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The integration of technology in special education can profoundly enhance student outcomes (Marino et al., 2024a). For instance, assistive technologies such as speech-to-text software and communication devices enable students with disabilities to participate more actively in the learning process (Fernández-Batanero et al., 2022). Additionally, adaptive learning platforms can customize content to meet individual student needs, fostering personalized learning experiences (Contrino et al., 2024). Moreover, technology can support differentiated instruction, equipping teachers to address the diverse learning profiles and capabilities within their classrooms (Unal et al., 2022). Numerous impediments obstruct the efficacious integration of technology in special education training and implementation. These include inadequate access to requisite technological resources, insufficient professional development opportunities and limited administrative support (Brennan et al., 2024). Furthermore, educators frequently encounter difficulties tailoring technology to the distinct needs of their students, necessitating specialized training and sustained support across the teacher education process (Basham et al., 2024; US Department of Education, 2024a).

This manuscript describes how the University of Maine’s (UMaine) Special Education Teacher Preparation Program addressed these challenges in its special education teacher preparation program through a strategic partnership with the National Center on Innovation, Design and Digital Learning’s (CIDDL) Tech Alliance. Sponsored by a grant from the US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs, the alliance provides technical assistance for teacher preparation programs to improve technology integration and enhance student performance. The case study begins with a description of the CIDDL Center, followed by the demographic trends of Maine’s PK-12 public school students. Next, an analysis of the UMaine program provides insights into its challenges related to these topics. Finally, the outcomes of this case study are discussed.

The administration and faculty reported ten primary barriers to (RQ1): “What are current barriers related to the UMaine Special Education Teacher Preparation Program’s ability to increase the capacity of education technology integration during the teacher preparation program?” In response to (RQ2): “What was the faculty’s base-line knowledge and capacity to leverage technology within the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development (COEHD) special education, educator preparation programs, and other related education programs?” About 80% of faculty surveyed indicated they considered themselves to have moderate to expert knowledge of the use of digital tools when conducting research/literature reviews (e.g. accessing research databases, locating resources, checking for relevance and credibility of sources). About 80% also indicated having moderate to expert knowledge of the use of technology for communications, such as the use of digital tools for communication/collaboration (e.g. social media, collegial interactions, communities of practice, etc.). Findings also indicated the following faculty needs, which are consistent with the program needs. (1). Limited understanding of how emergent technology can support students with disabilities. (2). Limited knowledge to incorporate Universal Design for Learning during courses taught by professors outside special education. (3). Limited knowledge and abilities to conduct student clinical observations at a distance using technology. In response to (RQ3): “In what ways could the special education program support sustainable strategies to increase innovative technology practices to support positive outcomes for preservice teachers and their future PK-12 students with and without disabilities?” Findings indicated the need for a clear vision at the college and program level of how different types of technology (e.g. assistive technologies, virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence) could be integrated in the coursework.

This exploratory case study examined UMaine’s Special Education Teacher Preparation Program and its collaboration with the national CIDDL as part of a Tech Alliance initiative. Researchers employed a practice-oriented design (Ebneyamini and Sadeghi Moghadam, 2018) that incorporated multiple data sources, contextual analysis and both qualitative and quantitative data to ascertain the educator preparation program needs related to equipping teachers to utilize technology. The research is limited in that it addresses only one program in the United States. However, the Tech Alliance included ten programs.

The barriers noted for research question one are common across educator preparation programs (EPPs) throughout developed nations (Kerkoff and Cloud, 2020). For example, a study by Williams et al. (2023) indicated the influence of EPP program culture in relation to supporting teacher candidates’ growth is critical as they progress through technology-infused teacher preparation. Additionally, Karchmer-Klein et al. (2021) found that specifically developing teachers technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) was crucial, yet not enough to lead to sustained technology integration across teachers’ pedagogical practice in the long term. The authors noted that although participants in their study perceived technology as important, there was a mismatch between this belief and the actual integration of technological tools into their teaching practice (Karchmer-Klein et al., 2021). The lack of access to assessment methods using technology and the integrated use of UDL in course design are also common barriers (Graziano et al., 2023; Marino et al., 2024b; Weisberg and Dawson, 2023). Graziano and colleagues identified key pillars that EPPs should strive for: (1) technology integrated coursework throughout their EPP curriculum, (2) faculty-modeled experiences, (3) opportunities to practice with reflection and (4) fostering of technology self-efficacy amongst EPP students. Likewise, Weisberg and Dawson (2023) noted two pedagogical styles were particularly beneficial for students in EPPs: (1) leveraging technology to teach about equitable and socially just access to education for all learners and (2) adopting a critical stance toward the role of technology integration in schools through modeling digital equity pedagogy.

