Myths About Changing Schools and the Case of Special Education

1996 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
LARRY CUBAN
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
History Of ◽  
Changing Schools ◽  
Types Of Change

THERE IS A POPULAR AND PERSISTENT MYTH THAT SCHOOLS SELDOM CHANGE. YET THEY DO. THE MYTH IS DUE IN PART TO HISTORICAL AMNESIA AND IN PART TO HOW CHANGE IS DEFINED. TWO TYPES OF CHANGE---INCREMENTAL AND FUNDAMENTAL---OFFER A TOOL FOR UNDERSTANDING THE KINDS OF CHANGES THAT HAVE MARKED THE HISTORY OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURRED. THE MYTH ABOUT CHANGE HAS ALSO AFFECTED THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES, PARTICULARLY OVER JUDGING THE SUCCESS AND FAILURE OF INNOVATIONS AND THE STANDARDS USED TO MAKE SUCH JUDGMENTS. AFTER DISCUSSING THE MYTH AND HOW TO DETERMINE SUCCESS AND FAILURE, I END BY OFFERING SUGGESTIONS TO RESEARCHERS, ADMINISTRATIONS, AND PRACTITIONERS.

The Legal History of Special Education

1998 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 219-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitchell L. Yell ◽  
David Rogers ◽  
Elisabeth Lodge Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Legal History ◽  
Educational Opportunity ◽  
Unequal Treatment ◽  
History Of Special Education ◽  
History Of ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Appropriate Education

ABSTRACT Children and youth with disabilities have historically received unequal treatment in the public education system. In the early 20th century, the enactment of compulsory attendance laws in the states began to change the educational opportunities for these students. Opportunities for admittance to public schools were greater, but many students nevertheless did not receive an effective or appropriate education. Beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, parents and advocates for students with disabilities began to use the courts in an attempt to force states to provide an equal educational opportunity for these students. These efforts were very successful and eventually led to the passage of federal legislation to ensure these rights. The purpose of this article is to examine the legal history of special education. We will examine these early efforts to ensure a free appropriate education for students with disabilities up to and including the enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997.

scholarly journals Special education in Poland (until 1989) – historical perspective

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
JACEK KULBAKA
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
History Of Education ◽  
Special Schools ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Adam Mickiewicz

Jacek Kulbaka, Special education in Poland (until 1989) – historical perspective. Interdisciplinary Contexts of Special Pedagogy, no. 27, Poznań 2019. Pp. 117–149. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. ISSN 2300-391X. e-ISSN 2658-283X. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/ikps.2019.27.06The article is dedicated to presenting the information regarding the origins, organisation and the activity of special schools and institutions in Europe, with the particular focus on Polish territories (from the beginning of the 19th century to the final years of the Polish People’s Republic). The text nature may be included within the framework of inquiries regarding the history of education. Referring to the wide historical context (social, political, economical, legal, outlook and other determinants), the aim of the author of the text was to introduce the accomplishments of particular individuals, and various institutions active for the children with disabilities, in the discussed period.

The Beginnings of Inclusion in the People's Republic of China

2003 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen McCabe
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
General Education ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Significant Growth ◽  
General Education Classrooms

Education for children with disabilities in the People's Republic of China has experienced significant growth and reform since 1978, the beginning of the period of Reform and Opening ( gaige kaifang). Since that time, models of special education have gradually evolved to include educating children with disabilities in general education classrooms. This article describes special education and early inclusion efforts in China. National projects and local examples of children with disabilities, including children with autism, being included in public schools and educated in general education classrooms are described. Implications for inclusive practices, focusing on the importance of parent efforts, are discussed.

Historicising the Integration Debate

1990 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-38
Author(s):  
Dianne Snow
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
School System ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Children With Special Needs ◽  
Educational Facilities ◽  
Regular School ◽  
History Of Special Education ◽  
History Of ◽  
Segregated Schooling

The history of special education is conceived within the integration debate in a way which lends credibility to two broad claims. The first is that governments have been lax in providing educational facilities for children with disabilities, while the second comprises an argument for shifting definitional control of the notion of ‘disability’ from the medical to the educational arena. The recent Report to the Australian Schools Commission on Integration in Australia exemplifies this stance by pointing to the initial reluctance of governments to assume responsibility for educating children with special needs, followed by their eventual involvement in establishing segregated educational facilities. With segregated schooling becoming the norm, the problem now confronting educators is how to integrate these students and their supporting resources into the regular school system.

Eliminating Ableism in Education

2002 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Hehir
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Chicago Public Schools ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Deaf Students ◽  
Boston Public Schools ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
History Of ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Spell Check

In this article, Thomas Hehir defines ableism as "the devaluation of disability" that"results in societal attitudes that uncritically assert that it is better for a child to walk than roll, speak than sign, read print than read Braille, spell independently than use a spell-check, and hang out with nondisabled kids as opposed to other disabled kids." Hehir highlights ableist practices through a discussion of the history of and research pertaining to the education of deaf students, students who are blind or visually impaired, and students with learning disabilities, particularly dyslexia. He asserts that "the pervasiveness of . . . ableist assumptions in the education of children with disabilities not only reinforces prevailing prejudices against disability but may very well contribute to low levels of educational attainment and employment."In conclusion, Hehir offers six detailed proposals for beginning to address and overturn ableist practices. Throughout this article, Hehir draws on his personal experiences as former director of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs, Associate Superintendent for the Chicago Public Schools, and Director of Special Education in the Boston Public Schools.

scholarly journals “A Superior Kind of Working Woman”: The Contested Meaning of Vocational Education for Girls in Progressive Era Chicago

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 392-410
Author(s):  
Ruby Oram
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Vocational Education ◽  
Progressive Era ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Male Students ◽  
School Officials ◽  
History Of Capitalism ◽  
New School ◽  
Club Women ◽  
History Of

AbstractProgressive Era school officials transformed public education in American cities by teaching male students trades like foundry, carpentry, and mechanics in classrooms outfitted like factories. Historians have demonstrated how this “vocational education movement” was championed by male administrators and business leaders anxious to train the next generation of expert tradesmen. But women also hoped vocational education could prepare female students for industrial careers. In the early twentieth century, members of the National Women’s Trade Union League demanded that public schools open trade programs to female students and teach future working women the history of capitalism and the philosophy of collective bargaining. Their ambitious goals were tempered by some middle-class reformers and club women who argued vocational programs should also prepare female students for homemaking and motherhood. This article uses Chicago as a case study to explore how Progressive Era women competed and collaborated to reform vocational education for girls, and how female students responded to new school programs designed to prepare them for work both in and outside the home.

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