UCLA

Inclusive education in public schools is intended for all students, regardless of their ability, race, documentation status, or gender. Although laws and policies have shifted to ensure that children are allowed a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, teachers do not always have the adequate training to accommodate their students’ needs, resulting in low teacher morale. Additionally, there is a teacher shortage crisis (Darling-Hammond, 2010) which has led to declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs causing local education agencies to be unable to fill certain positions (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). To mitigate this phenomenon, this qualitative study explored how a teacher preparation program collaborated with local school district to empower veteran teachers to work with beginning teachers. The present study unravels the complexities associated with inclusive education and mentorship. Taking the Inclusive Bioecological Model (Anderson, Boyle, & Deppeler, 2014) into account, an Expanded Inclusive Bioecological Model was developed to better understand the contextual factors that could potentially influence teachers’ ability to meet the needs of all their students. Various data, including interviews, focus groups, and a survey, were collected in an earlier phase and were analyzed. The findings highlight how the macrosystem impacts the proximal processes between people, power, the context, and time. The lessons from this iteration of the project could serve as a conceptualization of what veteran teachers need and would like to successfully implement inclusive evidence-based practices. School districts and universities should continue to look at ways to collaborate and provide ongoing support for teachers at various phases of their careers. This project was an example of the positive impact that partnerships could have teachers’ perceptions about collaborating and revisiting their own praxis.