Working conditions may be an important lever to support special educators’ reading instruction for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Thus, we explored how working conditions relate to the quality of special educators’ reading instruction in upper-elementary, self-contained classes for students with EBD. Using mixed methods to examine video observations of reading instruction and varied data sources on working conditions, we found that special educators who provided stronger instruction had a partner coleading their program, and consistent paraprofessionals, with time and support for training. Partners and paraprofessionals, together, protected special educators’ instruction time. Other conditions (i.e., material resources, role differentiation, role conceptions, planning time) emerged as potentially important, but evidence was less robust. Results indicate partners and paraprofessionals may be important forms of collegial support. These findings have important implications for improving the quality of instruction in self-contained settings for students with EBD.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AllinderR. M. (1996). When some is not better than none: Effects of differential implementation of curriculum-based measurement. Exceptional Children, 62(6), 525–535. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440299606200604
2.
BennerG. J.NelsonJ. R.RalstonN. C.MooneyP. (2010). A meta-analysis of the effects of reading instruction on the reading skills of students with or at risk of behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 35(2), 86–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/019874291003500202
3.
BettiniE.CrockettJ.BrownellM. T.MerrillK. (2016). Relationships between working conditions and special educators’ instruction. The Journal of Special Education, 50(30), 178–190. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466916644425
4.
BettiniE.CummingM.MerrillK.BrunstingN.LiaupsinC. J. (2017). Working conditions in self-contained settings for students with emotional disorders. The Journal of Special Education, 51, 83–94. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022466916674195
5.
BettiniE.CummingM.O’BrienK. M.BrunstingN.RagunanthanM.SuttonR.ChopraA. (2020). Predicting special educators’ intent to continue teaching students with emotional/behavioral disorders in self-contained classes. Exceptional Children, 86, 209–228. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402919873556
6.
BettiniE.LillisJ.StarkK.BrunstingN.Morris MathewsH, (in revision). Special educators’ experiences of interpersonal interactions in self-contained settings for students with emotional/behavioral disorders. Remedial and Special Education.
7.
BillingsleyB.BettiniE. (2019). Special education teacher attrition and retention: A review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 89, 697–744. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319862495
8.
BrantlingerE.JimenezR.KlingnerJ.PugachM.RichardsonV. (2005). Qualitative studies in special education. Exceptional Children, 71, 195–207.
9.
BrownellM.JonesN.MahdaviJ.PeytonD.PuaD. (2017, November). Designing and validating an observation protocol for novice special education teachers [Paper presentation]. Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children annual meeting, Savannah, GA, United States.
10.
CampbellA.Bowman-PerrottL.BurkeM.SalleseM. (2018). Reading, writing, math, and content-area interventions for improving behavioral and academic outcomes of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Learning Disabilities, 16(2), 119–138.
11.
CummingM. M.SmithS. W.O’BrienK. (2019). Perceived stress, executive function, perceived stress regulation, and behavioral outcomes of adolescents with and without significant behavior problems. Psychology in the Schools, 56(9), 1359–1380. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22293
12.
CummingM.O’BrienK. M.BrunstingN. C.BettiniE. (2020). Special educators’ working conditions, self-efficacy, and practices use with students with emotional/behavioral disorders. Remedial and Special Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932520924121
13.
DoablerC.BakerS.KostyD.SmolkowskiK.ClarkeB.MillerS. J.FienH. (2015). Examining the association between explicit mathematics instruction and student mathematics achievement. Elementary School Journal, 115(3), 303–333. https://doi.org/10.1086/679969
14.
GarwoodJ. D.McKennaJ. W.CiulloS. (2020). Early reading instruction with embedded behavioral supports for children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Beyond Behavior, 29(1), 6–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/1074295619900380
15.
GarwoodJ. D.Vernon-FeagansL., & Family Life Project Key Investigators. (2017). Classroom management affects literacy development of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Exceptional Children, 83(2), 123–142. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402916651846
16.