The integration of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, in special education, as demonstrated by the University of Maine’s program, provides a transformative model that can be adopted worldwide. The necessity of comprehensive professional development and strategic collaboration is emphasized, aligning with global trends toward inclusive education and promoting equitable learning opportunities (Contrino et al., 2024; Fernández-Batanero et al., 2022). The use of assistive technologies, adaptive learning platforms and digital resources in special education is crucial for addressing the diverse learning needs of students with disabilities, making this model relevant and replicable in various educational contexts internationally. Barriers identified in the manuscript, such as limited access to technological resources, insufficient professional development and lack of administrative support, resonate with challenges faced by educational institutions globally. Addressing these challenges through strategic partnerships, as exemplified by the collaboration with the CIDDL, offers a framework for enhancing infrastructure and faculty capabilities internationally (Brennan et al., 2024; Gangone and Fenwick, 2024). Building digital literacy among teacher candidates and integrating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles into curricula fosters a more inclusive and technology-driven approach to special education, encouraging global educational stakeholders to prioritize similar strategies within their own contexts (Marino et al., 2024b).

The findings of this exploratory case study underscore the critical importance of integrating emerging technologies into special education teacher preparation programs. UMaine’s collaboration with CIDDL demonstrated that strategic partnerships and targeted professional development can significantly enhance the digital readiness of preservice teachers. This study noted comprehensive professional development, sustained support and the adoption of UDL principles are essential for equipping educators with the skills necessary to effectively incorporate technology into their teaching practices.

The chapter Technological Advances in Special Education provides information on advances of technology and how such technological advances have influenced students with disabilities and special education across the globe. The chapter presents technological advances that benefited students with disabilities in developed countries as well as potential technologies to support students with disabilities in developing countries. The scant exiting literature on developing countries suggests some universal themes regarding technology for students with disabilities including access and training. Additional attention and research is needed on assistive technology to support students with disabilities in both developed and developing countries, with recognition that what works is developed counties may not work in developing.

Activist mothering by marginalized women is well specified, but the paths by which women seize agency to move from the margins of motherhood to the center of social movements have been under-theorized. This chapter advances the literature by examining how a Texas-based organization, Mothers Against Police Brutality (MAPB), frames that shift. MAPB was founded by Collette Flanagan, a Black woman, after the police shot and killed her son. The MAPB website data indicate that the organization draws on activist mothering to explain the devaluation of Black and brown children and their mothers via racialized state violence, to frame MAPB as lifting up the value of those children and their mothers, and to present MAPB as striving to ameliorate the effects of race and gender inequalities on family and community life. As illustrated here, following a child’s death in police violence, women are mothering from the margins in a new way. In that context, a mother’s shift from those margins to a central role in an activist movement is a powerful transition toward a redefined self. The process neither erases the loss of a child nor elides grappling directly with their death; rather, it redefines the mother’s engagement with mothering once the traditional referent for that identity and practice, her child, is no longer living. In this way, a unique path by which marginalized mothers “summon the courage” to enter activist mothering is elaborated.

In this chapter, we analyze and reflect on how our cultural identities and educational experiences as international students who pursued a doctoral degree in the United States affected and influenced our teaching philosophy and praxis as professors and educators. In this sense, we examine how our cultural identities and experiences help us define and shape our teaching praxis in the contexts in which we teach. We both are professors of color – Latino and Latino-Japanese – who graduated from doctoral programs in the United States. Currently, we work and serve culturally and linguistically diverse students, including first-generation students, in public higher education settings in Chile and the United States. We used a collection of narratives to delve into the significance of these events in our praxis. As theoretical lenses, we analyze these narratives using cultural identity and the reflecting teacher to examine our practices and identities as educators. We both conclude that our reflections, experiences, and cultural identities have been instrumental in the process of developing a professional identity that guides our teaching praxis in ways that are critical and social justice oriented.

Wicked problems, cross-sectoral and transregional collaborations, emerging technologies and calls for innovation generate exciting but unpredictable transformations in governance. Emerging research suggests humility, rather than certitude, represents a promising ethos for public leaders working to solve problems in tumultuous times. This study examines the nature, value and practice of humility in public administration (PA) leadership.

This study reviews cross-disciplinary research on the nature and value of humility and emerging findings and debates on humility assessment measures. It analyzes discourse among graduate students in US PA classes and uses ethnographic analysis from workshops with local government leaders to identify institutional dynamics that may influence leaders' willingness to act with humility.

Findings suggest that although PA students and leaders may value humility, they encounter institutional constraints related to public sector legitimacy and narratives about expertise and risk. The author proposes a framework to guide future research and practice in humility and public leadership.

Potential constraints emerged from a modest study of courses and workshops; further research is required to test the prevalence of themes across public leadership environments.

