An Undergraduate Program to Address the Teacher Shortage: What We Thought We Knew

Abstract

After more than 20 years of a critical shortage in special education teachers, this mid-Atlantic state expedited program development for undergraduate-level teacher preparation programs. To meet the accelerated timeline, one program
at a large public university used its graduate-level coursework as a model for the undergraduate level program. After initial implementation, it was clear that revisions were necessary. In this article, we provide a description of the program revision activities conducted, including (a) building a representative advisory board, (b) conducting a needs assessment, (c) developing a coherent curriculum map, (d) creating an action plan and implementing reforms, and (e) reviewing ongoing activities for continuous improvement. Implications are described, including how special education teacher preparation programs can use the CEEDAR Center Roadmap to Educator Preparation Reform to guide data-based program revisions, conduct a Q-Sort Activity as a systematic way to identify program priorities, and engage in program review activities, ultimately to better prepare special educators and reduce the teacher shortage.