Identifying Attributes of High Quality Special Education Teachers

Abstract

Using a nationally representative sample of 1,475 special education teachers, researchers used factor analysis to test five teacher quality factors with empirical and theoretical grounding in general education research: experience, credentials, self-efficacy, professional activities, and selected classroom practices. These factors were combined to create an aggregate teacher quality measure. All five factors emerged as viable components of an aggregate teacher quality measure, although some modest factor loadings suggested a need for further research into the precise nature of these teacher quality dimensions and the best ways to measure them.