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Certificate No. AJA19-0226

UNIT IV
INCLUSIVE AND SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER PREPARATION

A. EXPECTATIONS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATORS (Kauffman, J. M., Hallahan, D. P., & Pullen, P. C., 2014)
Special Education teachers must attain special expertise in the following areas:
Instructing students with learning problems. The majority of students with disabilities have more difficulty learning academic skills
than those without disabilities. This is true for all categories of disabling conditions because sensory impairments, physical
disabilities, and mental or emotional disabilities all tend to make academic learning more difficult. Often, the difficulty is slight;
sometimes it is extreme. Special education teachers must have more than patience and hope, though they do need these qualities;
they must also have the technical skill to present academic tasks so that students with disabilities will understand and respond
appropriately. Exceptional instruction is the key to improving special education (Kauffman & Hallahan, 2005a).

Managing serious behavior problems. Many students with disabilities have behavior problems in addition to their other
exceptionalities. Some, in fact, require special education primarily because of their inappropriate or disruptive behavior. Special
education teachers must have the ability to deal effectively with more than the usual troublesome behavior of students. Besides
having understanding and empathy, special education teachers must master the techniques that will allow them to draw out
particularly withdrawn students, control those who are hyper-aggressive and persistently disruptive, and teach critical social skills.
Positive, proactive behavior intervention plans are essential for all students who receive special education and exhibit serious behavior
problems, regardless of their diagnostic label or classification (Kauffman, Mostert, Trent, & Pullen, 2006).

Evaluating technological advances. Technology is increasingly being applied to the problems of teaching exceptional students and
improving their daily lives. New devices and methods are rapidly being developed, particularly for students with sensory and
physical disabilities. Special education teachers need more than mere awareness of the technology available; they must also be able
to evaluate its advantages and disadvantages for teaching the exceptional children and youth with whom they work.

Knowing special education law. Special education teachers do not need to be lawyers, but they do need to be aware of the law’s
requirements and prohibitions if they are to be adequate advocates for students with disabilities (Bateman, 2007; Huefner, 2006;
Yell, 2006).

B. EXPECTATIONS FOR ALL EDUCATORS (Kauffman, J. M., Hallahan, D. P., & Pullen, P. C., 2014)

One limitation of all teachers is that they cannot accomplish the miracles portrayed in the popular media, even if they are very good at
what they do (Moore, 2007). However, competent teachers can make a significant difference in the lives of the children with whom they
work, but the expectations set up by media portrayals—and too often by government or the general public—are unrealistic. Teachers,
like those employed in other lines of work, must do the best they can with the resources at their disposal. Striving for excellence is
admirable, but recognizing one’s real-world limitations, keeping one’s duties and accomplishments in perspective, and being happy with
the best one can do, even if it’s less than perfection, is as important for teachers as it is for students.

Regardless of whether teachers are specifically trained in special education, they may be expected to participate in educating exceptional
students in any one of the following ways:
1. Make maximum effort to accommodate individual students’ needs. Teaching in public schools requires dealing with diverse students
in every class. Flexibility, adaptation, accommodation, and special attention are expected of every teacher. Special education should
be considered necessary only when a teacher’s best efforts to meet a student’s individual needs aren’t successful.

Lecture Notes prepared by Ms. Ma. Juna A. Felicen for use of her Education 121 class this second semester SY 2019-2020.
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Certificate No. AJA19-0226
2. Evaluate academic abilities and disabilities. Although a psychologist or other special school personnel might administer a student
formal standardized tests in academic areas, adequate evaluation requires the teacher’s assessment of the student’s performance in the
classroom. Teachers must be able to report specifically and precisely how students can and cannot perform in all academic areas for
which they are responsible as part of the response to intervention (RTI) process.
3. Refer for evaluation. A student shouldn’t be referred for special education unless teachers have made extensive and unsuccessful
efforts to accommodate the student’s needs in general education classes. Before referral, school personnel must document the strategies
that have been used to teach and manage the student in general education. Referral is justified only if these strategies have failed.
4. Participate in eligibility conferences. Before a student is provided special education, an interdisciplinary team must determine the
student’s eligibility. Therefore, teachers must be ready to work with other teachers and with professionals from other disciplines (e.g.,
psychology, medicine, or social work) in determining a student’s eligibility for special education.
5. Participate in writing individualized education programs. Every student identified with a disability and receiving special education
must have a written IEP. Teachers must be ready to participate in a meeting (possibly including the student and/or parents as well as
other professionals) to develop the program.
6. Communicate with parents or guardians. Educators must consult parents (sometimes surrogate parents) or guardians during the
evaluation of the child’s eligibility for special education, formulation of the IEP, and reassessment of any special program that may be
designed. Teachers must contribute to the school’s communication with parents
about the child’s problems, placement, and progress.
7. Participate in due process hearings and negotiations. Parents, guardians, or students with disabilities themselves who are
dissatisfied with the school’s response to educational needs may request a due process hearing or negotiations regarding appropriate
services. Teachers might be called on to offer observations, opinions, or suggestions in such hearings or negotiations.
8. Collaborate with other professionals in identifying and making maximum use of exceptional students’ abilities. General and special
education teachers are expected to share responsibility for educating students with special needs. In addition, teachers might need to
collaborate with other professionals, depending on the given student’s exceptionality (e.g., psychologists, counselors, physicians,
physical therapists).

