This discussion of collaborative training of early childhood educators promotes increased collaboration between regular and special early childhood educators. It examines teacher competencies in curriculum, class management, professional consultation and collaboration, teacher-family relationships, child-child interactions, exceptional children,…

This article discusses the challenges faced by a first-year special education teacher at a public high school. Challenges included issues such as behavior management, deciding what to teach, scheduling and time, working with a paraprofessional, collaboration and mainstreaming versus inclusion, paperwork and meetings, and training and support.…

This proceedings document from a conference on the Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD), which is authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), offers perspectives provided by Martha J. Fields and Thomas Hehir, on reauthorization of the IDEA. A discussion of the topic of paradigm shifts in staff development…

Maintaining the precision necessary for administering norm referenced tests can be a problem for the special education teacher who is trained to assist the student. Criterion-referenced tests, observations, and interviews are presented as effective alternative assessment techniques. (JDD)

This paper is part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002. It discusses teachers' rights to private and public speech. Specifically, it examines the rights of special-education teachers and other special-education professionals to advocate, privately or publicly, on…

This article identifies factors which hinder people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds from achieving careers in special education and related services, including demographic, institutional, and cultural factors. It reviews training trends and successful programs which foster a more pluralistic outlook on teacher education and…

A statewide survey of 64 public school teachers of deaf students found that, consistent with earlier research, teachers had inadequate knowledge of American Sign Language (ASL) and the role that the deaf community plays in the education of deaf children. Recommendations for preservice/inservice teacher training in ASL and current issues, such as…

This article calls for a rethinking of inservice education for teachers of children with disabilities as well as an investment in experimental modes of teacher renewal. Examples are presented of short-term internships where teachers are immersed in exemplary practices by host teachers in early education and school-to-adult life transition…

This document presents revised comprehensive standards and guidelines for the preparation and certification of special educators and for practice as special educators, developed by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Part 1 provides the CEC's Code of Ethics for Professional Practice for Educators of Persons with Exceptionalities and CEC's…

Graduates of professional preparation programs in special education are followed up in order to know about the status of professionals who completed their training in programs receiving federal support from the Office of Special Education Programs Division of Personnel Preparation. This bulletin discusses graduate follow-up precondition criteria…

A review of the existing literature on preparation of rural teaching personnel focuses on the problems of education and specifically, special education, in rural areas and reports various solutions to those problems. Characteristics of many rural areas (such as high non-enrollment rates, rising service costs, resistance to outside interference,…

The importance of teamwork in providing career education for exceptional children is emphasized. Role descriptions of the following team members are presented with reference to grade levels: guidance counselors, occupational specialists, work evaluators, work experience teachers, rehabilitation specialists, special educators, and the…

Discusses the kinds of competencies needed by educators to better assist young children with disabilities and their families. These competencies include: knowledge of early childhood as a distinct phase of development, experiences in working with families, skills in collaboration and coordination, developmentally appropriate intervention, and…

This article, originally published in 1968, examines learning disabilities from the perspectives of history, disciplines (calling for interdisciplinary convergence), education (viewing learning disabilities as a concept rather than a category), teacher preparation, province (evaluating the appropriateness of various delivery systems), and time…

This study for the Kentucky Department of Education identified and validated teacher competencies for teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. The competencies address assessment, consultation, social skills development, behavior management, instructional programing/curriculum, personal/professional aspects, cognition,…