Online ISSN: 2325-7466
2006
Triannual
National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET)
United States

Articles

Leadership Matters: Elementary Self-Contained Autism Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions of Administrator Support

  • Kasey Dye, Ph.D. Candidate (Author) Virginia Commonwealth University image/svg+xml
    Kasey Dye is a third year Ph.D. student at Virginia Commonwealth University studying special education. Her research interests include healthcare access for children with disabilities. Kasey previously served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in China and worked as a special education teacher in Virginia.
  • Rachel Walker Bowman, Ph.D. Candidate (Author) Virginia Commonwealth University
    Rachel Walker Bowman is a third year Ph.D. student at Virginia Commonwealth University studying special education. Her research interests include new teacher mentorship and diversifying the special education workforce. Rachel previously taught as a teacher of the Deaf and Deaf-Blind in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Virginia.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.528
Abstract
There is a national shortage of special education teachers, so it is imperative to retain special educators in the field (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). The most commonly cited reason special education teachers shared for leaving is lack of support from their administration. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how special education teachers of self-contained grades 3-5 classes of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders perceive the level of support provided by their school-based administrators and the influence of their school-based administrators on their experience of job satisfaction. Through individual interviews with three teachers, the researchers found that self-contained special educators’ perceived levels of support provided by school-based administrators varied based on administrators’ special education knowledge, communication, advocation, follow-through, and treatment of special educators as professionals. The other primary finding was that school-based administrators can positively or negatively influence self-contained special education teachers’ job satisfaction. The researchers discussed the implications of these findings.
Keywords
Administrator Characteristics, Administrator Role, Advocacy, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Elementary School Teachers, Grade 3
References

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There are 13 references in total.
How to Cite
Dye, K., & Bowman, R. W. (2024). Leadership Matters: Elementary Self-Contained Autism Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions of Administrator Support. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, 18(3), 21-36. https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.528

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  • Submitted August 8, 2024
  • Published October 15, 2024
  • Issue Fall 2023
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