What Do Rural Special Education Teachers Say? Examining the Reported Needs and Recommendations for Retention

Abstract

Chronic special education teacher (SET) shortages are a national concern and particularly problematic in rural school districts. That is, rural districts face challenges when it comes to hiring and retaining qualified SETs. To understand the contributing factors related to retention and attrition, it is essential to gain insight from rural SETs first-hand. The purpose of this study was to listen to and learn from current and former rural SETs and gain insight on their needs and how they believe retention can be improved in geographically isolated areas. Including the voices of current rural SETs and those who chose to leave their position shed light on the benefits of being employed in rural areas while bringing attention to current issues that need to be addressed to improve SET retention. Using a qualitative descriptive research design, we analyzed open-ended survey responses from 185 U.S. participants. In all, a total of six themes and 11 subthemes emerged. Findings highlight the needs of rural SETs, and corresponding recommendations for administrators and school leaders in rural communities are offered.

Keywords

rural special education special education teacher satisfaction retention

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bargerhuff

M. E.

Dunne

J. D.

Renick

P. R.

(2007). Giving teachers a chance: Taking special education teacher preparation programs to rural communities. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 26(1), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/875687050702600102

Berry

A. B.

(2012). The relationship of perceived support to satisfaction and commitment for special education teachers in rural areas. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 31(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/875687051203100102

Berry

A. B.

(2021). Understanding shared responsibility between special and general education teachers in the rural classroom. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 40(2), 95–105. https://doi.org/10.1177/87568705211015681

Berry

A. B.

Gravelle

(2013). The benefits and challenges of special education positions in rural settings: Listening to the teachers. The Rural Educator, 34(2). https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v34i2.400

Berry

A. B.

Petrin

R. A.

Gravelle

M. L.

Farmer

T. W.

(2011). Issues in special education teacher recruitment, retention, and professional development: Considerations in supporting rural teachers. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 30(4), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/875687051103000402

Billingsley

Bettini

(2019). Special education teacher attrition and retention: A review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 89(5), 697–744. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319862495

Bliss

(2014). Phenomenological research: Inquiry to understand the meaning of people’s experiences. International Journal of Adult Vocational Education and Technology, 7(3), 14–26. https://doi/org/10.4018/IJAVET.2016070102

Brownell

M. T.

Bishop

A. M.

Sindelar

P. T.

(2018). Republication of “NCLB and the demand for highly qualified teachers: Challenges and solutions for rural schools.” Rural Special Education Quarterly, 37(1), 4–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/8756870517749604

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (n.d.). National crime victimization survey. https://bjs.ojp.gov/data-collection/ncvs

10.

Chaudhary

A. K.

Israel

G. D.

(2014, December). The savvy survey # 8: Pilot testing and pretesting methods of pretesting (AEC402). Agricultural Education and Communication Department, UF/IFAS Extension. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/PD072

11.

Cornish

Gillespie

Zittoun

(2013). Collaborative analysis of qualitative data. In Flick

(Ed.), Sage handbook of qualitative data analysis (pp. 79–93). Sage.

12.

Curtin

K. A.

Schweitzer

Tuxbury

D’Aoust

J. A.

(2016). Investigating the factors of resiliency among exceptional youth living in rural underserved communities. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 35(2), 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/875687051603500202

13.

Easterby-Smith

Thrope

Jackson

(2012). Management research (4th ed.). Sage.

14.

Ellis

Gage

N. A.

Kramer

Baton

Angelosante

(2022). School climate in rural and urban schools and the impact of SWPBIS. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 41(2), 73–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/87568705221098031

15.

Espinoza

Saunders

Kini

Darling-Hammond

(2018). Taking the long view: State efforts to solve teacher shortages by strengthening the profession. Learning Policy Institute.

16.

Garwood

J. D.

Werts

M. G.

Varghese

Gosey

(2018). Mixed-methods analysis of rural special educators’ role stressors, behavior management, and burnout. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 37(1), 30–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/8756870517745270

17.

Horn

A. L.

(2021). eCoaching in rural secondary settings when teaching students with intellectual and other developmental disabilities. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 40(3), 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1177/87568705211027980

18.

Horn

A. L.

Rock

M. L.

(2022). Practice with feedback makes permanent: eCoaching with bug-in-ear technology during clinical experiences. Invited article. Journal of Special Education Preparation, 2(1), 58–69. https://doi.org/1033043/JOSEP.2.1.58-69

19.

Hsieh

H.-F.

Shannon

S. E.

(2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277–1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687

20.

Huscroft-D’Angelo

January

S.-A. A.

Hurley

K. L. D.

(2018). Supporting parents and students with emotional and behavioral disorders in rural settings: Administrator perspectives. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 37(2), 103–112. https://doi.org/10.1177/8756870517750827

21.

McFarland-Whisman

Whisman

Lockwood

(2023). A preliminary look at reasons for attrition among special educators teaching students with autism spectrum disorder. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 42(1), 30–40. https://doi.org.10.1177/8756805221136115

22.

Merriam

S. B.

Tisdell

E. J.

(2015). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed.).Wiley & Sons.

23.

Miles

M. B.

Huberman

A. M.

Saldaña

(2020). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook. Sage.

24.

Monk

(2007). Recruiting and retaining high quality teachers in rural areas. The Future of Children, 17(1), 155–174. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2007.0009

25.

O’Connor

Joffe

(2020). Intercoder reliability in qualitative research: Debates and practical guidelines. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406919899220

26.

Ortogero

S. P.

Barcarse

T. O.

Ray

A. B.

(2022). Developing the knowledge and mentoring skills of future special education leaders. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 41(4), 211–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/87568705221092765

27.

Randolph

K. M.

Chubb

C. S.

Hott

B. L.

Cruz-Torres

(2021). iCoaching behavior-specific praise in a rural classroom. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 40(1), 4–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/875680520982302

28.

Rehman

A. A.

Alharthi

(2016). An introduction to research paradigms. International Journal of Educational Investigation, 3(8), 51–59.

29.

Rock

M. L.

Dieker

L. A.

Hines

Billingsley

Davis

Cartagena

Lannan

Romualdo

(2023). Ameliorating the special education teacher crisis: Systems thinking and innovative approaches. Journal of Special Education Preparation, 3(1), 8–17. https://doi.org/10.33043/JOSEP.3.1.8-17

30.

Rude

H. A.

Brewer

R. D.

(2003). Assessment of professional development systems: Improving rural special education services. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 22(4), 20–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/875687050302200404

31.

Saldana

(2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (4th ed.). Sage.

32.

Sancar

Atal

Deryakulu

(2021). A new framework for teachers’ professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 101, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103305

33.

Sandelowski

(2000). Whatever happened to qualitative description? Residential Nursing Health, 23(4), 334–340. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-240X

34.

Sindelar

P. T.

Pua

D. J.

Fisher

Peyton

D. J.

Brownell

M. T.

Mason-Williams

(2018). The demand for special education teachers in rural schools revisited: An update on progress. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 37(1), 12–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/8756870517749247

35.

Smith

J. A.

Nizza

I. E.

(2022). Essentials of interpretative phenomenological analysis. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000259-000

36.

Taherdoost

(2016). Sampling methods in research methodology: How to choose a sampling technique for research. International Journal of Academic Research in Management, 5(2), 18–27. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3205035

37.

Taie

Lewis

(2022). Characteristics of 2020–21 Public and Private K–12 School Teachers in the United States: Results from the National Teacher and Principal Survey First Look (NCES 2022-113). National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2022113

38.

Yin

R. K.

(2016). Qualitative research from start to finish (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.