Special Education Content Included in Regular Teacher Education Programs

Abstract

If elementary and secondary teacher preparation programs are to be responsive to the needs of exceptional students in the schools, special education content must be included within the preservice curriculum and appropriate inservice training must be available to faculty. This article describes a research project involving a national survey of selected elementary and secondary teacher education programs within public and private institutions of higher education. The status of special education content included within these teacher education programs was assessed. Major findings reveal (a) public institutions are more advanced in integrating special education content within the curriculum and providing appropriate inservice training and field experiences than private institutions, (b) elementary preservice programs require special education courses and integrate special education content at a higher rate than secondary programs, and (c) at least a quarter of the elementary and secondary programs require some type of field experience with exceptional children or youth. Issues are discussed in regard to curricular change and faculty development.