Preparing Future Special Education Faculty for Service in Rural Communities.

This article describes a doctoral-level embedded service-learning initiative within Project PURPLE (Preparing Urban and Rural Personnel as Leaders in Education), a collaborative personnel preparation program between the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs. The program focused on preparing future faculty to address the needs of high-need rural schools in Kentucky through partnerships with the Kentucky Education Development Corporation (KEDC), a Special Education Regional Technical Assistance Center serving 21 rural districts. Eleven scholars completed seven service projects targeting professional development for educators and training for caregivers, including modules on mathematics instruction, special education teacher retention, assistive technology, sexuality education, transition planning, social-emotional learning, and evidence-based interventions. The collaboration provided mutual benefits by enhancing scholars’ research and service skills while supporting rural districts facing financial and resource challenges, with implications for future personnel preparation and research on university-community partnerships in special education.