Meeting the Moment: Impact of TEACH Grant on US Undergraduate Education Degree Completion in High-Need Content Areas.

As part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (2007), the USA funded the TEACH Grant to incentivize earning a degree in a high-need content area (e.g., STEM fields, language-related areas, and Special Education) and to help meet teacher supply needs in low-income schools. Our analysis investigates the impact TEACH has had on the production of undergraduate education degrees overall and in high-need content areas. Using publicly available datasets and propensity score methods, we compare undergraduate education degree production at institutions of higher education, making comparisons between adopters and non-adopters of TEACH. Our findings suggest the adoption of TEACH had no impact on the overall production of undergraduate education degrees or production of education degrees in STEM, language-related fields, or special education. We situate our findings in the context of unrelenting demand for teachers in the USA. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1057/s41307-022-00263-3.

Preservice Observation in Special Education: A Validation Study.

Advancing teacher candidates' overall competence through use of valid teacher observation systems should be an essential element of teacher preparation. Yet, the field of special education has not provided observation protocols designed specifically for preservice teachers that are founded in theoretical perspectives and research on effective instruction for students with learning and other high-incidence disabilities (SWDs). To address this need, a group of researchers in special education teacher preparation and measurement developed the Preservice Observation Instrument for Special Education (POISE). The POISE is an observation system rooted in effective special education practices that support the growth of preservice teachers who will serve SWD across instructional settings. The purpose of this article is to report on the development and psychometric properties of the POISE. Specifically, we employed Kane's argument-based validity approach to frame each stage in the development process of the POISE. We conducted two phases of content validation activities, development activities, and a pilot study to assess the degree to which scores from POISE provided evidence for the scoring, generalizability, and extrapolation inferences. In the end, the POISE represents a promising observation instrument for the development of special education teacher candidates.

Devil is in the details: Using logic models to investigate program process.

Theory-based logic models are commonly developed as part of requirements for grant funding. As a tool to communicate complex social programs, theory based logic models are an effective visual communication. However, after initial development, theory based logic models are often abandoned and remain in their initial form despite changes in the program process. This paper examines the potential benefits of committing time and resources to revising the initial theory driven logic model and developing detailed logic models that describe key activities to accurately reflect the program and assist in effective program management. The authors use a funded special education teacher preparation program to exemplify the utility of drill down logic models. The paper concludes with lessons learned from the iterative revision process and suggests how the process can lead to more flexible and calibrated program management.