| Title: |
Misalignments between Student Teaching Placements and Initial Teaching Positions: Implications for the Early-Career Attrition of Special Education Teachers |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Ben Backes; James Cowan; Dan Goldhaber; Zeyu Jin (ORCID 0009-0001-6072-7864); Roddy Theobald (ORCID 0000-0002-5479-4147) |
| Source: |
Journal of Learning Disabilities. 2025 58(4):325-338. |
| Availability: |
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
14 |
| Publication Date: |
2025 |
| Sponsoring Agency: |
Institute of Education Sciences (ED) |
| Contract Number: |
R305S210012 |
| Document Type: |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
| Education Level: |
Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Elementary Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: |
Special Education Teachers; Student Teaching; Student Placement; Inclusion; Self Contained Classrooms; Teacher Qualifications; Student Teacher Supervisors; Teacher Certification; Students with Disabilities; Elementary Secondary Education; Beginning Teachers; Faculty Mobility |
| Geographic Terms: |
Massachusetts |
| DOI: |
10.1177/00222194241312193 |
| ISSN: |
0022-2194; 1538-4780 |
| Abstract: |
Graduates of special education teacher education programs can teach in a range of special education settings, raising the potential that their training can occur in very different settings than where they find their first jobs. We follow 263 completers of Moderate Disabilities programs in the U.S. state of Massachusetts from their field placements to their early-career teaching positions and study the characteristics of their field placements and the degree to which these are aligned with their early-career teaching positions. We also assess the degree to which alignment is associated with early-career teacher turnover. We found that many of these teachers student taught in an inclusive setting but were hired into a self-contained special education setting and vice versa, and teachers who experienced this misalignment were more likely to leave the workforce early in their careers. Teachers who student taught with a supervising practitioner without a special education license were also more likely to leave early. Findings suggest that teachers training to educate students with learning disabilities should student teach in a setting that is aligned with where they are likely to be hired and with a supervising practitioner who is trained in special education. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| IES Funded: |
Yes |
| Entry Date: |
2025 |
| Accession Number: |
EJ1475535 |
| Database: |
ERIC |