The efficiency of professionalism
In special education, several factors may determine the efficiency of professionalism, including leadership and infrastructure. From the point of leadership, educators must focus on their development in teaching qualities and mathematics as one of the major tested subjects. Good leaders must understand the law, policies, assessment metrics, and instructions to demonstrate their professionalism in high-school-level education. Infrastructure is another factor that includes the identification of state policies and the implementation of strategies for professional development. For example, the experience of my colleagues and the observation of their behaviors show that infrastructure may be created through the already approved formal structures or new initiatives with additional opportunities being developed. In both cases, leadership cannot be ignored as it is the major requirement in planning and monitoring activities, proving the leadership-infrastructure relationship as a supportive means of academic professionalism.
The plan of activities
To maintain professionalism in special education and remove student deficiency in mathematics, educators have to plan their activities and correctly define their expectations. Leaders are responsible for designing education infrastructures the implementation of which determines structures and resources in their mathematics instructional practice and promotes improvements (Spillane, Hopkins, & Sweet, 2017). A special education teacher should demonstrate good plans for each lesson, identify available resources and expected outcomes, participate in regular meetings with other colleagues, and share experiences, relying on reports from classes. Therefore, it is not enough to have a plan and make sure to follow it (infrastructure), but it is necessary to understand how to use the information and enhance professional development (leadership). In total, supportive infrastructure and leadership play an important role in the establishment of math teachers’ behaviors and attitudes towards their duties, relationships with students, and the introduction of new material.
References
Spillane, J. P., Hopkins, M., & Sweet, T. M. (2017). School district educational infrastructure and change at scale: Teacher peer interactions and their beliefs about mathematics instructions. American Educational Research Journal, 55(3), 532-571.