Shortage of Special Educators in the Northeastern District of Columbia: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

This qualitative descriptive study explored how special education teachers described their retention practices in a specialized school in the northeastern District of Columbia. The most significant issue districts face in staffing schools with qualified teachers is not the lack of certified teachers...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author Johnson, Terence Exavier
Format Dissertation
LanguageEnglish
Published ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2021
Subjects
Beginning Teachers
Classrooms
Data Analysis
Education
Educational leadership
Educational Quality
Educational Resources
Elementary education
Faculty Mobility
Literature Reviews
Research Methodology
Secondary education
Special education
Special Education Teachers
Special Needs Students
Teacher education
Teacher Persistence
Teacher Recruitment
Teacher Shortage
Teacher Supply and Demand
Teaching Methods
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Summary:This qualitative descriptive study explored how special education teachers described their retention practices in a specialized school in the northeastern District of Columbia. The most significant issue districts face in staffing schools with qualified teachers is not the lack of certified teachers overall but a chronic and continuous misalignment of teacher supply and demand. Two conceptual frameworks guided this study were: (1) Schematic Representation of Special Education Teacher Retention, Transfer, and Attrition and (2) Conceptual Model of the Influences of Teachers' Career Decisions. The study's guiding research question asks how special education teachers (grades 3 - 12) describe their own retention practices used in a specialized school? This study conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 12 special education teachers in the northeastern District of Columbia using convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using MAXQDA. Thematic analysis, with the use of a preliminary codebook, revealed the following themes: (a) training and preparation, (b) compensation and peer support, and (c) commitment to special education.
ISBN:9798496561358