Are We Preparing Special Educators for the Issues Facing Schools in the 1990s?

Abstract

School personnel are faced with added demands as a result of the many problems facing sociey, including teen sexuality, HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, and homelessness. The literature on these topics is reviewed as it relates to students with special needs, and the results of a survey to determine if special education teacher preparation programs offer or require coursework about these four social problems are reported. Although there was wide variability in the coverage that special education teacher preparation programs were providing on these social issues, questions are raised about the thoroughness of the preparation. The implications for special education teacher preparation programs are discussed.