Effective inclusive education: Equipping education professionals with necessary skills and knowledge
As a result of educational reforms, students with disabilities are educated in inclusive settings to a greater degree than ever before. Regrettably, many teachers report that they feel unprepared to work effectively with these students. Because teacher effectiveness is strongly linked to student outcomes, these perceptions of inadequacy are clearly problematic. Improved teacher preparation is a necessity. Yet, teacher educators face their own challenges when trying to keep up with current literature and a rapidly expanding knowledge base. Web-based technology offers solutions to some of these challenges, yet not all Web-based resources are valid or reliable. The IRIS Center for Training Enhancements, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, provides free online resources for those working with struggling learners and students with disabilities. The resources are developed in collaboration with leading educational researchers, are highly rated, and are heavily used in multiple countries to improve the quality of teacher education.