Special Education Faculty Research Articles

Special Education Faculty Involvement with College Students with Disabilities

It has been proposed that special education faculty may have a valuable role to play in providing support to college students with disabilities, but little information exists about how special education faculty are currently interpreting this role. A national survey of special education faculty was conducted to obtain information on the extent and nature of involvement, beliefs about this role, and the rewards and incentives available for participating in activities in support of college students with disabilities. Results indicated that special education faculty are involved in formal support programs and other activities on a widespread basis although time commitments are minimal. Findings suggest a need for improving communication with formal campus support programs and for realigning institutional reward systems to address faculty interests and campus needs.

Merging regular and special education teacher preparation programs: The integrated special education-english project (ISEP)

The Integrated Special Education-English Project (ISEP) was designed to facilitate the gradual integration of special education and English teacher preparation programs. In the ISEP, special education and English faculty cooperatively teach methods courses that prepare student teachers to implement English instruction with handicapped and nonhandicapped students. A description of the ISEP model is included and a case study is used to illustrate its implementation. Results from the case study indicate that the student teachers who participated in the ISEP improved their special education and English teaching skills. Participating faculty reacted positively to the cooperative processes inherent in the ISEP. Education departments benefit from the ISEP, as well as the handicapped and nonhandicapped students who are the recipients of the integrated English instruction. The ISEP is a helpful tool in assisting academic departments in the gradual merging of regular and special education teacher preparation programs.

Microcomputing Competencies for Special Education Professors

A list of 43 microcomputing competencies associated with the functions that special education professors typically perform was generated through a task analysis. Approximately 60% of a national sample of 250 special education faculty who use microcomputers responded to a questionnaire designed to assess the value of the competency statements. Competencies associated with the function of providing instruction about microcomputer applications in special education were viewed as being most important, followed by those associated with using the microcomputer as an aid to instruction in courses and as an aid to personal productivity. With a few exceptions, competencies related to the use of microcomputers to meet service responsibilities, computer programming and related skills, and selection and operation of microcomputer equipment were seen as less useful. Word processing was rated as the single most useful competency and computer programming as the least useful.

The Supply and Demand of Special Education Faculty Members

Faculty must be available to prepare sufficient numbers of new special educators. The supply of special education, doctoral-level faculty members who can prepare personnel to serve the nation's handicapped may, however, be insufficient to meet future needs. Surveys completed by special education department chairpersons and their faculties indicate that a considerable number of retirements will occur in the near future. The resulting openings, added to potential new positions created because of high demand for special education coursework, could result in many faculty vacancies, affecting in turn the preparation of personnel needed to provide quality services to the nation's handicapped children and youth and their families. The data collected in this pilot project justify efforts to amass a comprehensive data base on special education faculties and the personnel they train. In particular, data about special education doctoral level personnel, their numbers, and what roles they fill must be collected to determine whether the supply will meet future demands.

Faculty Evaluation as Viewed by Special Education Teacher Educators

The purpose of this study was to investigate the opinions of special education faculty members in seven southeastern states concerning faculty evaluation. The 94 faculty members participating in the study supported the need for evaluation, especially if the results are used to improve their instructional skills as well as their effectiveness.

The Special Educator's Role in Training Personnel to Provide Assistance to College Students with Learning Disabilities

As students with learning disabilities are currently the fastest growing segment of college students with disabilities, there is a significant need for trained personnel to develop, implement, and evaluate college programs for them. Many postsecondary institutions are presently in the process of developing such programs, creating the need for an increased number of people trained both to coordinate these programs and to provide direct services to the learning disabled student. This paper will describe the critical need for training efforts in this area and will stress the importance of input from special education faculty in meeting research, technical assistance, and personnel preparation needs.

Learning Disabled Students in Higher Education

Data indicate that the prevalence of learning disabled students enrolling in institutions of higher education is increasing. Many of these students will require additional services as well as modification of the traditional collegiate program in order to complete their education successfully. The purpose of this article is to describe the role special education faculty members can perform in assisting the college community in devising and delivering programs that facilitate the adjustment and performance of learning disabled students.

A special education course with pediatric components.

Handicapped children are often plagued by multiple problems. However, training in most of the helping professions tends to be focused on a single orientation, with little attention given to the thinking and techniques used in the other professions. This article reports on a model of personnel preparation in which university special education and pediatrics faculty members work together to train teachers about the medical aspects of educational disabilities.