Our intergenerational authorial team takes up a central--and unresolved--issue within teacher education for inclusion, namely, the role of curriculum in reconceptualizing pre-service programs. We specifically review literature and policy on how special education teacher educators have approached conceptions of curriculum, using this past as…

Inclusion of students with disabilities has been practiced and advocated for more than two decades in the United States. This practice involves the placement of students with disabilities in a general education classroom for part or all of the day, and the primary instructor is a general education teacher in collaboration with a special education…

Case methodology is receiving more recognition in the field of education as a viable pedagogy for use in the preparation of future educators. In this article, the coauthors explore two examples of case method instruction that extend beyond university classrooms to field sites: case report and case study. Both examples were used in special…

NCLB requires states to provide highly qualified educators for all students. Highly qualified educators should have content knowledge in the areas they teach and the pedagogical expertise to produce student educational gains. In this study, researchers examined the effects of an online mathematics methods class on preservice teachers' knowledge of…

Discussion of special education practica for early childhood general education majors first considers exo- and meso-system issues that either enhance or constrain the redesign of the practicum experience. It then reports findings on student outcomes of 32 students who participated in a redesigned practicum. (Contains 5 references.) (DB)

Students and recent graduates of a generic undergraduate special education program based on the Direct Instruction model as a basis for methods instruction were surveyed about their attitudes toward it. Results supported previous findings with inservice teachers that experience with Direct Instruction increases positive attitudes toward it.…

This study examined the characteristics of course content, field experiences, and program administration at 14 unified early childhood/early child special education (ECE/ECSE) and 13 separate ECE or ECSE undergraduate teacher preparation programs. Students from unified programs and ECSE (but not ECE) programs had a balance of ECE course content…

Describes efforts at the University of Northern Iowa to transform the early-childhood education major and the early-childhood special-education major into a single unified major supportive of inclusive education. Events at the state and university level and progress during the effort's first year are reviewed. (Author/DB)

A survey of 35 Illinois institutions of higher education was conducted to evaluate the extent to which preservice undergraduate general educators received instruction in the concepts and practices associated with inclusion and collaboration. Results indicated that the limited instruction received in these areas was inadequate to provide teachers…

A study of 78 institutions of higher education examined the degree to which institutions value and provide content area background to secondary special education teachers. Results showed that preservice training in content areas was minimal and that science and social studies were considered less important than English and mathematics. (CR)

Comparison of typical courses of study from 1970 to 1990 for students preparing to be teachers of pupils with mental retardation found little change in percentage of programs offering a special course on mental retardation; increased percentage of programs offering cross-categorical courses; and decreased percentage of programs requiring joint…

This paper describes a teacher education program which systematically infuses, into the entire curriculum, those competencies important in serving culturally diverse students with learning disabilities. The program's rationale, the infusion model, and its implementation and effectiveness are discussed. (DB)

A preservice teacher practicum supervision model being implemented at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is intended to facilitate quality supervision and practicum experiences for preservice teacher candidates in the area of severe disabilities. The model has been systematically developed and components have been and are being…

This paper describes the growth of private-sector involvement in the delivery of postsecondary education and its effect on institutions and on the development of general and special education teachers. It contends that the corporate approach to activities and governance is antithetical, if not hostile, to teacher-education reform. (Author/CR)

Analysis of undergraduate special education teacher preparation programs of 38 comprehensive schools (undergraduate and doctoral degrees in special education) and 67 noncomprehensive schools (undergraduate degree only) schools revealed that both groups placed at least moderate emphasis on each of 11 training areas, while comprehensive schools…