Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series

The College of Education & Human Development is the largest academic division at Bowling Green State University with over 900 teacher candidates. The Inclusive Early Childhood Program (IEC) blends the best practices from early childhood education with early childhood special education. It addresses the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to meet the needs of each child. Graduates are prepared to provide differentiated, evidence-based instruction to young children from birth through grade 3. The program is committed to the development of partnerships and scholarly endeavors that reflect the University’s professional values of justice, fairness, and equity.

The success of the IEC program is seen in the increased competition among school districts for BGSU teacher candidates. School districts specifically seek out BGSU’s teacher candidates to work as inclusive educators. They also report that BGSU teacher graduates are well equipped with the skills needed to effectively write Individual Education Plans (IEPs), manage a classroom, and use evidence-based strategies, among other effective teaching tools.

Additional success of the BGSU IEC program stems from its consistent collaboration between its program, the school districts, and schools. Superintendents who work with BGSU assert that all parties need to understand the challenges each school district and university face and must be willing to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice together.

The Inclusive Early Childhood Education (IEC) program prepares and equips teachers with the skills they need to teach both general education and special education students in the same classroom. BGSU recognizes that their programming to prepare teachers needs to mirror the changing classroom environment. The dual-licensure requirement in the IEC program produces quality candidates who are highly sought after by school districts across Ohio and around the nation.

BGSU encourages all programs across the country to think of themselves within the broader picture of the changing classroom. They encourage others to break the silo of a traditional education and respond to the needs of their immediate communities. While there are research and data at the federal and state level, BGSU pushes others to think about the local context and how they can address the needs of their immediate surrounding communities.

The Dual Education program at Portland State University is designed to address the critical shortage of special education teachers in Oregon. The Department of Curriculum and Instruction and the Department of Special Education joined together to meet the need of the surrounding communities to increase the number of teachers who are skilled in effective practices for a variety of students. Graduates of the program are equipped to implement inclusive and equitable practices.

Teacher candidates in the secondary dual licensure program are required to be in classrooms under the guidance of expert mentor teachers for two years prior to graduation. Teachers feel they are prepared to implement lessons that address each of their students’ needs. Portland State graduates exemplify this practice through their instruction and engages every student in their learning.

Mentor teachers actively seek out teacher candidates from Portland State University. Teacher candidates come to the classroom with the mindset that all students can learn: inclusion and equity is seen as the foundation to education. Teacher candidates immerse themselves in their mentor teacher’s classroom and develop their teaching craft and understanding of subject content through the lens of a special education teacher.

Teacher candidates are prepared and ready to take on their own classrooms after two years of clinical practice. Their unique lens for inclusive education and practical experience makes teacher candidates attractive to school districts who are looking to increase inclusive school practices.

Teacher candidates in the secondary dual licensure program are always thinking about who they will be teaching. They are asking themselves, “Who is going to be in my class?” and “How am I supporting everybody’s learning?” Special education is no longer a place, but it is a service that can benefit all students. Portland State teacher candidates not only have the mindset to be inclusive educators; they advocate for the inclusion of all students through their rigorous and expert instruction.