Supply and Demand of Leadership Personnel in Special Education: A Follow-up Study with Analysis of Failed Searches

Abstract

Concern about the problem of declining numbers of special education doctoral graduates and increasing numbers of faculty vacancies in university training programs has grown since the early 1980s. In this study, we investigated the supply and demand of leadership personnel in special education and communication disorders and extended an existing data base to include the years 1988 to 1992. We also conducted an analysis of failed searches that occurred in 1988, which allowed us to (a) determine the number of open positions that went unfilled and (b) identify institutional demographic variables associated with failed searches. Predictions about demand outstripping supply are borne out by these data, and the problem seems particularly acute at institutions with small departmental faculties. Implications for policy development are discussed.