A high level of professional competence and ethical judgment is required to conform to these expectations. Teaching demands a
thorough knowledge of child development and expertise in instruction. Furthermore, teachers are sometimes faced with serious
professional and ethical dilemmas in trying to serve the needs of students and their parents, on the one hand, and in attempting to
conform to legal or administrative pressures, on the other (Crockett & Kauffman, 1999; Kauffman & Hallahan, 2007). For example, when
a teacher observes indications that a student might have a disability, should the teacher refer the student for evaluation and possible
placement in special education, knowing that her school offers only inadequate or inappropriate services?

C. WHAT DO EFFECTIVE BEGINNING SPECIAL EDUCATORS NEED TO KNOW? (Kauffman & Hallahan, 2011)
Given the condensed preparation that many new teachers face, it is critical to identify the knowledge and skills within these
domains that are essential to ensure teacher success in the classroom. Research suggests that effective teacher preparation programs
include coursework that integrates knowledge of learning and learners, knowledge of content and curriculum, and knowledge of
teaching (Brownell, Ross, Colón, & McCallum, 2005; Fueyo, Koorland, & Rasch, 2008; Imig & Imig, 2006).

Knowledge of Learning and Learners

New special education teachers must understand the characteristics of diverse learners and how those characteristics influence
student learning in the classroom (Brownell, Leko, Kamman, & Streeper-King, 2008; Fueyo et al., 2008). Several Council for Exceptional
Children (CEC) professional standards (CEC, 2009) highlight the need for teachers to understand typical and atypical child development,
as well as to recognize how learning differs as a result of exceptional conditions. This in-depth understanding of learning and learners
provides the basis for special education teachers to identify individual learning needs of students so that instructional strategies may

Lecture Notes prepared by Ms. Ma. Juna A. Felicen for use of her Education 121 class this second semester SY 2019-2020.
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Certificate No. AJA19-0226
be selected to address each students’ strengths and needs. Three of the CEC’s standards highlight specific competencies in learners and
learning for beginning special education teachers:
1. Foundations
2. Development and Characteristics of Learners
3. Individual Learning Differences
In their study of expert special education teachers, Stough and Palmer (2003) reported that teachers used their extensive
knowledge of individual student’s learning characteristics to make instructional decisions throughout lessons. This detailed knowledge
about the individual learning needs and approaches of each student allowed the expert special education teachers to tailor their
instruction to meet those needs. Without such in-depth, individualized knowledge of their students as learners, the teachers would not
be able to provide the individualized instruction their students required. Conners (2008) provided compelling evidence that expert
special education teachers developed not only a deep knowledge of individual students’ strengths and needs, but also a personal and
almost intuitive sense of students’ individual characteristics and needs, both academically and social-emotionally. A major component
of her conceptualization of expert special educators included a focus on students, including an in-depth knowledge of disabilities and
individual students.

