Write to teach: reducing entrance barriers for special education teacher applicants through SRSD writing

To help diversify the special education teacher workforce, support needs to be provided to help racially and ethnically diverse students pass required entrance exams to get into special education teacher preparation programs. Many universities and states require special education teacher candidates to pass the Praxis Core: Writing exam. Special education teachers need to be competent writers. This pretest posttest design study included special education teacher applicants from diverse backgrounds across the Hawaiian Islands. Participants were taught planning and composing strategies using the Self-Regulated Strategy Development model. The writing intervention statistically enhanced applicants’ writing knowledge, argumentative writing abilities, and informative source-based writing abilities. Furthermore, the majority of participants who took the official Praxis Core: Writing exam earned passing scores. Findings support the use of systematic writing instruction as an effective strategy in reducing entrance exam barriers, thereby providing more equitable recruitment and preparation of racially and ethnically diverse special education teachers.