The Neutralization of Special
Education
Danielle Cicalese
Caldwell College Programs
in Applied Behavior
Analysis
Authors
• William L. Heward
• Ohio State Univ. since 1975
• Interests are “low tech”
teaching for increasing student
responses
• Promoting generalization and
maintenance skills
• Susan M. Silvestri
• PhD in Special Education from
Ohio State Univ
• MA in Behavior Disorders
from Columbia University
• New England Center for
Children
What is Neutralization?
• Neutralize- To
counteract, nullify or
destroy the force,
influence, effect, etc,
of; render
ineffective (Heward
& Silvestri)
The History of Special Education in the
USA
• In 1948 only 12% of children diagnosed with
mental retardation received formal education
• In 1962, 16 states adopt laws to provide
educational services to children with mental
retardation diagnosis
• Today over 6,000,000 children are receiving
special education services in the US alone
Where did this change evolve from?
• Architectural Barriers Act of 1968,
• Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
• Education of All Handicapped Children Act of
1975 (later updated and renamed the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA),
• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
Legislation
•
•
•
•
•
Due Process
Informed Consent
IEP “Contract”
Litigation
Appeals
Who qualifies for Special Education under these Acts?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6fcIqUHz8Q&feature=related
Special Education
• Society’s response to civil
rights and the needs of
those with disabilities. Its
is a multidisciplinary
field whose practices are
influenced, not only by
education, but by social,
cultural, economic,
medical, technological,
and legislative trends
(Heward, 2003).
• Dictionary meaning:
education that is
modified or
particularized for those
having singular needs or
disabilities, as
handicapped or
maladjusted people, slow
learners, or gifted
children.
Educational Outcomes for Current Students
Nationwide
Statistics
Special
Education
“Regular”
Education
School
Completion
66%learning
48% behavior
83%
Employment
(5 yrs post grad)
71% learning
47% behavior
69%
Independent
Living (5 yrs post
grad)
44% learning
40% behavior
60%
Postsecondary
Education
Attendance
30% each learning
and behavior
68%
Other Patterns
Apart from these
outcomes, very little is
known about the progress
of special education
students during their
school years. Some
information is
available on where
students receive their
education; more students
every year
receive their education in
regular classrooms.
Why?
Lack of
knowledge?
Bad
Teachers?
NO
• “testament to educations collective failure to
systematically implement available knowledge;
research-based teaching practices is hampered n
part by widely held beliefs about the nature of
teaching and learning that support incompatible
and weak instructional practices” (Hewerd &
Sylvestri)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KZPzbMqdnQ&feature=related
Real Purpose of Special Education
“ provide instructionally based interventions
designed to prevent (early intervention),
eliminate (remedial instruction), and
overcome (compensatory instruction) the
obstacles that might keep an individual with
disabilities from learning and from full and
active participation in school and society.
(Hewerd & Sylvestri)
Best or Worst Practice
WORST
Do not teach toward any
predetermined corpus of
knowledge or curriculum
objectives (and by all means,
do not directly or intensely
focus on specific skills). With
support and encouragement,
children will naturally discover
and learn what they need to
know.
BEST
Assess each student's present
levels of performance
to help identify and prioritize
the most important
instructional Targets.
“Special education is individually planned,
specialized, intensive and goal-directed instruction.
When practiced most effectively and ethically,
special education is also characterized by the use of
research-based teaching methods, the application of
which is guided by direct and frequent measures of
student performance” (Heward, 2003a).
Is this in line with IDEA’s goals and
definition of special education?
IDEA definition of Special Education
IEP must contain:
• (4) A statement of the special education and related
services and supplementary aids and services, based
on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable, to
be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and
a statement of the program modifications or supports
for school personnel that will be provided to enable
the child—
• (i) To advance appropriately toward attaining the
annual goals;
• (ii) To be involved in and make progress in the general
education curriculum in accordance with paragraph
(a)(1) of this section, and to participate in
extracurricular and other nonacademic activities; and
Research has produced significant and
reliable teaching practices
▫
▫
▫
▫
Functional assessment
Tactical procedures (i.e. constant time delay)
Embedding opportunities for language learning
Low tech methods (i.e. response cards, guided
notes
▫ Peer-mediated instruction/peer tutoring
▫ Facilitate generalization/ maintenance
▫ Learning strategy instruction
“Closing the Research-to-Practice
Gap”
• Ramp Up Studies/more studies
• Deal with Resistance
• Numerous studies are implicating that the
effective methods with much research behind
them are still not being used.