GrindalT.SchifterL. A.SchwartzG.HehirT. (2019). Racial differences in special education identification and placement: Evidence across three states. Harvard Educational Review, 89(4), 525–553. https://doi.org/10.17763/1943-5045-89.4.525
JacksonK.MarakinA. (2016). Simplifying teaching: A field experiment with online “off-the-shelf” lessons. Working paper, National Bureau of Economic Research. https://nber.org/papers/w22398
19.
JohnsonS. M.KraftM. A.PapayJ. P. (2012). How context matters in high-need schools: The effect of teachers’ working conditions on their professional satisfaction and their students’ achievement. Teachers College Record, 114(10), 1–39.
KaneT. J.StaigerD. O. (2012). Gathering feedback for teachers: Combining high-quality observations with student surveys and achievement gains. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
22.
KennedyM. M. (2016). How does professional development improve teaching?Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 945–980. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315626800
23.
LaneK. L.WehbyJ. H.LittleM. A.CooleyC. (2005). Academic, social, and behavioral profiles of students with emotional and behavioral disorders educated in self-contained classrooms and self-contained schools: Part I. Are they more alike than different?Behavioral Disorders, 30(4), 349–361. https://doi.org/10.1177/019874290503000407
24.
LekoM. M.ChiuM. M.RobertsC. A. (2018). Individual and contextual factors related to secondary special education teachers’ reading instructional practices. The Journal of Special Education, 51(4), 236–250. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466917727514
25.
LevyS.VaughnS. (2002). An observational study of teachers’ reading instruction of students with emotional or behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 27(3), 215–235.
26.
MagginD. M.WehbyJ. H.Moore PartinT. C.RobertsonR.OliverR. M. (2011). A comparison of the instructional context for students with behavioral issues enrolled in self-contained and general education classrooms. Behavioral Disorders, 36(2), 84–99.
27.
McKennaJ.ShinM.SolisM.MizeM.PfannenstielK. (2019). Effects of single-case reading interventions for students with and at-risk of emotional and behavioral disorders in Grades K–12: A quantitative synthesis. Psychology in the Schools, 56, 608–629. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22242
28.
McLaughlinM.SpeirsK.ShenassaE. (2014). Reading disability and adult attained education and income: Evidence from a 30-year longitudinal study of a population-based sample. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 47, 374–386. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219412458323
29.
O’BrienK. M.BrunstingN. C.BettiniE.CummingM. M.RagunathanM.SuttonR. (2019). Special educators’ working conditions in self-contained settings for students with emotional/behavioral disorders: A descriptive analysis. Exceptional Children, 86(1), 40–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402919868946
30.
Office of Special Education Programs. (2019). Report to Congress on the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). U.S. Department of Education. https://www2.ed.gov
31.
PattonM. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Sage.
32.
PuaD. J.PeytonD. J.BrownellM. T.ContesseV. A.JonesN. D. (2021). Preservice observation in special education: A validation study. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 54(1), 6–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219420920382
33.
RonfeldtM.FramerS. O.McQueenK.GrissomJ. A. (2015). Teacher collaboration in instructional teams and student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 52(3), 475–514. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831215585562
34.
SiutyM. B.LekoM. M.KnackstedtK. M. (2018). Unraveling the role of curriculum in teacher decision making. Teacher Education and Special Education, 41(1), 39–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0888406416683230
35.
SunM.LoebS.GrissomJ. (2017). Building teacher teams: Evidence of positive spillovers from more effective colleagues. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 39(1), 104–125.
36.
VannestK. J.SoaresD. A.HarrisonJ. R.BrownL.ParkerR. I. (2010). Changing teacher time. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 54(2), 86–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/10459880903217739
37.
WagnerM. (2014). Longitudinal outcomes and post-high school status of students with emotional or behavioral disorders. In WalkerH. M.GreshamF. M. (Eds.), Handbook of evidence-based practices for emotional and behavioral disorders: Applications in schools (pp. 86–103). Guilford Press.
38.
WanzekJ.Al OtaibaS.PetscherY. (2014). Oral reading fluency development for children with emotional disturbance or learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 80(2), 187–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440291408000204
39.
WanzekJ.VaughnS. (2007). Research-based implications from extensive early reading interventions. School Psychology Review, 36(4), 541–561.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
