Journal of Teacher Education

This article explores the enduring fissure between general and special teacher education by focusing directly on the issues that divide these two fields. In the first part of the article, the authors describe their individual and shared positionalities as scholars and practitioners. Then the article examines differences in the disciplinary traditions that influence the work of general teacher educators and special teacher educators as well as issues related to deficit perspectives and access to the general curriculum. The authors suggest that the lack of a common underpinning is the central cross-cutting reason for the continued deep division between the diversity communities in the two fields. Despite this deep divide, the article argues that it is imperative to find collaborative spaces that have the potential to unite the diversity communities and build new synergies in general teacher education and special teacher education.

In this article, the authors focus on the disciplinary divides between multicultural, bilingual, and special education. Existing issues that inhibit closer integration of these areas are highlighted, and a focus on the issue of culture is examined. Problematic ways that this key area has been treated in the past are described, and a proposal for a cultural focus on all students is described.

This exploratory study, based on a content analysis of program descriptions, course syllabi, and related program documents, examined the curricula of three fully merged teacher education programs that were redesigned to better prepare teachers for the full range of diversity in their student populations. In these programs, graduates earn a general and special education elementary license simultaneously. Results suggest that attention to disability is more prevalent than attention to other social identity markers such as race, class, culture, or language.

Multicultural education and special education share historical roots, philosophies, theories, and pedagogies that provide unique opportunities to address the many challenges of underserved K-12 students. Without a more refined and critical analysis, however, the shared similarities could possibly mask the tensions and the complexities inherent in a relationship that directly confronts thorny and nuanced intersections of race, social class, gender, disability, and culture. This article focuses on the complexity of the relationship between multicultural education and special education from an African American perspective by exploring areas of divergence and conflict between special and multicultural education, specifically issues of disproportionate representation, cultural misunderstandings, tensions between home and school, and competition for limited resources. Finally, recommendations are offered that can more effectively prepare K-12 special education teachers who serve students who are culturally diverse and disabled.

The increasing cultural, linguistic, and developmental diversity of today’s classrooms demands more inclusive approaches to schooling, but classroom teachers often report feeling unprepared for inclusive education. This article reports some lessons learned from the Inclusive Practice Project, a teacher education reform project that has developed an innovative approach to preparing teachers to enter a profession in which they take responsibility for the learning and achievement of all students. It identifies four crucial issues, describes how they were addressed, and considers the challenges of professional development of teacher educators that emerged from the project studies. Key lessons focusing on the professional development of teacher educators in the establishment of a new curricular approach to teacher education for inclusive education are discussed.