1. The Greening of the Teacher Workforce: Implications for Special Educator Preparation
Virginia L. McLaughlin,
Chancellor Professor, William and Mary
TED Conference - Tempe, Arizona
November 7, 2015

2. Off to School!
But is the setting as supportive of new teachers as we’d like to believe?

3. What’s happening in the educator workforce?
Retirements
Attrition
More first-year teachers
Lack of diversity
Underprepared and unprepared novices
Unequal distribution of effective teachers
Recognition of importance of professional community
Low morale of teachers

4. Why do these workforce trends matter?
Fewer clinical faculty for student teachers
Fewer mentors for beginning teachers
Fewer colleagues and principals knowledgeable about special education
More churn in “hard to staff” schools
Less effective program implementation
Less in-depth professional development
Less opportunity for professional learning community

5. Why it Really Matters
Both research and experience suggest that teachers learn much of what they know in schools (as opposed to preparation institutions) from more experienced teachers.(Mehta, et al, 2015)

6. Bottom Line: The capacity of schools to serve students requires a well-prepared and stable professional workforce

7. What can we do to ensure positive clinical experiences?
Establish Professional Development Schools
Develop Clinical Faculty Programs
Place interns in clusters
Promote co-teaching
Expand geographical areas
Make greater use of technologies
Other?

8. Mentoring

9. What can we do to support induction?
Teach candidates to use support networks while in the program
Help them learn to find—and even create—their own support networks
Support e-mentoring programs
Use social media to keep alumni networks engaged
Other?

10. How can we prepare our candidates for co-teaching with other novices?
Seize the opportunity
Revisit the purpose of co-teaching
Clarify general and special education roles
Emphasize co-planning as support
Share responsibility for student achievement

11. Sending off our graduates well prepared for the “new realities” of the workplace!

12. References
Billingsley, B.S. (2010). Practical considerations for improving new special educators’ experiences in schools. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 23(1),
Billingsley, B.S., Griffin, C.C., Smith, S.J., Kamman, M., & Israel, M. (2009). A review of teacher induction in special education: Research, practice, and technology solutions (Report No. RS-1). Retrieved from
Carroll, T. G., & Foster, E. (2010). Who will teach? Experience matters. Retrieved from .
Center on Great Teachers and Leaders. (2015). Ensuring the equitable distribution of teachers: Strategies for school, district, and state leaders. Retrieved from

13. Friend, M. (2014). Co-Teach! Building and sustaining effective classroom partnerships in inclusive schools (2nd ed.). Greensboro, NC: Marilyn Friend.
Ingersoll, R., Merrill, L., & Stuckey, D. (2014). Seven trends: the transformation of the teaching force, updated April CPRE Report (#RR-80). Philadelphia: Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Pennsylvania.
Mehta, J., Theisen-Homer, V., Braslow, D. & Lopatin, A. (2015). From Quicksand to solid ground: Building a foundation to support quality teaching. Retrieved fromhttp://
Murawski, W.W. & Dieker, L.A. (2013). Leading the co-teaching dance: Leadership strategies to enhance team outcomes. Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.

14. OECD. (2014). TALIS 2013 results: An international perspective on teaching and learning. Paris, France: OECD Publishing. doi: / en.
Pugach, M.C., Blanton, L.P., Correa, V.I., McLeskey, J., & Langley, L.K. (2009). The role of collaboration in supporting the induction and retention of new special education teachers (Report No. RS-2). Retrieved from
Raue, K., Gray, L. & Westat. (2015) Career paths of beginning public school teachers. National Center for Educational Statistics. Retrieved from
Scruggs, T.E., Mastropieri, M.A., & McDuffie, K.A. (2007). Co-teaching in inclusive classrooms: A metasynthesis of qualitative research. Council for Exceptional Children, 73(4),