;This article is a broad and introductory overview of personnel supply/demand issues in special education. One premise is that matters of quality (competence, qualifications) interlock with matters of quantity (numbers) of personnel, and that many variables affect both personnel quality and quantity. Selected intervening variables are reviewed. We suggest that many complications in personnel supplyldemand are of relatively recent origin, and, thus, traditional policies and strategies for the development, recruitment, and retention of personnel may no longer be sufficient. Although national aggregate data are presented in order to clarify the status of special education supply/demand, it is emphasized that these problems are much more relevant as local issues than as statistical issues, and that shortages and causative factors occur in widely varying dimensions and degrees across states and districts. It is, therefore, recommended that supply/demand imbalances should be more clearly understood and cooperat...

The Supply/Demand Puzzle

There has been dramatic growth in thenumberofspecial educationprograms to serve students with special needs in the nation's schools since thefederal mandate for a free appropriate public education in 1975. Such growth created a paralleldemandforqualified teachers and therapists to staffthese programs. Thisdemand resulted in the developmentof a vast personnelpreparation infrastructure to support the training, licensure, andemploymentofpractitioners in special education and related services. The last two decades havewitnesseda huge investment ofstate andfederal funds into the development ofpreservice programs at colleges and universities; elaborate policies and proceduresfor state licensing and professional certification; and recruitment, retention, andstaffdevelopmentpractices in local school systems. Rural schools have experiencedmajorproblems related to every aspect ofpersonnel preparation in special education: lack of preservice programsdesigned to prepare personnelfor rural programs; an insufficient supply ofadequately trained and appropriatelyqualifiedpersonnel to staffrural positions; and significant difficulties in recruiting, retaining, and retrain­ ing teachers and therapists in rural areas. Despite ongoing experimentation and innovation in the area ofpreservice programs, licensure and certification policies, recruitment and retention efforts, and staffdevelopment activities, rural schools will continue to face thesechallenges as the next century begins. This article discussescurrent trends and future directions in personnel preparation in special education as they affect rural schools. Preparing special educators and related services spe­ cialists skilled in best practices for working with children and adolescents with special needs is one of the most press­ ing issues in education today. To insure that these students have well-trained teachers and therapists requires a per­ sonnel preparation infrastructure that includes three major components: preservice programs to teach personnel the competencies needed to work with students in school set­ tings; state policies and procedures to license personnel for practice as well as certification requirements through which professional organizations exercise oversight of individu­ als and programs; and school system efforts related to re­ cruitment, retention, and staff development to insure that all students are served by qualified personnel. This infra­ structure is highly developed and functioning well in many respects, but it still faces a number of critical issues in in­ suring an adequate and appropriate supply of personnel to meet the demand for teachers and therapists in the nation's schools. Nowhere are these issues more urgent than in the preparation of personnel for schools in rural areas, which continue to experience difficulties in securing a sufficient number of trained and qualified special educators and re­ lated services specialists to work with students with spe­ cial needs.

Preparing Special Education Personnel for Rural Schools. Current Practices and Future Directions

After a systematic national search, we found that 86 special education doctoral programs were active in 1999. Our search found that five programs had closed in recent years, but six new programs were in the planning process. Additional programs were identified, but they are best described as emphasis areas (possibly minor areas of concentration) administered by other departments or programs typically housed in colleges of education (e.g., educational leadership, curriculum and instruction, early childhood). Administrators of identified doctoral programs were surveyed to determine enrollment, graduate rates, program content, and means of student recruitment. Possibly some of the most revealing findings from this component of the larger Faculty Study found that: (a) most special education doctoral programs are under- enrolled, (b) doctoral students' enrollment has declined 30% over the last 20 years, and (c) programs are not highly selective. Unless deliberate actions are taken, the supply from special education doctoral programs will not increase and the demand for leadership personnel, particularly for faculty who work in academe, will not be met.

Doctoral Programs in Special Education: The Nation's Supplier.

The shortage of special education faculty has reached a critical level; supply and demand are not currently in balance because the demand continues to exceed the supply. A variety of complex issues...

The Shortage of Special Education Faculty: Toward a Better Understanding.

Providing effective supervision to preservice students enrolled in field-based practica continues to be a major challenge for university faculty. Fiscal and time constraints have necessitated the need to explore alternative models for providing feedback to students while they are placed in public school settings. Recently, researchers have begun to examine the appropriateness of infusing peer coaching procedures into teacher education programs. The results have been promising. The purpose of this particular study was to compare traditional university supervision to peer coaching procedures that were used to promote the acquisition of effective teacher behaviors. The firtdings of this investigation suggest that traditional university supervision and peer coaching procedures were equally effective for increasing desired teacher behaviors and decreasing undesired teacher behaviors. Moreover, students and their cooperating teachers both responded favorably to the peer coaching process.

Using Peer Coaching in Preservice Practica

Since 1985, the Higber Education Consortium for Special education (HECSE) has followed the supply and demand needs of special education professionals at universities. A survey was developed and sent to all special education doctoral training programs. The survey yielded results that add to the existing data base on the continuing need for leadership personnel at the university level. Of particular note were the seemingly lower enrollments at IHEs as well as the growing number of doctoral graduates taking positions outside of higher education.

Special Education Leadership: Supply and Demand Revisited

The supply of and demand for special education professionals in institutions of higher education (IHEs) has been studied since 1986, and the results of these studies indicate a great imbalance in the supply and demand for special education faculty. Because the field faces a substantial shortage, this research facused on the career choices of new special education doctoral graduates. Doctoral graduates from 3 year period were surveyed to determine their demographic make-up, where they took positions, and their relocation patterns to attend doctaral pragrams and to take their first positions We found that 42% of new graduates did not take positions in IHEs after completing their doctoral studies. Although 58% took jobs in IHEs, only 37% accepted positions as tenure-track faculty members. Also, new graduates did not change their career goals from their admission into their doctoral pragram, and those taking positions in IHEs were more likely to move to accept a position.

Thomas B. Pierce

Papers

Special Education Leadership: Supply and Demand Revisited

Career Choices of Recent Special Education Graduates Holding Doctoral Degrees