Knowledge of Content and Curriculum

Special education teachers who are responsible for instructing students in core content areas must demonstrate that they have
mastery of the subject matter they are teaching. Teachers must know subject matter content in specialized ways in order to be able to
teach it to others. That is, they must have detailed knowledge of the subject they are teaching, along with pedagogical knowledge of
the content that allows them to understand how students learn that particular subject matter (Phelps & Schilling, 2004).
Teachers understand their subject matter in precise ways that allow them to analyze student work and select instructional
strategies to develop students’ understanding of the content. Subsequent research has referred to this type of knowledge as “engaged
knowledge” (Carlisle, Phelps, Rowan, & Johnson, 2006, in Brownell et al., 2009).
Studies of exemplary teachers have found that teachers who are more engaging and effective demonstrate high levels of
engaged knowledge (Rankin-Erickson & Pressley, 2000; Seo, Brownell, Bishop, & Dingle, 2008; Stough & Palmer, 2003). In one study,
Seo et al. observed 14 beginning special education teachers and rated them on their ability to engage students in literacy instruction.
A longstanding body of research indicates that the more students are engaged, the more they learn. One of the teachers in the study
was identified as the most engaging beginning special education teacher. One characteristic that set this teacher apart from her less-
engaging peers was her use of a variety of curricular materials to meet the needs of her struggling readers. The teacher was able to
blend components of different programs to individualize instruction.
Exemplary teachers were found to have high levels of engaged knowledge. Specifically, these teachers had extensive
knowledge about both subject-matter and subject-specific pedagogy. Furthermore, the researchers found that teachers who are
effective at promoting literacy development have experiences with a variety of instructional approaches and have extensive background
knowledge that helps them make decisions about what and how to integrate the “new” with what they successfully have used in the
past. (p. 220)
Taken together, these studies indicate that engaged knowledge is critical for effective teaching. Special educators must have a
detailed understanding of content and of how students learn that content in order to provide instruction targeted to students’ learning
needs. Therefore, special education preparation programs must emphasize subject-matter knowledge along with subject-specific
pedagogical knowledge.

Knowledge of Teaching
While the legislative definition of teacher quality focuses exclusively on subject-matter knowledge, research indicates that both
content knowledge and general pedagogical skills have a significant impact on student achievement (Darling-Hammond & Youngs,
2002).

Lecture Notes prepared by Ms. Ma. Juna A. Felicen for use of her Education 121 class this second semester SY 2019-2020.
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Certificate No. AJA19-0226
Brownell and her colleagues (2009) studied beginning special education teachers’ knowledge of literacy and their related
classroom practices. Results showed that teacher content knowledge did not have a significant impact on classroom practice. Rather,
teachers’ generic classroom practices contributed more to the variance in student achievement. Classroom management, in particular,
affected achievement more than any other practice. This suggests that beginning teachers must have strong classroom managemen t
and general pedagogical skills, a finding in-line with previous research on effective special education teachers.
Teachers who were able to actively engage students demonstrated specific behaviors, including efficient use of class time, use
of active instructional techniques, less time spent on seatwork, use of large- and small-group instruction, use of positive reinforcement
rather than negative criticism, and consistent progress monitoring (Brownell et al.; Seo et al.). In studies conducted by Pressley and his
colleagues (Pressley, Rankin, & Yokoi, 1996; Rankin-Erickson & Pressley, 2000), effective literacy teachers also highlighted the
importance of creating supportive and motivating environments for learning.
In addition to these effective teacher behaviors identified in the general education literature, effective special education teachers
must possess further pedagogical skills to address the needs of their diverse, struggling learners (Brownell et al., 2008).
First, effective special education teachers spend more time on skill instruction than their general education peers.
Second, effective special education teachers spend more class time engaged in teacher-directed instruction than their general
education counterparts. Another pedagogical skill that distinguishes special education teachers is the use of explicit classroom
management approaches. Finally, more so than their general education colleagues, special education teachers engage in consistent
monitoring of student learning, provide extensive feedback to students, and use a variety of materials to meet individual student needs.

References:
1. Kauffman, J. M. & Hallahan, D. P. (2011). Handbook of special education. Taylor & Francis.
2. Kauffman, J. M., Hallahan, D. P., & Pullen, P. C. (2014). Exceptional learners: Introduction to special education. (12th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.

REFLECT:

Questions before reading:

1. What is my purpose for reading?
2. What do I already know about this topic?
3. What do I think I will learn about this topic (make predictions)?
Questions during reading:
4. Does what I am reading make sense?
5. Is this what I expected? Should I revise my predictions or suspend judgment until later?
6. How are the important points related to one another? What parts are similar and/or different?
7. Should I read on, reread, or stop and use a fix-up strategy? Are there any words I don’t understand?
Questions after reading:
8. What were the most important points?
9. What is my opinion? How do I feel? Do I agree or disagree?
10. What new information did I learn? (Vacca et al., 2014)

SHOW:

What would be the characteristics of an ideal inclusive education teacher based on what you have read? You may write a short essay, a
drawing, a poem, or mind map to show your answer.

Lecture Notes prepared by Ms. Ma. Juna A. Felicen for use of her Education 121 class this second semester SY 2019-2020.