Search

The article reports on the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Policy Statements approved by the Delegate Assembly in the U.S. The Organization and Administration for Special Education policy statement is prepared by the CEC Policies Commission and is originally derived from a paper by Ernest Willenberg. Such statements suggest some of the major principles on which a special education administrative organization should be based. Special education shares with regular education the basic responsibility of public educational systems to fulfill their right to education for every child.

This paper reviews several programs for children with special needs, from historical perspectives, current involvements, and one particular orientation, called the ‘child development model.’ With respect to programs based on the child development model, it is recommended that each state consider planning toward the eventual organization of a child development agency, responsible for all children with special needs, irrespective of their characteristics, educational attainments, and prognoses. Further, it is recommended that, to the degree programs encourage and support the maintenance of children in community environments, they should be rewarded in both specific and general ways; and for purposes of better guaranteeing human rights and due process, citizen advisory and other advocacy groups should be organized throughout a state and given such support as would be needed to make these groups active and responsive grass roots partners in policy and decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The passage of legislation concerning the development of adequate educational programs for the gifted and handicapped children has been supported by The Council for Exceptional Children acting in unison with various organizations. This paper presents (a) a brief review of CEC's past efforts to improve federal legislative provisions; (b) organizational policy statements that were adopted in order to increase CEC's effectiveness as an instrument for the encouragement of legislation for handicapped children; and (c) a look into the future of special education based on current trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses several research papers related to organization, administration, and supervision of special education which were published between 1963 and 1965. In their study of problems peculiar to administrators and supervisors of special education in 13 Western U.S. states, two researchers in 1964 found that administrators and supervisors were concerned with their inability to carry out research. In their summary of the reported special program enrollment of exceptional children in local public schools, two other researchers in 1963 noted an increase of more than 100 percent in the decade 1948-1958. The report of the U.S. President's Panel on Mental Retardation published in 1963, emphasized that a successful national campaign to combat mental retardation must be staged largely at the state level. A researcher in his opinion survey of, college and university heads of departments of special education, state directors of special education, and professors of school administration, found substantial agreement to support the traditional classifications of exceptional pupils identified with special education.

The author depicts one cooperative state-university approach to implementing the federal directives for preparing supervisors and directors of special education programs for exceptional children in state and local school systems. Internship experiences which are provided graduate students in the state's special education section, in the field, and in intermediate, county, and city school systems are outlined. The underlying theme is the need for sound theoretical and course work background in the administration and supervision of special education services, coupled with broad practical internship experiences in supervision and administration. Additional needs for the extensive consideration of issues and problems involved in special education programing are indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two recent amendments to The National Defense Education Act of 1958 enlarged its scope to include the education of exceptional children. The new Title XI allows colleges and universities to plan institutes in critical subjects for teachers of exceptional children. The amended Title ill provides for instructional materials to be used for all school children, including the exceptional. This paper briefly presents the Titles' provisions and indicates those who would be eligible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews several legislation addressing the funding of special education in the U.S. Its main purpose is to review approaches of funding for special education, the limitations of these methods and the responsibilities involved. The author argues that a dilemma has existed, namely adequacy and equity. Funds are insufficient and are distributed unequally, according to sentiments from court actions. She reviews the state's fiscal support procedure according to: 1) unit financing 2) weighted formula system 3) percentage reimbursement 4) personnel reimbursement 5) straight sum reimbursement and 6) excess cost formula.

A review of articles and comments emanating from Dunn's (1968) criticisms of the education of the mildly retarded is presented to analyze some of the facets of the current controversy. Many writings prior and subsequent to Dunn's are cited to show a growing disenchantment with the current course of special education and the lack of viable alternatives currently available. The review is concluded with an emphasis on change rather than reaction and on the desire that inappropriate practices be altered rather than abolished as advocated by some writers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two notions about the delivery of services to disadvantaged, deprived, and mildly retarded children are advanced: (a) that insufficient attention has been given to the ]act that certain special education labels imply deficiencies and shortcomings in children and (b) that no systematic inquiry has been made of children's perceptions of the labels and services offered them. Analyses of data from several studies involving more than 10,000 public school students, graduates, and dropouts; college students; prospective and inservice teachers; and counselors revealed (a) that children reject the labels culturally disadvantaged and culturally deprived as descriptive of themselves, (b) that acceptance of such labels is associated with lowered school attitudes, (c) that teachers hold lowered expectations for performance of the deprived and disadvantaged child, (d) that the educable mentally retarded report (and teachers confirm) stigma associated with special class placement, and (e) that few strategies for the management of stigma in classes for the educable mentally retarded have been developed by teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for a system of special education which covers all aspects of interprofessional and interagency relationships is discussed. Related problems are: that many general classroom teachers may not be ready to include the handicapped in their classes, that principals generally have little academic background on the needs of the handicapped, and that teacher education programs need to have broader certification requirements in the special education field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the advantages and problems of labeling and suggests that the controversy over to label or not label is not the real issue since some children will be hurt by either decision. The author proposes and discusses a 2 year special education contract which would mitigate the damaging effects of labels in children with mild handicaps.

