-O'Donnell, 2000;Westling & Cooper-Duffy, 2003).…”

“…In general, programs that use these technologies to deliver coursework have reported positive outcomes (Ludlow et al, 2005). A limitation of these studies, however, is that they have relied primarily on descriptive measures of effectiveness such as the number of students recruited into the program, the number of students completing the program, and student ratings of course effectiveness (Cegelka & Alvarado, 2000;Cooke & deBettencourt, 2001;Grisham-Brown, 1998;Knapczyk et al, 2001;Ludlow & Duff, 2002;Sebastian et al, 1996;Westling & Cooper-Duffy, 2003). Data on student learning outcomes have been rarely reported, and when available, they focus on measures such as course grades and student scores on assignments and tests.…”