Abstract

This study examines how secondary level special education teachers define support. Special Education programming requires careful consideration in the delivery of services to special needs students due to public law, general statutes, and federal funding. With specific and legal guidelines and policy for governing special education procedures, it is imperative that carefully planned and supportive special education program facilitation be accessible to the beginning teacher. Lack of such support has already been identified in the research literature as the issues of retention and attrition. These are only two of the issues that are rapidly becoming the most challenging in the field of special education. ;The methodology used in this study to investigate special education teacher support is unlike any that was reviewed in the literature. Six participants were selected, one from each of six different school districts, and each were interviewed individually. ;The participants' interview data was analyzed and a collection of findings is presented. Discussion of the teacher participants' responses yields significant information bearing administrative implications in providing special education teacher support. The results can only be conclusive if they are considered in the improvement of providing support to special education teachers. It is suggested that the provision of support to beginning teachers is an administrator's responsibility in order that special education programming at every school site be of the highest quality