Abstract
In this final issue of The Journal of Special Education’s (JSE) Golden Anniversary volume, we highlight a few of the trends that emerged in special education from 1998 to 2016. Since the amendment to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004, special education has continued to advance and thrive in providing services to individuals with disabilities through efforts in personnel preparation and bridging the research-to-practice gap. During the same time period, general education policies and practices significantly expanded with amendments to the federal mandate of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in 2002 resulting in both direct and indirect implications for special education services, students with disabilities, personnel preparation, and evidence-based practice. Specifically, NCLB regulations, such as “highly qualified teachers” (HQT), directly affected the existing teacher shortage in special education across the country by requiring all teachers to hold certification in the content areas they are responsible for instruction. Additional NCLB regulations specific to reporting adequate yearly progress (AYP) of all students, including students with severe disabilities, and participation in Common Core standards and statewide assessments to name a few, influenced the 2004 amendment to IDEA with clear emphasis on accountability, least restrictive environment, inclusive instructional practices, and measurement of academic and social outcomes for all student with disabilities. In turn, research in special education has continued to advance methods used to examine critical issues such as influences of policy and practices related to effectiveness of special education services, disproportional representation of minorities classified as having disabilities, and national and state formulas used for funding of special education programs and services.
As we conclude our sharing of JSE’s 50th anniversary volume, we have reprinted work by Paul L. Morgan and colleagues that explore the use of propensity score matching in investigating the effects of special education services. Advancement of research methodologies including large-scale data sampling like the one used by Morgan et al. furthers our understanding of the effectiveness of special education services and academic and behavioral interventions as well as continues to advance research in decreasing the research-to-practice gap in special education. In addition to the reprinted piece, we have annotated four additional influential articles that highlight some of the historical discussion on important issues, trends, and practices in special education from the late 1990s to present.
Kauffman, J. M., Hallahan, D. P., & Ford, D. Y. (1998). Introduction to the special section. The Journal of Special Education, 32, 3.
Disability classification has been a major component of special education legislation since the landmark passing of the Education of Handicapped Act (P.L. 94-142) in 1975. The classification of children during eligibility determination, however, has not advanced across decades without its share of discourse in special education. In this special issue of JSE, James Kauffman, Daniel Hallahan, and Donna Ford discuss critical issues surrounding disproportional representation of minority children and youth in special education programs. Kauffman et al. questioned our basic understanding of “proportionality” in relationship to all abilities (including gifted) and disabilities, challenging researchers to conduct thoughtful empirical research that yields deeper understanding of this important issue.
Billingsley, B. S., & McLeskey, J. (2004). Critical issues in special education teacher supply and demand: Overview. The Journal of Special Education, 38, 2–4.
For decades, policy makers and researchers have agreed that HQT have exponentially greater impact on student achievement than any other school or classroom initiative (Darling-Hammond & Young, 2002; Sanders & Horn, 1998). For special education, the enactment of NCLB and consequently revised regulations in IDEA (2004) offered promise in aiding the end to the limited supply of fully certified special education teachers, as well as trepidation in the possibilities of further worsening the shortage. This special issue of JSE explores research syntheses that highlight some of the contributors to the issue of teacher shortage in special education.
Kleinhammer-Tramill, J., Tramill, J., & Brace, H. (2010). Contexts, funding history, and implications for evaluating the office of special education program’s investment in personnel preparation. The Journal of Special Education, 43, 195–205.
As far back as 1958, discretionary funding has been used to support personnel preparation in special education. Federal funding for personnel preparation, such as the Office of Special Education Programs, has served as the catalyst for stimulating improvements in quality and quantity of personnel for special education and related services as well as building capacity in colleges and universities in preparation of new personnel. In this article, Kleinhammer-Tramill, Tramill, and Brace explored the history and contextual (e.g., political and policy) factors surrounding federal funding for personnel preparation from 1958 to 2010. Today federal funding decisions continue to be strongly influenced by changing policy focusing on standards-based curriculum and accountability.
Andreou, T. E., McIntosh, K., Ross, S. W., & Kahn, J. D. (2015). Critical incidents in sustaining school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports. The Journal of Special Education, 49, 157–167.
As students with disabilities increase participation in general education as their least restrictive environment, general education teachers are challenged with meeting the social and behavioral needs of students. Initiatives such as School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) offer an alternative to punitive discipline by providing a focus on prevention and tiered systems of support for student behavior needs. In this article, Andreou, McIntosh, Ross, and Kahn used a qualitative design to examine factors perceived as helping or hindering the long-term sustainability of Tier I (universal) systems within SWPBIS. Results from this study identify indicators that are essential in sustaining SWPBIS practices and provide direction for future research in providing supports for students with behavioral needs within inclusive environments.
Contemporary Research in this Issue
To round out this issue, we have included two articles that investigate the effects of interventions such as multicomponent function-based treatments with students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Cho & Blair), and mother-developed and -delivered social stories and video modeling in teaching social skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (Acar, Tekin-Iftar & Yikmis). We conclude this issue with an article examining the qualifications and preparation of secondary content and special education teachers in special education and alternative settings (Mason-Williams).
This issue concludes JSE’s Golden Anniversary volume. For us, the field-based editorial team, this review and sharing of historical issues and topics has been a privilege and an honor. We hope you have enjoyed this special 50th anniversary celebration of JSE.