Special education: overview and key considerations

¶ … special education has been an issue that went unnoticed in school curricula and by school administrations. It is only recently that more attention has been given to the needs of disabled learners. This is a manifestation of the increasing compassion for less fortunate persons in society. Moreover, ensuring the success of these children at school will also ensure their success in the workplace and in society. This will then also serve to improve the economy and society in general. Several works have for example been written on the topic, three of which will be discussed here.

The first is a brief focusing on the ERIC/OSEP special education program, and concerns actions that schools and administrations can take to include children with disabilities successfully in school programs. The 1997 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was reauthorized, and this entailed that disabled students needed to receive the necessary attention to succeed. As indeed many have in certain schools. The brief then considers what has been done in these schools to ensure the success of these children. It has then been noted that schools including a long-range vision of success for all students, a supportive community of administrators and staff, a healthy learning environment and respect for all students, and strategies for including all students with their diverse learning needs in classroom activities, have been particularly successful in meeting the needs of disabled students.

Practically, the findings of this research can be included in seminars and workshops for teachers with the purpose of benefiting disabled children across the country. Schools can also be monitored on a regular basis to determine the success or failure of each strategy in order to find which works best for which school.

Michael F. DiPaola and Chriss Walther-Thomas (2003) focus on the role of principals in ensuring successful paradigms for special education. The authors highlight the problem of increased pressure in the academic environment. This pressure concerns both students and school administrators, raising significant challenges for helping disabled students succeed. The overall temptation is to concentrate on those students with the greatest likelihood of making a success of their academic lives. The principal's role is therefore crucial in inspiring both teachers and students to resist this temptation.

This is done by ensuring and supporting reculturing efforts in schools. A principal is then to facilitate reculturing efforts and strategies to restructure the curriculum and classroom practices in order to include all students in the education effort. In practical application then, principals need to be inspired to make the most of this role in an environment of increasing pressure and public scrutiny. Support can be offered by seminars and other supportive strategies for principals. Developing a community in which principals can connect with other like-minded persons would also serve to decrease the isolation in which the school principal often finds him- or herself.