Training Special Education Teachers and Staff to Use Evidence-Based Practices

Dear Colleagues,

Most educators are aware that preparing special education teachers to implement evidence-based practices is critical for increasing the successful outcomes and independence of their students with disabilities. Special education teachers require effective professional development training and support as they develop their skills with implementing interventions demonstrated by rigorous research to improve student outcomes. The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) provides a set of standards for determining the extent to which research provides evidence of effectiveness based on several experimental high-quality research studies that demonstrate strong effects. Examples of evidence-based practices identified by the CEC standards include explicit instruction, positive behavior interventions and supports, universal design for learning and assistive technology.

To increase the likelihood of student success with evidence-based interventions, teachers must implement the instructional procedures with fidelity. Research demonstrates a strong connection between intervention fidelity and student outcomes (e.g., Knight, 2019). A widely used approach for attempting to bring evidence-based practices into classrooms is staff development in the form of brief lectures or workshops. These types of learning opportunities for teachers usually have no follow-up or classroom support and produce less than optimal results. Teacher training research has identified several approaches to helping teachers become skilled with delivering evidence-based interventions. Effective approaches to training teachers to implement interventions with fidelity include behavior skills training, coaching, video analysis, performance feedback and multicomponent interventions (Brownell et al., 2019).

The purpose of this Special Issue is to contribute to and extend the research base on training special education teachers to implement evidence-based practices.

For this Special Issue, original research articles and literature reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following: 

• Training special education teachers, intervention specialists, or paraeducators to use a specific evidence-based practice for teaching academic skills, social skills, vocational skills or functional/daily living skills;
• Training special education teachers, intervention specialists, or paraeducators to use behavior management or classroom management interventions.  

I look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Prof. Dr. Sheila Alber-Morgan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• teacher training
• evidence-based practices
• treatment fidelity
• coaching
• behavior skill training