Special Education Critique and Limitations Cited by Researchers

Co-teaching is important, especially in the school I did my special education field experience at because they are full inclusion. This school district did co-teaching for math and reading. Students receive their assistance with in the classroom while the teacher is instructing class. It takes a lot of planning and collaboration with the classroom teacher, I believe this is not the most beneficial way to teach students that have learning needs. it can become very distracting for the student because what is going on around them. Learning with their peers is important, the instructions their receiving in the classroom are above their level. I wonder how this is providing the best education possible?

Special education teachers no longer may identify themselves as teachers of just a specific category of students. Rather, they must identify themselves as teachers of all students and be willing to provide whatever support is needed to meet the varied needs of students. Likewise, students should not be identified as self-contained or resource, but as students needing specialized instruction and supports for specific skills/subject areas for specific amounts of time in either a special education setting or a general education setting.

When Public Law 94-142 was passed in 1975 it had a positive impact on the education for children with disabilities. Millions of children in the United States were supported by the law. These children had previously been excluded entirely from the education system.

The problem of disproportionate numbers of minority students in special education can be attributed to a report by Lloyd Dunn in 1968 (as cited in Skiba et al., 2008) even though discrimination was evident long before that in America. The phenomenon of disproportionality as it relates to students from minority backgrounds being placed in special education refers to the percentage of students receiving services being a higher rate than is expected or that differs significantly from other races. Skiba et al. (2008) discuss the history of various aspects of the civil rights movement as they pertain to the issue of disproportionality of students from minority backgrounds in special education, the measurement tools used to determine the need for special education, the current status of disproportionality, and what factors have contributed to the discrepancies in numbers. Finally, recommendations are offered by the authors on how the existence of disproportionality of students from a minority background can be rectified.

Analyzed below are the two journal articles about special education assessments entitled, Predictors of Assessment Accommodations Use for Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing from the Journal of Educational Research & Policy Studies (Cawthon & WurtzBest, 2010) and A Methodology for Assessing the Functions of Emerging Speech in Children with Developmental Disabilities from the Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis (Parten, et al, 2005). The analysis revolves around the following areas: nature of research, summary, critique, personnel, future practice, and future research.

In what type of school do you teach? (Type an “X” next to the appropriate description; if “other” applies, provide a brief description.)

Truscott et al, (2004) “The result of this study suggested that when Special Education representation was general or implied, however discussions that included Special Education were infrequent.” P123. They went further to emphasize that: “These members of the educational community need to clearly advocate representation special education discussions of general education.”p124.

Some people may think that special education has been established since the beginning of public education. Others may consider a time when special education did not exist and students with disabilities were not able to attend school. The truth is, there was a time when this happened; these students were not allowed to be educated in the general education classroom alongside their peers. People with disabilities were treated differently, and some were forced into institutions because teachers and staff found them to be disturbances to their peers. Luckily, special education has come a long way since public education began. People, especially parents, advocated for their children, and today many laws are in place to ensure that all children

However, public schools have become the punching bag for special education students as the growing percentage of these students has put a hardship on other students, educators, and school districts overall. There is no correct answer for solving the issue of social injustice for this group of students. Although, districts, families, and students can take the time to communicate and understand the plans that are in place to make all students feel welcome in a classroom. It all starts with one student motivation, and one educator that can see that motivation and act on

One of the leading causes of disproportionate identification in special education is the school and teachers themselves. Minority students are more likely to attend urban, inner city schools where many of the teachers are not as experienced when dealing with racially and ethnically diverse classrooms (Donovan & Cross, 2002). Thus, these low-income schools are not going to offer advanced classes or top-notch special education

As a teacher in Clark County School District, I taught at Jim Bridger Middle and Thurman White Middle. I worked with the special education teachers and facilitator to allow emotional an opportunity to be in a regular education class with their peers. The goal was for the students to socialize and learn from the regular education students skills in communications. These thrived in my classes. As a science teacher I am very hands-on allowing the students opportunities to communicate and problem solve. These students learned to work with their peers and become successful in both content and social

Autism Speaks. (2012). The Federal Response to Autism. Retrieved June 17, 2012, from HYPERLINK "http://www.autismspeaks.org" http://www.autismspeaks.org.

Orr (2009) conducted interviews with special education teachers and the attitudes they have seen in their schools since inclusion was implemented in their schools. Orr (2009) chose fifteen teachers, which included fourteen female and one male teacher who agreed to participate in the study so it was a purposive criterion sample. Twelve of the fifteen teachers taught in a suburban area, two in a rural area, and one in an urban area; but they varied in the age they taught and school. Seven of the fifteen teachers taught in a self-contained classroom while the remaining eight taught in a resource room, where they only saw a student for less than an hour or two a day. Another pattern that showed was that many teachers found that they did not receive any classes that focused on differentiation or inclusion while completing their undergraduate work (Orr 2009). These results are important when considering the implementation of inclusion because it may mean that there is a need to reteach teachers. It is important to consider professional development classes district-wide before implementing inclusion in the classroom.

When I was asked to reflect on my experiences in EDSE 316 and the fieldwork, I had to think long and hard on how I would sum up four months of classes and fieldwork into four pages. I have learned so much about the various disabilities and how it has change the world of special education. I think a better term would be the “endless possibilities of education”. It wasn’t too long ago when children with disabilities would be stuck in a room in the back of school only to be seen in the beginning and end of the school day. They were the ones who rode the other buses and no one really talked about. This class has allowed me to speak of my own family and how special education impacted my life. I have a brother whose whole life was spent in the special education class, and my own sons with speech and learning disabilities who are now receiving special education services. It also allowed me to reflect on my own participation in the special education program in my early elementary years when I was struggling with my own speech disability. This class gave me the chance to see the timeline of special education, from its earliest beginnings to what it is now.

This article discusses whether or not special education teachers, as well as general education teachers, are prepared to teach students with autism. According to the article, autism is ranks at the sixth most commonly classified disability in the United States. There is a very wide spectrum for autism which include disorders like Asperger’s and pervasive developmental disorders not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). 1 out of 150 American children will be born with autism (Autism Society of America, NDb).