scholarly journals The Politics of the Hero's Journey: A Narratology of American Special Education Textbooks

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise Assaf ◽  
Jennifer James ◽  
Scot Danforth

This paper explores introduction to special education textbooks in order to illuminate how they portray the social and political work of special educators, especially in relation to disabled students and adults. This study analyzed five leading special education textbooks used in university teacher education programs using traditional methods of discourse analysis, including line-by-line coding and language-in-use with valuation. The analysis and coding tracked story plot components and characters associated with five phases evident in the narrative structure of a hero's journey: (1) the call to adventure, (2) supernatural aid, (3) threshold guardians, (4) trials and tribulations, and (5) the return. Discussions of the findings illustrate the problematic ways in which the textbooks create a heroic narrative of past and current elements tied to the field of special education.

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Stephenson ◽  
Mark Carter

Although qualified special educators are more likely to provide effective teaching for students with disabilities and special education needs, it seems many teachers in special education and support positions are not qualified for this role. The study reported here provided analysis of 219 job advertisements for special education positions in order to ascertain what employers required of applicants for special education positions. Advertisements represented all states and sectors in Australia, although the sample does not fully reflect the relative numbers of schools in each state. Most positions were for class teachers or for teachers providing support within and across schools. Special education qualifications and experience in special education were not common criteria for employment. The concerns raised by this finding are addressed through suggestions for formal recognition for special educators and accreditation of teacher education programs preparing special educators.


1990 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 299-304
Author(s):  
Margaret F. Carlin ◽  
Richard D. Saniga ◽  
Nancy Dennis

Informal polling of public school speech-language pathologists indicated that special education teachers referred more children for disorders of voice than did regular classroom educators. This study evaluated the effect of academic placement (regular or special education settings) upon children's and their teachers' ratings of abuse of the voice. Analysis showed the two groups of teachers' criteria for judging abusive vocal behaviors differed while the children's ratings from each setting did not differ. The special educators appeared to perceive their students' vocal behavior as more abusive possibly due to environmental constraints, training or the social affective interactions of their students.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104837132110344
Author(s):  
Ellary A. Draper

Within special education, transition is a required part of a student’s Individualized Education Program, specifically the transition from school to postsecondary life. Recently, special educators have begun to investigate best practices of transition at all levels—early intervention into school, elementary to middle school, and middle to high school. Yet in music education transition is not widely discussed for students with and without disabilities. This article includes an overview of best practices of transition in special education and provides ideas on how to implement these practices in music education to better facilitate transition between schools to postsecondary life for students with disabilities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 839-855
Author(s):  
David Shackleton

H. G. Wells's The Time Machine (1895) has hitherto been read in two principal scientific contexts: those of evolutionary biology and thermodynamic physics. Numerous critics have situated the romance in the context of evolutionary biology and contemporary discourses of degeneration (McLean 11–40; Greenslade 32–41). Others have discussed it in the context of thermodynamic physics. For instance, Bruce Clarke has read The Time Machine as “a virtual allegory of classical thermodynamics,” and shows that its combination of physical and social entropy reflects a wider transfer within the period of concepts and metaphors from physical science to social discourses of degeneration (121–26). Neatly linking these scientific contexts with issues of form, Michael Sayeau has argued that the social and physical entropy that are themes of the romance are reflected in its narrative structure, which manifests a type of narrative entropy, and thereby raises the spectre of the end of fiction (109–46).


1967 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Schwartz

Although the concept of clinical teaching is a persistently recurring educational theme today, reflecting the heritage of special education, it is hidden in the pattern of teacher education programs. In order to prepare the clinician educator for membership in a multidisciplinary and interagency team, it is necessary for the academic community to innovate an approach to teacher education curricula design and to modify academic administrative structure. Basic assumptions and requirements for implementation of a clinical teacher training program are presented.


1976 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 244-252 ◽  

Thirty special educators, some of whom have worked in the field for over 50 years, were interviewed by telephone. Each was asked to identify milestone events and pioneers in special education and to describe the development and role of teacher education, research, and The Council for Exceptional Children over the years. Crucial issues and needs in the field today were identified by the group and their responses were synthesized into the first of a series of articles celebrating the Bicentennial.


Author(s):  
Hannah Morris Mathews

In general education, researchers find candidates’ pre-service experiences are a tool for socialization into the knowledge, norms, and values of the profession. An important aspect of this process is program vision—the collective understanding of teaching put forth by a preparation program. Yet, few investigations in special education examine program vision. Using interviews with candidates across six teacher preparation programs, the author generates theory to understand the role of vision in special education teacher candidates’ professional socialization and how experiences of program vision are associated with their conceptions of their future roles and responsibilities. Candidates’ conception of special educators’ roles reflected three characterizations consistent within, but distinct across programs: Direct Instructor, Supportive Differentiator, and General Responder. Each profile was associated with unique roles and responsibilities for special educators. Findings draw attention to the importance of examining vision as a tool for professional socialization in special education teacher preparation.


1984 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 334-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence W. Marrs

The bandwagon has finally reached rural America. This article discusses important considerations for those who would board this bandwagon carrying baggage which includes preconceived ideas about using traditional special education programs to prepare special educators for rural areas. Competencies and curriculum elements which should be included in preservice programs are discussed.


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