Science Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities: A National Survey of Elementary Special Education Teachers
Elementary students with learning disabilities (LD) often have limited opportunities to learn science, yet little is known about how special educators engage in science instruction. This study draws on a nationally representative survey of elementary special education teachers to describe their roles, preparedness, time allocation, and perceived barriers. Most reported minimal discipline-specific preparation and felt less prepared to teach science than other subjects. Many teachers indicated that students with LD missed science due to pull-out instruction. Common barriers to students receiving science instruction included remediation priorities and accountability pressures in tested subjects. These findings provide a national snapshot of science instruction for elementary students with LD and point to the need for greater preparation and policy support to ensure access to high-quality science learning for students with LD.
Authors
- Rachel Juergensen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3996-7465)
- Erica S. Lembke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8096-3330)
- Michael Solís (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4818-549X)
- Reagan Murnan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6761-9436)
- Shannon Budin
- Michael W. Dunn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5522-7454)
- Elizabeth A. Swanson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2716-4078)
- Michael N. Faggella‐Luby (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9735-2293)
- Edna F. Choo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4200-8302)
- Mary Jo Taylor
- Jennifer L. Chiu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7663-5748)
- William J. Therrien (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0594-5129)
- Christian T. Doabler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8074-4311)
- K. Davis
- Jenna Gersib (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1270-1889)
- Sheila J. Conway
- Amelia K. Moody (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9890-3202)
- Sarah J. Conoyer
- Zaira Jimenez
- Priscilla B. Brame
- Bryan G. Cook (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9294-0873)
- Cherish M. Sarmiento (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2328-1007)
- Jared R. Morris (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3321-047X)
- R. Alex Smith
- Sharlene A. Kiuhara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3541-5495)
- Ling Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0238-1831)
- Qing Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2715-0813)
- Vivian Chi-Woon Taam Wong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1037-1334)
- Cassandra M. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8196-3260)
- Heidi R. Stinchcomb
- Bruna Goncalvez
- Victoria Koop
Institutions
- University of Virginia (US)
Publication Details
- Published
- 2025-09-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.35542/osf.io/ta739_v1
- Primary Topic
- Diverse Educational Innovations Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00