Timeline
Here is a preview of the timeline
that I created to show the major events that have occurred in the history of
special education.
Below is
the link to my special education timeline, it has some interactive features to
it, so please be sure to take a look:
Current Status
& Challenges of Special Education:
As a new teacher and someone who has
had limited exposure with special education I find it difficult to begin
discussing the current status and daily challenges of special education. As a
learning exercise, this may provide an opportunity for me to see how much I
have learned, however at this time it is all very new to me. To try and
familiarize myself with the topic I attempted a simple google search, “Current
status of special education”. That did not help shed any light, but did provide
some information for me to at least present here.
The reading that was assigned in Module
1 focused on the idea that racial minorities are disproportionately represented
in special education settings. This is termed “disproportionality in special
education” (Skiba et al., 2008). This makes sense, especially in the light of
all the racial disparities that are obvious on the news every night these last
few weeks. However, the simple google search I referenced earlier resulted in
another perspective. According to a team of researchers, the opposite is true,
there are too few minorities in special education (Samuels, 2016).
While I appreciate the debate that
many professions have as it can result in productive struggle for the benefit
of the people that it serves, this is a difficult debate for me. I am not
familiar with any of the research and have limited prior knowledge of the
profession. This seems like it may be more of a researcher’s debate, which
leaves the practitioners to figure out what to do. As a result, it appears that
the current status of special education of a bit muddied.
From my perspective, if we ignore
the side of the actual issue, it appears that there are some common sense
guidelines that could help teachers dealing with special education situations
from both of these research areas. Teachers should be trained in culturally and
linguistically sensitive evaluation methods (Samuels, 2016) and intervene within their own classroom before
sending a student to special education (Heller, Holtzman, & Messick, 1982; Skiba et al., 2008).
While the details about the effects of race are important, the key issue seems
to be focused on knowing your students and running the best classroom a teacher
can.
With regards to the challenges in
special education, the simple google search did help to find a list of 10
challenges that a veteran special education teacher faces (Ferry, 2012).
While each one could warrant a lengthy discussion, I will focus on the three
that I would find most difficult to deal with. The author noted that paperwork
is an issue, with one IEP coming back at fifty-six (56) pages long, and the
norm being somewhere between 10-20 (Ferry, 2012).
I have a great difficulty following that much paperwork in addition to the
normal forms and documentation that is required of teachers.
The next two challenges are related
to each other: data collection and evidence of student growth. While there is a
decrease in the emphasis on data that is being collected, special education teachers
must be able to validate what they are doing with students. They must prove the
claims of the IEP (Ferry, 2012).
This can add an incredibly difficult new layer to working with the student and
other teachers to collect this data and align it with the student’s needs. Data
collection is also related to evidence of student growth, as special education
teachers must prove the student is improving (Ferry, 2012).
We have spent several weeks in this program on the use of formative assessments
and the idea of trying to capture those into data or evidence the demonstrates
growth. To try and align these with data that was used to demonstrate a need
for special education services is not something I would do well.
References
Ferry, M. (2012). Top 10 challenges of special education. Retrieved from http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2012/02/01/the-top-10-challenges-of-special-education-teachers/
Heller, K. A.,
Holtzman, W. H., & Messick, S. (1982). Placing
children in special education : a strategy for equity. Washington, D.C.:
National Academy Press.
Peterson, J.
(2007). Timeline of Special Education History.
Retrieved from http://www.fortschools.org/m/content.cfm?subpage=62980
President's Panel
on Mental Retardation. (1963). Retrieved from Washington, DC:
Samuels, C. A.
(2016). Are there too few minority students in special education? Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/06/01/are-there-too-few-minorities-in-special.html
Skiba, R. J.,
Simmons, A. B., Ritter, S., Gibb, A. C., Rausch, M. K., Cuadrado, J., &
Chung, C.-G. (2008). Achieving Equity in Special Education: History, Status,
and Current Challenges. Exceptional
Children, 74(3), 264-288. doi:10.1177/001440290807400301
Turnbull, R., &
Turnbull, A. (2015). Looking Backward and Framing the Future for Parents’
Aspirations for Their Children With Disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 36(1), 52-57.
doi:10.1177/0741932514553124
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