As a result of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), special needs students are now included in general education classrooms more than ever. However, differentiating for students with disabilities can be challenging, especially for new teachers with little training on disabilities and Individual Education Plan (IEP). The role of the general education teacher has progressed from lecturing to the average student, to practicing evidenced-based interventions while differentiating for each individual student. Consequently, numerous competencies in special education are crucial for the general educator to assure students reach their academic potential. Examples of these competencies include assessment, assistive technology use, …show more content…
Limitations of the Study
Perhaps the greatest limitation to this study is participants will only be graduates within the last five years of University of the Cumberlands, making the sample size rather small and possibly not representative of all teacher preparation programs. Conceivably, one could continue this study with programs from other universities in different regions of the country or state.
Another limitation is participants cannot have earned a special education degree in any way. This includes those having earned both a general education and special education degree combined. Other limitations include the fact that there are many participants who will reside away from Williamsburg, Kentucky, where the main campus is located. Also, there could be participant bias which could lead to misleading results.
Assumptions
This study will operate under the following assumptions:
1. The data collected from the survey instrument will be both reliable and
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Members must include the child’s parents/guardians, a general education teacher, a special education teacher, and a chair person. Other members may include the student, a related service professional, a transition specialist, or other professional with a vested interest in the student.
Adverse Effect:
In order for a student to qualify in any of the 13 disability categories of special education, the ARC must have proof that the disability adversely effects the child’s education. Otherwise, no matter the disability, the child cannot qualify for services.
Disability Categories:
Students receiving special education services, are placed into one of the 13 disability categories as follows: autism, deaf-blindness, deafness, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impaired, emotional disturbance, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment (Yell, 2012).
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE):
According to IDEA, students receiving special education services do so at no cost to the families. These services must also be appropriate for whatever the disability is.
Individualized Education Plan