Preparing for Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Special Education Teacher Preparation with Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Tools

• In Event: Reframing Teacher Preparation and Praxis Through Disability, Culture, and Teacher Identity

Abstract

This study examines efforts to systematically improve inclusive teacher preparation through systems-level evaluation and redesign across educator preparation programs (EPPs) in multiple states. Using CEEDAR Center’s Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Education (CLRE) Innovation Configuration, teacher educators assessed their current preparation curriculum and identified opportunities to embed CLRE practices. The project centers the voices of teacher educators and teacher candidates to illuminate how inclusive preparation can better support diverse learners’ academic and social outcomes. Findings highlight both institutional barriers and promising practices for transforming special education coursework. By bridging historical exclusion with restorative and future-oriented course design, this research offers a model for equity-focused program improvement and contributes to broader conversations on preparing educators to serve culturally, linguistically, and ability-diverse classrooms.

Author

• Cametreus Clardy, University of Florida