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Procedures
The initial convenience sample included 60 individuals contacted via email links
from enrollment data for the special education and educational leadership programs.
Invitations to participate in the data-collection survey were sent in two phases.
The first and second invitations were sent 2 weeks apart. The survey began with
a statement of consent, including information about the purpose of the study and
guarantees that participation was voluntary, that participants had the option to end
their participation at any time, and that data would be kept confidential. After they
had read the consent information, participants were prompted to move forward with
the survey questions: “By clicking start and proceeding to the survey questions,
I consent to participate in this study.” To ensure confidentiality, participants were
not asked to include identifiable information such as names or school locations.
Participants who completed the survey did so in a median time of approximately 15
minutes.
Any partial or incomplete answers eliminated the participant’s survey from
analysis; accordingly, of the 60 surveys sent, 30 completed surveys were returned
and used for data analysis, resulting in a response rate of 50%. Recognizing that
participants had many other demands for their time and were anxious about the
COVID-19 virus and the lockdowns, the researchers regarded the return rate, which
involved the participants taking time to complete the survey and provide additional
information, as impressive.

Questionnaire Instrument
Data were collected via a questionnaire (see Appendix A) administered
electronically via email through the university’s Qualtrics system, a data-collection
software. The questionnaire included seven structured and unstructured (open-
ended) questions and consisted of three sections.
The first section asked for participants’ demographic information. They reported
on their preferred gender identification, the current educational program in which
they were enrolled for administrative certification, current employment position,
current licensure, school size, and employment type.
The second section of the questionnaire asked participants to identify challenges
and triumphs experienced in delivering services to students with special education
needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants considered 15 choices
identified as the most common educational challenges faced by schools and educators
in the early COVID-19 research and were directed to select all that applied to them.
A final choice selection at the end of each list was titled “Other” and allowed for
writing about additional challenges experienced. This choice selection and write-in
option procedure was replicated for the instrument’s question about triumphs.
The third section allowed participants to elaborate upon or add to challenges and
triumphs they had experienced. They could comment further on any statements in
Section 2 and share qualitative comments on additional items they identified during
their experience. The optional qualitative data provided insights into the participants’
experiences and details regarding their current solution-finding mindsets. Finally, in
the third section, participants were also asked if they wanted to enter an anonymous
raffle for a $25 gift card. If they answered “yes,” they were taken to another site not
connected to the survey, which maintained their anonymity. Once the survey was
submitted, it ended with a “thank you” screen.

Changing Perspectives on Teaching and Learning 39