Debating Special Education

Michael Farrell

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9780415567282
• eBook ISBN: 9781136976605
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Debating Special Education is a provocative yet timely book examining a range of criticisms made of special education in recent years. Michael Farrell analyses several key debates in special education giving balanced critical responses to inform policy and practice for the future of special education.

The book identifies possible limitations to the current special education knowledge base and provision. Michael Farrell examines the value of labelling and classification, and asks if intelligence testing may have detrimental effects; and addresses a number of complex issues such as:

• how practitioners work within special education; and if, sometimes, professionals may be self-serving
• whether there is distinctive provision for different types of disabilities and disorders
• inclusion as mainstreaming offered as an alternative to special education, and the challenges this presents.

The author's conclusion is that in responding to these challenges, special education demonstrates its continuing relevance and strength. Presenting a range of international, cross-disciplinary perspectives and debates – which are vital to an understanding of special education today, and written in Farrell's typically accessible style – this book will be relevant for teachers of special children in ordinary and special schools; those on teacher training courses and anyone whose work relates to special education.

Chapter 1
Introduction

Debating Special Education is intended for policy makers, academics, teachers doing higher level courses, professionals connected with special education, and local and government administrators. It should be relevant for many others who contribute to, and have, an interest in special education. Given the proposed wide range of readers of the book, and possible different understandings of special education, it is important to be clear what is meant by special education at the outset.

Consequently, this chapter begins with a very short definition of special education, then proceeds to elaborate its elements. To this end, the chapter defines general education. It then discusses the range of different types of disability and disorder such as ‘mild cognitive impairment’ and ‘developmental coordination disorder’. The chapter proposes a broad definition of provision to include not only pedagogy, but also other aspects such as the curriculum and therapy. The aim of encouraging the academic progress and personal and social development of special children is explained. Finally, the content of subsequent chapters is outlined.

Special education: a short definition

As a starting point, the following brief definition of special education is proposed.

Special education concerns provision for pupils with disabilities and disorders comprising: curriculum and assessment, pedagogy, school and classroom organization, resources, and therapy. It aims to encourage the academic progress and personal and social development of special children.

The elements of this definition require elaboration in terms of general education, types of disability and disorder, provision for special children and academic progress and psychosocial development.

Education in general

To try to answer more fully the question, ‘What is special education?’ an obvious place to begin is by defining education more generally, then move to aspects, if there are any, which distinguish ‘special’ education.

Definitions of education tend to include reference to the content of what is taught and the way it is taught; the familiar distinction between content and method. A well-established definition along these lines is that of Peters (1966) who argues that education implies ‘… something worthwhile is being or has been intentionally transmitted in a morally acceptable manner’. Views of what constitutes worthwhile content may change over time and may vary in different cultures, but are likely to embrace skills, knowledge, attitudes and values (Farrell et al., 1995, p. 70).

Methods of education are varied and extensive. Peters’ (1966) definition emphasizes that the method used should be ‘morally acceptable’. Those being educated should be able freely to examine differing views and information, and come to a reasoned conclusion. Where such features are lacking, it is more appropriate to speak of a recipient being indoctrinated, rather than educated. The ‘intentional’ aspect of Peters’ definition distinguishes education from incidental learning. Education is likely to involve structured experiences that aid learning.

The method and content of education are evident in a definition provided by Soanes and Stevenson (2003). Content is implied by their claim that education involves, ‘… intellectual, moral and social instruction’ (ibid.). In this conception, education concerns social and personal development as well as intellectual progress. Methodology is seen as, ‘… the process of giving or receiving systematic instruction’ (ibid.). A wider notion of the methods of education has been suggested (Tharp, 1993, pp. 271–272), that includes modelling, questioning and task structuring.

In brief, education is considered to comprise an agreed content and acceptable methods and is distinguishable from indoctrination and incidental learning.

Types of disability and disorder

A further step in trying to define special education involves examining who is educated. Pupils participating in special education are identified as having different types of disabilities and disorders (Farrell, 2008b). These are considered in a later chapter on ‘Classification’. Some disabilities and disorders imply comparisons with typical development and include cognitive impairment, communication disorders, reading disorder and developmental coordination disorder.

Others (for example, conduct disorder) have developmental implications and also suggest common agreements of expected behaviour. Traumatic brain injury is a category in the United States of America but not in the United Kingdom. It emerged because of concern that there should be particular recognition of the requirements of children after such injuries. More generally, different countries have slightly different ways of delineating disorders and disabilities, and may use different terminology, although there is considerable overlap.

