Early Childhood Special Education Faculty in Higher Education

The nation is experiencing a shortage of qualified early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers (Lohmann & Macy, 2024). Nationally, almost 520,000 3- and 4-year-olds received early childhood special education services in fall 2023, including five percent of 3-year-olds and nine percent of 4-year-olds. This represents an eight percent increase in the number of children receiving early childhood special education services from before the COVID-19 pandemic. The number and percentage of children receiving early childhood special education have been increasing for the last two decades. (Friedman-Krauss & Barnett, 2023; U.S. Department of Education, 2023). These numbers highlight the significant and expanded demand for well-qualified ECSE teachers. This report summarizes findings about higher education program capacity to prepare ECSE teachers with implications for higher education policy and practices changes required to meet future needs for fully qualified ECSE teachers.

To obtain information on higher education capacity to adequately prepare the next generation of ECSE teachers, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) conducted a national survey of faculty in departments with ECSE programs between April 2024 and May 2025. The survey was developed in collaboration with the Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Center (ECIPC). Faculty were asked questions regarding their demographics, training, job responsibilities, course load, and their intent to stay in or leave their program. Additionally, we asked for information on their ECSE programs’ capacity, enrollment, degrees offered, and licenses and certifications.