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Using High-Leverage Practices in Teacher Preparation to Reduce the Research-to-Practice Gap in Inclusive Settings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2018

James McLeskey ,
Bonnie Billingsley  and
Deborah Ziegler
James McLeskey*
Affiliation:
University of Florida, USA
Bonnie Billingsley
Affiliation:
Virginia Tech, USA
Deborah Ziegler
Affiliation:
Council for Exceptional Children, USA
*
Correspondence: James McLeskey, School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies, College of Education, University of Florida, 1423D Norman Hall, PO Box 117050, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA. Email: mcleskey@coe.ufl.edu
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Abstract

Although researchers have developed evidence-based practices and identified other effective practices that show promise for improving outcomes for students with disabilities, these practices are all too frequently not used in inclusive classrooms. Some have posited that this research-to-practice gap may result because teachers lack confidence in these practices and do not find them feasible for use in their classrooms. More recently, researchers have begun to examine whether teacher education may contribute to this research-to-practice gap. We contend that teacher preparation is an important contributor to the research-to-practice gap, and discuss how teacher preparation might be changed to better prepare teachers to use effective practices in inclusive classrooms. Primary changes that are needed include identifying a set of high-leverage practices that serve as the core curriculum of teacher education and using a practice-based approach to systematically prepare future teachers to use these practices.

Keywords

inclusionteacher educationeffective practicesresearch-to-practice gapeffective inclusive schoolsprofessional development
Type
Original Articles
Information
Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education , Volume 42 , Special Issue 1: Preparing Special and Inclusive Educators for Their New Roles in the 21st Century , July 2018 , pp. 3 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018 

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Footnotes

*This manuscript was accepted under the Editorship of Umesh Sharma.

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