The Impact of Leadership Personnel Preparation Grants on the Doctoral Student Population in Special Education

Abstract

Over the last decade, concern has grown regarding the faculty shortage in special education (Sindelar & Rosenberg, 2003). In part as a reaction to a federally funded study conducted in 1999, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) increased funding for doctoral study in the form of Special Education Leadership Personnel Grants (Gilmore, 2005; Price-Ellingstad, 2005). This paper reports results of a nationwide survey of 619 students from 78 doctoral programs. It compares demographic and background data of current doctoral students to students surveyed in 1999. Results indicate that although the doctoral population does appear to be changing in the direction recommended by researchers in 1999, both contemporary views about doctoral study and the resulting agenda need to be rethought.