Are teachers receiving adequate training in special education issues?
Teachers are still not receiving adequate training in special education issues. States need to increase the mandated level of college-level teacher training ‘special education’ coursework beyond the all too general ‘Introduction to Special Education’ undergraduate-level course for all teacher preparation programs. Special and general education practices reflect teacher preparation, just as teacher preparation drives school practices. This symbiotic relationship between practice and preparation means that the implementation of promising practices is quite uneven on a national basis. While many students preparing to be teachers benefit from experience with state-of-the-art practices in their education, far too many still do not have access to the quality of practices and preparatory experiences that should have been created by now. Therefore, outmoded and ineffective practices are reinforced and perpetuated. This results in the following real-life classroom problems. • Schools still use
