The Nationwide Trends and Preparation Requirements of Alternative Route Programs in Special Education Academic Article

abstract

• In the United States, there exists a chronic shortage of qualified special education teachers to provide instructional services to students with disabilities. One policy solution developed to increase the number of qualified teachers is alternative routes (ARs), which are broadly defined as nontraditional and accelerated preparation paths to obtain a teaching license. In this longitudinal descriptive study, we investigate (a) the national trends of special education teacher enrollment and completion in AR programs from 2012 to 2020 and (b) the special education teacher preparation requirements in state alternative pathways that are disaggregated by their affiliation with institutions of higher education. Findings reveal that AR programs preparing special education teachers are on the rise within the United States, but they vary significantly on their preparation requirements. Implications for future research and policy recommendations needed within the recruitment and preparation of special education teachers will be discussed.

authors

• Nagro, Sarah

published proceedings

• Teacher Education and Special Education The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children

author list (cited authors)

• Day, J., Nagro, S. A., & Mason-Williams, L.

complete list of authors

• Day, Jamie||Nagro, Sarah A||Mason-Williams, Loretta

publication date

• May 2024

publisher

• SAGE Publications  Publisher

published in

• Teacher Education and Special Education  Journal

keywords

• 39 Education
• 3901 Curriculum And Pedagogy
• 3902 Education Policy, Sociology And Philosophy
• 3903 Education Systems
• 4 Quality Education

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1177/08884064231172525

start page

• 93

end page

• 109

volume

• 47

issue

• 2

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/08884064231172525