Assessment of Professional Development Systems: Improving Rural Special Education Services

Rural Special Education Quarterly, Fall 2003 by Rude, Harvey A, Brewer, Robin D

Abstract

The ability to measure the results of professional development programs and activities remains an elusive goal for most educators in rural settings. While students in classrooms continue to face extensive assessment requirements related to the attainment of educational content outcomes, there has been little effort to assess the impact of professional development designed to enhance the effectiveness of educational professionals who carry the major responsibility for the facilitation of learning outcomes for all learners. These issues sometimes become more difficult to address in rural schools if there arr limited resources and support services. To realize the benefits of effective professional development, assessment approaches that link the effectiveness of such efforts to increasing student achievement are described. In this article, the prevailing approaches to professional development in rural schools are identified with evidence about best practices also provided.

The ability to measure the results of professional development programs and activities for professional educators in relation to improving student achievement is a challenging task for proponents of improved systems designed to enhance teaching and learning outcomes. This challenge is more daunting for teachers and school administrators in rural settings due to the critical shortages of qualified personnel to fill positions, and the sparse resources sometimes available to support professional development programs and activities (Collins, 1999; National Association of State Directors of Special Education, 1996). It has been well documented that a major reason for teachers leaving rural areas is isolation (Billingsley, 2002; Gold, 1996). The physical isolation is less daunting than the social, cultural, and professional isolation, especially in geographically remote school communities not in close proximity to population centers (Bradley, 1999; Stone, 1990).

Researchers have compiled data from a national perspective to illustrate the critical shortages of special education teachers across the country (Billingsley 2002; Carlson, 2001). In special education, an upward trend in the number of teachers needed has escalated over the past twenty-five years. Local school administrators reported job openings for nearly 70,000 special educators in the 1999-2000 school year, and over 12,000 special education teaching positions were left vacant or filled by substitutes because suitable candidates could not be found. Close to 10% of all special education teachers were not fully certified for their teaching assignment. This has led to significant increases in class size and caseload waivers compounding the difficulty for special educators who are operating at capacity with multiple expectations in small and rural school settings. In many states, the concept of 'urban flight' exists whereby competent special educators in rural schools move predictably to the relative stability of districts with greater resources in population centers (Rude, 2001; Boe, Bobbitt & Cook, 1997).

While the precise causes of recruitment and retention problems for special education teachers are not fully known, the most common reasons cited for not staying in these positions is the perceived lack of administrative support, the perceived lack of collegial connections, and the bureaucratic requirements of special education compliance (Boe, Barkanic, & Leow, 1999; Brownell & Smith, 1993). Teacher quality is a central theme of current educational policy initiatives emanating from the U.S. Department of Education. Since state and federal governments have responsibilities for the quality of the nation's education, the challenge is to provide adequate assessment of teacher quality issues. A great degree of variability exists on the approaches to assessing professional development effectiveness while the measures supporting educational equity have fallen far short of intended outcomes (Shanker, 1996).

The concept that professional development outcomes can be reasonably linked to outcomes in student learning is a fundamental premise behind the accountability for such activities and processes (Guskey & Sparks, 1997; Ward, St. John & Laine, 1999). Information on the linkages between student learning and teacher professional development is predicated on changes in teacher knowledge and practices. The difficulty in determining these linkages results from the wide variety of variables that have an influence on student learning. Some of the variables that account for improvements in student outcomes can be found in parent knowledge and parenting practices, school policies influencing curriculum and school organization, and the culture of individual schools (Guskey & Sparks, 1997; St. John, Bardzell, Michael, Hall, Manoil, Asker, & Clements, 1998).

Against the backdrop of critical shortages of rural special educators and the intensive need for ongoing professional supports to ensure future success, this paper explores the effectiveness of professional development including strategies for assessing and documenting the impact of these efforts. Strategies for assessing and informing the future effectiveness of these efforts arc also provided.