SPED and ELL Backgrounds Among Enlisted Marines: Implications for PME Completion

• In Event: AERA Research in Progress Roundtable Session Three
  In Invited Roundtable: Research-in-Progress RT048 (Friday)

Abstract

Professional Military Education (PME) is a mandated component of U.S. military service (Another Crossroads? Professional Military Education Two Decades after the Goldwater-Nichols Act and the Skelton Panel, 2010), with the Marine Corps requiring both officers and enlisted personnel to complete PME throughout their careers (Training & Education, 2024). Recent reforms have intensified the academic rigor of Enlisted PME (EPME), particularly its writing demands (Lehrfeld, 2022). Given that 87.7% of Marines are enlisted (MARINE CORPS ACTIVE-DUTY MEMBERS, 2024), and many enter directly from high school with varied educational experiences, this mixed-methods sequential explanatory study investigates the prevalence of special education (SPED) and English language learner (ELL) services among enlisted Marines. It explores potential correlations between these backgrounds and challenges in achieving PME completion.

Author

• Lindsay M Reid, Stafford County Public Schools