Prof. Nina Weisling publishes articles for special education teachers

This summer, Professor Nina Weisling published two manuscripts focused on different aspects of understanding and supporting special education teachers.

The first article, “Building teacher candidate’s capacity to disrupt socialized niceness through practice-based teacher education,” was published in the Journal of Special Education Preparation. This piece proposes that, to effectively serve and advocate for their students, it is critical for special education teacher candidates (TCs) to have the skills needed to recognize and disrupt inequities, especially when doing so may cause discomfort for themselves or their colleagues. To help TCs learn this, the article further presents practice-based teacher education (PBTE), a framework designed to build novice teachers’ skills for intellectually-rich teaching.

Download the article

The second article, “Playing in someone else’s field: Perspectives of early career inclusive special educators,” was published in the International Journal of Special Education. This qualitative study used demographics surveys and semi-structured interviews to examine twelve first- and second-year, alternatively certified special educators’ experiences in inclusive classrooms in poverty-impacted schools in the U.S. Results revealed several key themes — an impossible task, feeling like they worked in “someone else’s stadium,” and a preference for separate settings — underscoring the complexities of implementing inclusive education effectively. The article then provided recommendations for special and general education teacher and administrator preparation and ongoing support.

Download the article

Sponsoring Department, Office, or Organization:

Education Department

For more information, contact:

nweisling@carthage.edu