Preparing Culturally Diverse Special Education Faculty: Challenges And Solutions

Abstract

This paper describes why more bilingual culturally responsive special education faculty are needed to meet the needs of the increasing number of culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities in the United States.  In addition, the paper presents the successes and challenges in the journey to prepare university faculty leaders in bilingual multicultural special education.  The NAU Faculty for Inclusive Rural-multicultural Special Educators (FIRST) program is a bilingual/multicultural special education program which prepares doctoral students from Latino and Indigenous backgrounds to become highly qualified university faculty in the areas of teaching, research, technology, and cultural/linguistic diversity.