The article focuses on the growing concern for improving special education services and educational practices in meeting the needs of exceptional children in the U.S. Exceptional children needed specialized educational programs that would be essential for their development as members of the society. The role of the school had been questioned and educational policy decisions have to be made that will show the commitment of the educational system for creating opportunities of learning to every child including the handicaps.

The article focuses on the task of the Division of Training Programs of the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped to contribute to the efforts of the professional community in creating an effective national pattern of teachers training to guarantee the best educational practices of handicapped children and youth in the U.S. A new type of grant-Special Project has been implemented by the Division to allocate funds for conceptualizing new models of training program. It is also preparing activities that will enhance the quality of the reward scheme.

Recent federal support programs for education in the United States have emphasized innovation and evaluation. Little attention has been given to the evaluation problem. Special education bears a special responsibility because it has been a favored area in recent federal legislation. Despite many difficult technical and psychological problems, efforts must be made to meet the rising problem of evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this report is to help prospective applicants present the best possible applications for grant support under Public Law 88-164, as amended by Public Law 89-105. In order to do this, a study was made of all applications submitted to but not funded by the Handicapped Children and Youth Grant-in-Aid Program. Twenty-four shortcomings were found to occur repeatedly. A number of suggestions are presented to help applicants avoid these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The program for the preparation of professional personnel in the education of handicapped children and youth under Public Law 85-926, as amended, is described. The activities conducted by the professional staff of the Office of Education in the administration of this grant program are summarized. These activities include site visits to colleges, universities, and state educational agencies, consulting with professional persons in special education, planning and holding conferences, and preparing publications. Data regarding grants in the various areas of the handicapped awarded to colleges, universities, and state educational agencies during the past two award years are presented. A brief discussion of future trends in the program is included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The future strength of the United States rests on the best possible education for all children. In 1963, Congress responded to the educational needs of handicapped children with the passage of significant legislation. As yet, Congress has not determined the role of the federal government in the education of the gifted. The author would welcome proposals for such participation from the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the major problems facing special education in the U.S., particularly in the area of manpower and professional training of special education teachers. The upgrading of the proficiency of the teaching staff will do more to improve special education. It has been suggested that there should be a differentiation made between research and reporting and much upgrading to be needed. The research problems include scientific investigations of the problem of placement, investigations of the needs of small towns, additional study of the financing of special education programs, and the study of the attitudes of normal people toward the handicapped.

The article provides information regarding the quality of education provided to special children in the U. S. The problems associated with education for special children is the shortage of trained teachers and the lack of understanding on the needs of the special children by the community and state. Several bills were passed concerning special education and rehabilitation but a special legislation is preferred than the general school aid bills. For about 75 percent of special children denied from special education, the government and all other agencies must make their part for the provision of better quality of education.

The article presents the speech of Ivan K. Garrison, president of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), during the second general session of the 38th Annual Spring International Convention of CEC at Hotel Biltmore in Los Angeles, California in April 1960. He discussed the changes in CEC divergent views about the condition of special education in the U.S. He also shared his accomplishments and the objectives of the organization, as well as the implementation of by-laws and its effect on the organization.

The article discusses functions and roles of modern state department in providing special education services for exceptional children and youth in the U. S. The state department supervises the instructional techniques and practices necessary to fill in the gaps and insufficiencies in the undergraduate training teachers. A role which focuses on teacher-training function to support educational programs foe exceptional children. The state supervision having the dual nature of regulatory-supervisory task and the consultative functions must build a staff-relationship function for the improvement of instruction.

The article examines the outlook of education and training for trainable mentally retarded children in the U.S. The state and local laws concerning the schooling of the mentally retarded have different definitions of mental retardation. Therefore, the school administrator must take the leadership to solicit all available resources in order to establish a long range planning for those who will need continuous direction. The school cannot solely tackle the problem confronting the team of community agencies.

The article presents several court decisions related to the education for the exceptional children from 1873 to 1950 in the U.S. In Massachusetts in 1873, a court ruled that actions pertaining to the education of exceptional children in public schools must be taken against the city or town and not against the school committee, which was upheld in 1901 when such action was brought by a parent demanding instruction in public schools for his child. In the case of Ward versus Flood in 1874, the court ruled that school committee acted in good faith in expelling the child who was affecting good order and discipline because the child displayed behaviors consisted of acts of neglect, tricks of playfulness, and inattention to study and regulations of the school.

The article presents several recent developments which have derived from the experience in dealing with the blind child in the public school classroom since 1943 when the so-called Oregon Plan of returning all ninth grade residential school graduates and children of any grade level, who seem capable and adequately prepared to public schools, was initiated. In order to prepare blind children to take full participation in the sighted classroom, a Braille teacher and a vision consultant were employed. In addition, the school for the blind has partnered with the division of special education to organize volunteer readers and some paid readers to record textbooks so that blind children can use the same texts used by their sighted companions.