General Education Teachers' Interest in Special Education Teaching

In an effort to avoid hiring unprepared teachers, school systems may want to consider hiring general education teachers who are certified in special education. This study provides information about a potential "reserve pool" of special education teachers; specifically, general education teachers with special education certificates who have not previously taught in special education. We invesdgated the extent to which a sample of these general education teachers might be interested in moving into special education positions and their reasons for not having taught in special education. We also identified perceived deterrents to special education teaching and potential incentives that might influence them to consider teaching in special education. Questionnaires from 82 respondents were analyzed. Over half of these general educators indicated that they would consider special education positions. Respondents indicated that primary deterrents to special education teaching included paperwork and factors related to working with special populations. Potential incentives for special education teaching included adequate teaching resources and materials, minimal paperwork/nonteaching duties, opportunity to move back to general education teaching, and a modest increase in salary.