Special Education Advisory Panel: Working to Improve Special Education Services for Iowa's Children

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 197-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul L. Morgan ◽  
Michelle L. Frisco ◽  
George Farkas2 ◽  
Jacob Hibel

Editor’s Note Since the landmark enactment of Education of the Handicapped Act in 1975, special education supports and services have been provided to children with disabilities. Although costly, the intentionality of these specialized services has been to advance the educational and societal opportunities of children with disabilities as they progress to adulthood. For our republished article in this issue of JSE’s 50th anniversary volume, we have selected an article by Paul Morgan, Michelle Frisco, George Farkas, and Jacob Hibel. In this research, Morgan and his colleagues quantified the effectiveness of special education services on children’s learning and behavioral outcomes using large-scale longitudinal data. Their results challenge all education professionals to explore ways to increase the effectiveness of special education and to document research efforts that provide clear evidence that the services and supports provided to individuals with disabilities are improving the extent to which they fully experience the benefits of education and participate fully in society.


1987 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Stephen Lilly

The lack of focus on special education in the Sizer, Boyer, and Goodlad reports, as well as Nation at Risk, is analyzed. It is posited that mere neglect might not account for this lack of attention and that current shortcomings of special education services might lead the authors of the reports to focus on improvement of general education opportunities for all students rather than increased compensatory education. In its current state, special education for the “mildly handicapped” might well be seen by these authors as part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. To remedy this situation, special educators must increasingly see themselves as members of the general education community and work toward more effective integration of special and general education.


2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean M. Redmond

Several reports suggest that socio-emotional disorders and language impairments frequently co-occur in children receiving special education services. One explanation for the high levels of co-occurrence is that limitations inherent to linguistic deficiencies are frequently misinterpreted as symptomatic of underlying socioemotional pathology. In this report, five commonly used behavioral rating scales are examined in light of language bias. Results of the review indicated that children with language impairments are likely to be overidentified as having socioemotional disorders. An implication of these findings is that speech-language pathologists need to increase their involvement in socioemotional evaluations to ensure that children with language impairments as a group are not unduly penalized for their language limitations. Specific guidelines for using ratings with children with language impairments are provided.


2018 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Silverman Schechter

Students with disabilities, especially those with non-apparent conditions, are entering universities in growing numbers. Yet more and more students are going off to college unprepared to manage their disabilities, in part because their high schools are overburdened, understaffed, and uninformed to identify and support them. A recent survey of students receiving disability supports at one public university revealed that the majority of these undergraduates with disabilities did not receive special education services in high school, instead waiting until college to seek help. Respondents reflected on what could have been improved about their high school experience, and they offered advice to school practitioners as to how to support these underserved students for postsecondary success.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2019-V1-I1) ◽  
pp. 57-69
Author(s):  
Pelin Piştav-Akmeşe ◽  
Nilay Kayhan

Abstract Quality special education services are closely related to the quality and the efficacy of the teachers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the difficulties faced by the special education teachers and their selfefficacy beliefs. The study included 84 special education teachers. Data for the study were collected using the Tool for Identifying Difficulties Faced by Special Education Teachers and Teacher Interpersonal SelfEfficacy Scale. Results showed that while the difficulties faced by the teachers did not differ based on gender, they differed significantly based on the undergraduate programs from which the teachers graduated, type of the school in which the teachers worked and the need for the in-service training. Another finding of the study was that the self-efficacy beliefs of the teachers do not differ based on their gender, undergraduate program from which they graduated and type of the school they worked in. However, self-efficacy beliefs of the teachers differed according to their need for in-service training. Recommendations for future practice is presented. Öz Özel eğitim hizmetleri öğretmenlerin niteliği ve etkililiği ile yakından ilişkilidir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, özel eğitim öğretmenlerinin karşılaştıkları güçlükler ve öz-yeterlik inançlarını incelemektir. Çalışma 84 özel eğitim öğretmeni ile yürütülmüştür. Araştırmanın verileri Özel Eğitim Öğretmenlerinin Karşılaştığı Zorlukları Belirleme Aracı ve Kişilerarası Öz-Yeterlik Ölçeği ile toplanmıştır. Öğretmenlerin karşılaştıkları güçlüklerin cinsiyete göre farklılık göstermediği gözlenirken, mezun oldukları lisans programına, görev yaptıkları okul türüne ve hizmet içi eğitim gereksinimleri olup olmama durumuna göre gruplar arasında anlamlı farklılık görülmüştür. Araştırmanın diğer bir bulgusu ise, öğretmenlerin öz-yeterlik inançlarının cinsiyetlerine, mezun oldukları lisans programına ve çalıştıkları okul türüne göre farklılık göstermediği, ancak hizmet içi eğitim gereksinimleri olup olmama durumuna göre değiştiğini ortaya koymaktadır. Çalışmanın sonunda uygulamaya yönelik öneriler sunulmuştur.


Author(s):  
Solange A. Lopes-Murphy

The debate surrounding the prioritization of services for emergent bilinguals with disabilities is an area in need of attention. The generalized belief that disability-related services must take priority over English as a Second Language services suggests that there is a critical need to develop school professionals’ understanding that these learners, in addition to receiving special education services, need substantial support in developing their second language abilities. The steady growth of emergent bilinguals and multilinguals in public schools, that is, students acquiring English as a new language, calls for well-trained practitioners able to meet these students’ diverse linguistic, academic, cultural, emotional, and intellectual needs. The typical challenges this population faces acquiring a new language have, well too often, been misrepresented, neglected, or led them to programs for students with true disabilities. However, when emergent bilinguals are legitimately referred to special education, it is not uncommon for their disability-related needs to be prioritized over their English as a Second Language-related needs, and they end up not receiving the support they need to develop social and academic skills in the new language. This review article is intended to stimulate reflection on the types of services being delivered to emergent bilinguals and multilinguals with disabilities in U.S. public school settings.


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