Social assets and the career intent of teachers serving students with extensive support needs.

Decades of research indicate social support is vital for retaining teachers. However, little is known about social support for teachers serving students with extensive support needs. The purpose of this study was to explore whether collective social assets (administrative support, colleague support, paraeducator support, school culture) were associated with retaining special education teachers (SETs) who serve students with extensive support needs (e.g., intellectual disability, autism). Stepwise regression analyses and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze survey data from SETs across the United States. Results showed that positive social supports are critical, and teachers serving students with autism reported the highest levels of social support in three of the four social assets categories. Implications for future research and practice are discussed, as well as a need to promote and better understand positive school culture as this variable weighed heavily across SETs.

Creating a Professional Network: A Statewide Model to Support School-Based Behavior Analysts.

Despite efforts to increase the presence of behavior analysis in public schools, the process has been slow. Though more Board Certified Behavior Analysts® (BCBAs®) are working in public school settings, supports for this group of BCBAs are varied in both what they look like and their availability. It is not uncommon for BCBAs to work with little or no support from other BCBAs in their school district. Those who do have other BCBA colleagues in their district may not have structures in place to collaborate or grow as a behavior analyst. The current article describes a statewide initiative to increase supports for BCBAs working in public school settings. The network was formed with three chief goals: 1) to build a professional peer network for school-based BCBAs; 2) to provide continuing education events targeted to school-based BCBAs to promote increased competence; and 3) to encourage continued scholarship. This manuscript provides a description of the network efforts to date as well as areas that will continue to be evaluated and addressed.

The Virginia Applied Behavior Analysis Consortium: Preparing Behavior Analysts Using a Collaborative Model.

The development and the evolution of the Virginia Applied Behavior Analysis Consortium, a collaborative project between four institutions of higher education in the state of Virginia, are described. The main goal of the program is to address the shortage of certified behavior analysts by preparing special education teachers and autism specialists to implement effective behavior-analytic interventions in natural environments. In this article, we briefly discuss the history and the purpose of the program, its components, the evolution of the program, the advantages and outcomes of a collaborative model, and future directions for improvement.