The Role of Early Childhood Teacher Qualifications and Kindergarten Transition Practices for Young Children with Disabilities

• In Event: Shaping ECE Classroom Quality: Center Director, Teacher, and Assistant Teacher Contributions

Abstract

Introduction
For children with disabilities, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates early childhood education services (age 3-5) to meet their unique learning needs and to support their families. Special education teachers, in particular, play an important role during this period in how they prepare young children with disabilities for formal schooling and assist parents with the critical transition to kindergarten. Although numerous studies have focused on how teacher quality and kindergarten transition practices may influence children’s early outcomes (e.g., Ahtola et al., 2011; Harris & Sass, 2011), few have examined special education teachers and children with disabilities. Understanding the role of special education teacher qualifications and kindergarten transition practices in the outcomes of young children with disabilities has implications for classroom practice, as well as teacher training, recruitment, and hiring in early childhood education.

Background and Hypotheses
Prior research shows students with disabilities in grades 3 to 10 tend to have greater academic achievement when their teacher has a special education certificate, an advanced degree, and extensive teaching experience (Feng & Sas, 2013). I hypothesized a similar relation for early childhood special education teacher qualifications. Research on kindergarten transition practices note differences in quality and intensity (Wildenger & McINtyre, 2011). I hypothesized that high intensity transition practices (i.e., parent meeting, prior school visit) are associated with higher student outcomes. Low-intensity practices (i.e., handouts) are not hypothesized to have an effect.

Study Population and Methods
The study analyzed nationally representative data from the Pre-Elementary Longitudinal Study (PEELS). The dataset contains information on children receiving preschool special education, their education programs and services, their transitions from preschool programs to elementary schools, and their performance over time on measures of academic and social skills. The longitudinal sample consists of 1,110 children at five time points. To examine how early childhood special education teacher qualifications and kindergarten transition practices may relate to academic and social outcomes, multilevel growth modeling was used.

Results
Teacher qualifications were found to be weak predictors of vocabulary and math growth. The one consistent finding was students taught by early childhood teachers with a certificate in special education tended to have much lower academic outcomes. One possible explanation is teachers with a certificate may be assigned to struggling or more disadvantaged students. Another finding shows that accounting for differences in teacher qualifications reduced the achievement gap between Latino and White students with disabilities. Analyses examining the role of high-intensity kindergarten transition practices showed a negative relation with academic outcomes and social skills. The results suggest children receiving high-intensity practices may have greater needs or challenges not captured in the available measures that lead teachers (and parents) to become more involved with the transition to kindergarten. As there was no effect of low-intensity transition practices on student outcomes, schools should adjust accordingly. Overall, the findings indicate that struggling children may be more likely to work with teachers with higher qualifications and need more kindergarten transition assistance.

Author

• North Cooc, University of Texas at Austin
  Presenting Author