Project Activities
The research team will conduct an exploratory mixed-methods research study using data from 3 years of a statewide working conditions survey and interviews with special educators and school administrators.
Structured Abstract
Setting
This project will take place in K-12 public schools in North Carolina.
Sample
For the quantitative portion of the study, the sample will include all traditional K-12 public schools in North Carolina (nearly 2,500 schools in 115 school districts) represented in the statewide working conditions survey in the years between 2023-24 and 2027-28. This includes approximately 13,000 special educators and 190,000 students with disabilities. For the qualitative portion of the project, the research team will interview approximately 120 special educators and administrators in 18 schools intentionally selected to capture a sample of schools stratified by working conditions quality, school rurality, and school level.
The systems-level factors to be examined include the following: student-to-teacher ratio, ratio of self-contained to general education classrooms, teaching assistant staffing, accountability pressure, school administrator credentials, educator credentials, district-level credentials, ratio of support personnel to educators, student demographics, special instruction spending, regular instruction spending, professional learning spending, and special education background of instructional facilitators/coaches.
Research design and methods
The research team will conduct an iterative, mixed-methods study in which insights from quantitative and qualitative analyses inform subsequent work and in which the perspectives of educators and administrators shape data collection and analysis. Specifically, they will conduct longitudinal data analyses to assess how changes in systems-level factors predict changes in special educator working conditions and to assess how changes in working conditions impact outcomes for educators and students. They will examine whether relationships are moderated by characteristics of schools, students, and educators. They will also conduct a multiple case study involving over 120 educators and administrators across 18 schools to examine their perceptions of working conditions, provide rich context, and identify additional systems-level factors for quantitative analysis.
Control condition
Due to the nature of the research design, there is no control condition.
Key measures
The study will use administrative data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to assess teacher and student outcomes and systems-level factors. Working conditions will be measured using data from the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions survey. Measures will be created to capture systems-level factors described above. Teacher outcome measures include retention in their school, their number of absences during the school year, and their evaluation ratings. Student outcome measures include their early-grades reading and end-of-grade achievement scores (standardized), their school attendance, and whether they were suspended from school.
Data analytic strategy
The analytical strategy for the quantitative portion of the study includes descriptive analyses of the working conditions survey responses and multivariate linear regression models to assess variation in working conditions for special educators, predictors of working conditions, and the associations between working conditions and outcomes for educators and students. Regression models will include a rich set of covariates and a school fixed effect to help isolate the associations between systems-level factors and working conditions and between working conditions and outcomes. The research team will apply deductive and inductive codes to the qualitative data.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
The project will produce evidence that can refine conceptual frameworks, generate hypotheses, identify potential interventions for future study, and directly translate into action for policymakers and practitioners. The project will also result in peer-reviewed publications and presentations as well as additional dissemination products that reach education stakeholders, such as practitioners and policymakers.
Publications:
ERIC citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