Example of Illogical Beliefs
• Why People Believe Weird things, Michael
Shermer (1997)
• Hewerd lists 10 “weird and widely believed”
Structured Curricula Impede True
Learning (Children Must construct
their Own Meanings)
Targeting Specific Skills for
Instruction Precludes Authentic
Learning
• Quartz
• Limestone=
• Rock Collection
Measurement is Unnecessary (It May
Even Be Harmful to Student Learning)
Eclecticism Is the Best Approach
•
•
•
•
(At a superficial level, this seems logical)
Problem arises when eclecticism outweighs
research based methods
Misplaced view that every approach has validity
Mixed model may prevent consistency and
intensity
Teacher may not feel they have “mastered” a
certain style of teaching, they may not feel
confident in abilities
Creativity Is the Key to Teacher
Effectiveness
• Creative Doctors?
• Creative Pilots?
• Creative Teachers?
• Is one more important then the other?
The consequences of Illogical and
Unfounded Beliefs:
Direct Consequences for Students:
Active Harm by sins of Commission
• Require students to learn knowledge that is not
compatible with adaptive knowledge
• Misplaced emphasis on self esteem
Indirect Consequences for Students
Benign Neglect by Sins of Omission
• Nothing Happens!
• Lowered expectations
• Less opportunity
Students with disabilities can learn,
but they learn more slowly than
typical students; therefore instruction
should occur at a slower pace and they
should be given extra time. True or
False?
What About the Teachers?
• Praise or Not to Praise
• Keeps profession “immature”
• Teachers seen as: ineffective,
stagnant and lack respect in
the field by other professionals
Man prefers to believe what he prefers
to be true. -Francis Bacon
Change the World Not The Student
• Deconstruction of Disability
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6zVw
l6i1UY&feature=related
From Amelioration to Accommodation
• 1970-80s view of Spec. Ed. was to ameliorate the
affects of the disability
• Likely impact use of PECS with children on the
spectrum
• It is possible to have both, yet amelioration best
fits IDEAs goal directed dimension of Special
Education
Advocates for Ideologically based practices will
often use persuasive writing to convey the
“rightness” of their “beliefs”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Authentic
Cooperative
Creative
Whole child
Integrative
Open-system
Self-organizing
Also using descriptions for practice like:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Mechanistic
Top-down
narrow
Simplistic
Fragmented
Competitive
Which Witch is Which?
Philosophy based School
Systems
• Founded on beliefs and
philosophy
• Theories instead of research
lead the field
• Fears that science will bring to
much change
• Belief that what has been must
continue
• Believes in the “natural”
ideology
Dracula
• Founded in beliefs and
religious philosophy
• Theories instead of research
lead the quest for truth
• Fears that science will bring to
much truth
• Belief that what has been must
continue
• Believes it’s “natures” way
Bringing up the Roots
• Philosophical roots of education are deep!
• Confusion for new grads
Changes are being made
Four Attitudes of Professional Practice
1.
2.
3.
4.
Strive for an Optimistic Realism
Depend on a Responsible Empiricism
Maintain a Healthy Skepticism
Maintain a Focused Pragmatism
Conclusion
Being a Special Education teacher is hard work
Being a great Special Education teacher is
research-based hard work!
Dictionary, W. N. (2006). Retrieved from Sciencemadesimple.com.
References
Jacobson, J.W., Foxx R.M., & Mulick, J.A. (Eds.). (2005). Controversial
Therapies for Developmental Disabilities: Fad, Fashion, and Science in
Professional Practice.
Dictionary, W. N. (2006). Retrieved from Sciencemadesimple.com.