DiveIn: Diving into Special Education's Most Complex and Pressing Debates

This is a clip from episode four in which Mitch Yell and David Bateman talk about the implications of dismantling the Department of Education. Transcript

In this episode, we sit down with Kevin Welner to unpack the complexities of school voucher programs and their impact on special education. We explore the different types of voucher systems, their legal implications under IDEA, ADA, and Section 504, and what research reveals about their financial effects, educational outcomes, and who benefits most. We also examine how vouchers intersect with issu...

In this episode of DiveIn we discuss with Mitchell Yell and David Bateman what a Trump administration means for special education. Is the IDEA or the Department of Education going away? Will special education experience severe budget cuts? What do expanding voucher programs and charter schools mean for students with disabilities? And How other policies, such as Title IX, can also affect the educat...

Do you know that there are various federally funded technical assistance (TA) centers around the US that offer free services to states, districts, and schools? In this episode, you will learn about these technical assistance centers and the free services you can receive from them. We will discuss the work of TA centers with Seena Skelton, director of the Midwest and Plains Equity Assistant Center....

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Jamie Pearson to explore the unique experiences of Black students with autism and their families. We discuss the systemic inequities these students face, the barriers they encounter in accessing services, and how they navigate life within their communities. Additionally, we delve into the complexities and tensions surrounding ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) pr...

In this episode of DiveIn, I talked to Dr. Elizabeth Bettini about the persistent challenges in special education teacher recruitment and retention. Dr. Bettini details the longstanding issues since the 1970s, addresses the implications of the teaching shortage for BIPOC communities, and provides recommendations for administrators and researchers. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

In this episode, I interview Dan Losen, the senior director of the education team at the National Center for Youth Law. We discuss pressing issues regarding disciplinary disparities in special education. Losen emphasizes the lack of adequate support and quality services for students with disabilities and the profound consequences this has on educational outcomes. We also delve into how the discipl...

This episode explores the challenges, perspectives, and implications of scholars engaging with the evolving issue of anti-woke culture in special education research. We interviewed Erica McCray, Associate Dean at the University of Florida College of Education, who sheds light on her experiences and provides guidance for working in an anti-woke environment. McCrae discusses the need to confront ine...

In this episode of DiveIn, host Federico Waitoller interviews Dr. Maya Kalyanpur about the term 'the Global South' and its importance for understanding inclusive education. Dr. Kalyanpur shares insights from her experiences teaching and conducting research in South Asia and translate her work into lessons for conducting education research in the USA that foregrounds equity and inclusion for studen...

 In this episode, we talked to Dr. Martínez Álvarez about how to best teach emergent bilingual students with disabilities so that their linguistic and ability repertoires are positioned as assets rather than deficits. We also discussed her latest book, Teaching Emergent Bilingual Students with Disabilities , in which Dr. Martínez Álvarez writes about what it means...

In this episode, we talk to the new National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) commissioner, Dr. Nathan Jones.  We ask about how NCSER addresses equity, diversity, and inclusion issues, provide tips for those seeking funding in NCSER, and much more.   TRANSCRIPT EPISODE

In this episode, I talk to Endia Lindo and Kathleen King Thorius , two of the new editors of one of the most important journals in special education research: Exceptional Children .  We discuss how the editorial team came together, their vision for the journal, and discuss advice for authors submitting papers, and much more.    EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

In this episode of DiveIn, we converse with María Cioè-Peña about her research with BIPOC mothers of  students with disabilities. We discuss the importance of centering these mothers' narratives in special education research and offer some guidance for designing research projects that privilege such narratives.   Transcript of Episode

In this episode of Dive In,  I talk to LaRon Scott, William Hunter, and Jonte' C Taylor about their edited volume The Mixtape Volume 1: Culturally Sustaining Practices Within MTSS  . We discuss how to use Hip-hop pedagogy in special education research to improve student learning and engagement. We also discuss the tensions that emerge from using culturally sustaining pedagogy with more t...

In this episode, Beth Harry talks about the evolution of how special education research has addressed, over time, issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Beth Harry shared her experiences and perspectives on DEI in special education research and gave advice to researchers engaging in DEI issues for students with disabilities.  Transcript of the episode. 

In this episode, we discuss a topic much ignored in special education research: positionality. Who we are in relation to others, where we come from, how we see the world and the communities we work with, and the theories we subscribe to shape the ways we engage with research. Special education researchers are not the exception to this. To delve into this important topic, we talked to Mildred Boved...

While special education students encompass a wide range of racial, cultural, linguistic, and gender backgrounds, the special education teacher force continue to be mostly White and female.  In this episode, we talked to Dr. Christohper J. Cormier about how to diversify the special education teaching force.  Dr. Cormier also talked about his experiences as a Black special education teache...

In this inaugural episode of DiveIn, we discuss the latest report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine providing guidance on the future of educational research at the Institute of Educational Sciences. We invited Dr. Alfredo Artiles , who was involved in the report, to discuss implications for equity and inclusion in special education research. Transcript of the episo...