Recognizing types of disabilities and disorders implies that the delineations can be justified. This is debated more with regard to some types (e.g. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) than others (e.g. profound cognitive impairment) (Farrell, 2008b, chapter 1 and passim). Recognizing disabilities and disorders also implies ways of identifying them. This may involve applying criteria relating to categorical classifications such as those in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition Text Revision(DSM-IV-TR) (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). It could include paediatric screening or reference to some agreed benchmark of typical development. Detailed assessment of the child, and of the impact of the disability or disorder, is expected to enable parents, teachers and others to consider possible implications for learning and development.

Provision for special children

By ‘special children’, is meant children with disabilities and disorders who are deemed to require special education. The United States Department of Education has defined special education as, ‘specially designed instruction … to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability’ (United States Department of Education, 1999, pp. 124–125). But if special education is envisaged as broader than instruction, the term ‘provision’ may be preferable. Provision promoting the learning and development of special children comprises:

• the curriculum and related assessment

• pedagogy

• school and classroom organization

• resources, and

• therapy.

(Farrell, 2008b)

The school curriculum is sometimes understood as combining both the content and process through which learners ‘gain knowledge and understanding, develop skills, and alter attitudes, appreciations and values …’ (Doll, 1996, p. 15). The present book focuses on the curriculum as the content of what is taught and learned. This includes the aims and objectives of teaching and learning, and the design and structure of what is taught in relation to areas of learning and related programmes. The curriculum may be organized by subjects such as science or history or by areas like communication or social education. Some elements such as literacy, numeracy, computer skills, and problem solving skills permeate the whole curriculum. A special curriculum may differ from a regular curriculum with regard to: the balance of subjects and areas; and the balance of components of subjects; and the content of certain areas of the curriculum. The attainment levels implicit in some or all subjects may be lower than age typical.

Assessment may involve small steps to indicate progress in areas of difficulty (Farrell, 2008b, chapter 1). Assessments may require particular skills of the teacher and others such as very close observation of fleeting responses. They may require close multi-professional working, as with particular types of ‘dynamic assessment’ (Farrell, 2006a, p. 103).

Pedagogy concerns how the teacher promotes and encourages pupils’ learning. It may involve individualized learning, group work, discussion, audiovisual approaches, whole class teaching, and other methods (Farrell et al., 1995, p. 4). For special children, the teacher may present information emphasizing certain sensory modalities or encourage the pupil to use particular senses. A child with hearing impairment may learn sign language using visual, spatial and motor skills and knowledge, rather than hearing.

Approaches may be distinctive to a particular disability or disorder such as ‘Structured Teaching’ (Schopler, 1997) for children with autism. Some pedagogy is less obviously special. For pupils with mild cognitive impairment, there may be an emphasis on concrete examples of concepts and their use in developing more formal thinking. This can be seen as merely a ‘more intensive and explicit’ example of approaches used with all children (Lewis and Norwich, 2005, pp. 5–6), even though such teaching could be ‘inappropriate for average or high attaining pupils’ (ibid. p. 6).

School organization may involve flexible lesson arrival and departure times for some pupils with orthopaedic impairments. Safety has particular implications for pupils with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, whose levels concentration may be variable and whose behaviour unpredictable. This may require higher levels of supervision than that for other pupils, in lessons where machinery or hazardous substances are used. Some pupils frequently absent from school because of medical conditions may benefit from home tuition and e-mailed work supporting home study. Classroom organization for pupils with profound or severe cognitive impairment may be informed by ‘room management’ (Lacey, 1991), an approach seeking to carefully deploy small teams of adults to ensure children’s maximum participation.

Resources refer not just to learning resources, but also to school building and classroom design, furniture, and aids to learning and communication. School building design can assist access for pupils with orthopaedic impairment. Classroom design involves awareness of space, lighting, acoustics, and potential distractions and aids to learning. Furniture might include adjustable tables and adapted seating. Computer technology can use attractive stimuli to help the child recognize that his actions, such as pressing a button, can influence the environment.

Among physical and sensory aids is adapted equipment such as alternative keyboards. Resources for augmentative communicati...

Table of contents

• Contents
• About the author
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 Sociological criticisms
• Chapter 3 Rights-based criticisms and contested values
• Chapter 4 Post-modern criticisms
• Chapter 5 Limitations of the special education knowledge base
• Chapter 6 The unhelpfulness of classifications
• Chapter 7 Problems with assessment
• Chapter 8 Negative effects of labelling
• Chapter 9 Professional limitations
• Chapter 10 Lack of distinctive provision
• Chapter 11 The alternative of inclusion as mainstreaming
• Chapter 12 Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index