Public leaders, teachers and coaches may apply these practices and assessment measures to cultivate humility in PA classes and organizations.

This study is among the first to explore leadership humility with attention to how PA context may influence practice.

Our chapter focuses on the disconnect between economic and cultural policies and the needs of individual firms and creative industry professionals, all of which affect creative and cultural industry (CCI) entrepreneurship in the 21st century. After a review of selected policy trends and the overlooked role of creative industries in developing more sustainable liveable communities worldwide, we discuss recommendations by chapter authors in volumes 18A and 18B for useful policy actions, not only in and for their respective countries of study but also for other geographical contexts. Our particular focus is on how the CCIs have contributed to developing sustainable societies and meeting many targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. Thereafter, we provide an overview of the fifteen chapters distributed over five sections: ‘unusual and temporary places for CCI entrepreneurship’, ‘economic perspectives on CCI entrepreneurship’, ‘organising clustering of CCI entrepreneurs’, ‘cognitive aspects of doing CCI entrepreneurship’, and ‘social spaces and placemaking for CCI entrepreneurs’. Topics discussed include CCI entrepreneurship in rural areas (heritage entrepreneuring, book festivals), social work spaces, creativity and neuroentrepreneurship, strategic networking management for creatives, tensions from economic and artistic logics, collaboration challenges, street art and arts festivals. Countries considered include Estonia, Nigeria, Norway, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe. We conclude the chapter with a selection of policy implications of chapters in both volumes 18A and 18B, and a research programme and manifesto for researchers to develop novel insights for policymakers, aimed at strengthening the important role of the CCIs in creating more liveable sustainable communities and economies.

The entrepreneur is the main decision-maker in small and medium-sized enterprises and is the principal force in the implementation of a firm's international strategy. Research has paid limited attention to the intangible aspects of human capital, namely behavioural competencies that may have an impact on the entrepreneur's ability to take advantage of international opportunities. This study addresses this gap, identifying the behavioural competencies that distinguish entrepreneurs who pursue a stronger internationalisation expansion beyond the European market.

A competency modelling process is implemented for a sample of Italian entrepreneurs. Data on behavioural competencies are obtained through the coding of behavioural event interviews administrated to the entrepreneurs. Export intensity is adopted as a performance criterion to classify the entrepreneurs.

Three behavioural competencies (change catalyst, teamwork and organisational learning orientation) emerged as more significantly activated by entrepreneurs who show a higher export intensity in the global market.

The exploratory nature of the study, conducted in a small sample and in a specific geographical area, may reduce the generalisability of the findings.

Entrepreneurs can become aware of the behavioural competencies needed for the implementation of internationalisation processes. Additionally, training programmes can be designed to promote the development of these behaviours.

Bridging the literature on international entrepreneurship, cross-cultural studies and competency-based research, this study highlights the role of behavioural competencies in the internationalisation process from a micro level of analysis. This article proposes a competency framework that can be adopted to assess a broader portfolio of entrepreneurs' behaviours.

The costs associated with staffing acute mental health wards is the largest expenditure in the inpatient budget. Exploring skill mix and its impact on outcomes, particularly service user outcomes should be of interest to all stakeholders involved in the commissioning, delivery and receipt of acute mental health care. This paper describes the findings of a literature and practice review of initiatives undertaken to improve staffing and skill mix, and their impact on service user outcomes. The practice review was necessary due to the paucity of published research in this area. Both research and practice initiatives do not appear to be driven by service user need. This results in a restricted and service driven range of outcome measures being used. The paper concludes by proposing recommendations for future workforce development in acute mental health settings.

The role of higher education institutions in enhancing capability development of the healthcare professionals workforce has resulted in work-based learning becoming an essential component of awards linked to professional registration. The purpose of this paper is to explore how key stakeholders (academics, workplace tutors and students) on a programme leading to registration as a Biomedical Scientist (BMS) position themselves in their role and the subsequent impact of this upon delivery of pre-registration training and the development of professional capability.

Constructivist grounded theory methodology and a mixed-methods approach were drawn upon for the study.

Findings expose the challenges of a positivist focus and assumptions around workplace learning and professional development presenting a barrier to developing professional capability. In addressing this barrier, two strategies of “doing the portfolio” and “gaining BMS currency” are adopted. The registration portfolio has become an objective reductionist measure of learning, reflecting the positivist typology of practice in this profession.

To ensure that students are supported to develop not only technical skills but also professional capability there is a need for a paradigm shift from a positivist episteme to one that embraces both the positivist and socio-cultural paradigms, viewing them as complimentary and parallel.

The study provides a novel insight into how stakeholders interact with the pressures of internal and external influences and the impact this has upon behaviours and strategies adopted. The theoretical understanding proposed has a range of implications for practice and for the development of practitioner capability through pre-registration training and beyond.