PROVIDE ONGOING SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT

Students with serious emotional disturbance (SED) pose stern challenge s to educators. The ''front-line'' in addressing these issues are educ ators who work with these students on a day-to-day basis. If these stu dents are to achieve a greater degree of educational and social succes s, educators must be prepared and supported in the most effective mann er possible. The reality of providing preservice and inservice educati on to educators df students with SED is discussed. Examples of trainin g efforts that focused on improving the capacities and skills of and s upports for educators are described. Recommendations are made for impr oving the preservice and inservice training of educators that specific ally (a) expand models of educator supervision to include the pre-, tr ansition, and postgraduation periods; (b) expand university based lear ning to focus on the work, classroom, and school environment, rather t han the university laboratory or lecture; (c) reconceptualize preservi ce and inservice training as an integral and collaborative necessity o f the teaching profession and a shared responsibility between universi ties and schools; (d) consider educator and school effectiveness in te rms of actual student outcomes and teacher practice; and (e) emphasize the consideration, adoption, and use of preferred, research-validated practices.