The Effects of Risk, Beliefs, and Trust in Education Policy Networks: The Case of Autism and Special Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan M. Parsons
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Policy Networks ◽  
Risk Beliefs

New Agendas for Special Education Policy: What the National Reports Haven't Said

1987 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marleen Pugach ◽  
Mara Sapon-Shevin
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Educational Reform ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Special Education Policy ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The calls for educational reform that have dominated the professional and lay literature for the past few years have been decidedly silent in discussing the role of special education either as a contributor or a solution to the problems being raised. As an introduction to this “Special Focus” on the relationship between general educational reform and special education, this article summarizes some of the more prominent reports with regard to their treatment (and nontreatment) of special education. The impact of proposed reforms for the conceptualization and operation of special education is the subject of the five articles that follow.

Continuity and Change: Special Education Policy Development in Toronto Public Schools, 1945 to the Present

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Jason Ellis ◽  
Paul Axelrod
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
School Board ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Special Education Policy

Background/Context It is frequently assumed that changes in special education policies since 1945 have come mostly from “landmark research” or actions of a few “pioneers.” We argue in this article that there have been many different sources of change, including legislation, court rulings, activism, and even shifts in socially and historically constructed categories of ability. In contrast to the contention that there has been “a gradual but steady progression towards the present inclusive education,” we argue that remarkable continuity has characterized certain elements of policy as well. The article identifies general trends in special education policy development historically that can help to inform the most current thinking about policy change in special and inclusive education. Purpose How has special education policy developed historically? What factors have been involved? How can historical research help education researchers, policy makers, school personnel, and others to deepen their understanding of the development of policy? The Toronto public school system is examined. The developmental trajectory of special education policy in Canada's largest urban school board generally resembles the development of policy in other large American and Canadian cities. The period from 1945 to the present was selected because the shifting character of special education policy across this broadsweep of time is not well understood. Research Design This qualitative study employs historical analysis. It draws on archival documents, school board and provincial government records, and pertinent secondary sources. Conclusions/Recommendations There are a few identifiable general trends in special education policy development historically. Prior to 1970, local school officials were empowered to make many changes in special education policy; since 1970, this ability has been eroded in favor of centralized policy making, with parents and others possessing some ability to influence policy change. Today, policy makers must balance different contextual factors and stakeholder interests that have developed over time, not least of all the interests of teachers who have been important partners to policy implementation. The degree of “policy talk” about inclusion, and about a social model of disability, has exceeded the degree to which either has actually been implemented. Rather, a continuum of services model that hybridizes segregated and inclusive settings continues today to characterize special education policies, as it has since the 1970s. Money matters in special education policy, especially when it is tied to specific policy options and can therefore influence local policy decisions, but also depending on whether the power to raise and disburse funds is held locally or centrally.

Rural perspectives and special education policy: Consideration of equity, efficiency and choice

1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 2-8
Author(s):  
Terry R. Berkeley
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Dynamic Characteristics ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Federal Level ◽  
Special Education Policy ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Policy Consideration ◽  
Policy Statements

Rarely has the rural perspective been included specifically in federal special education policy statements, a form of social policy. This article discusses the importance of such an inclusion from an original view: the culture of policy. The culture of policy includes the dynamic characteristics that allow policy to be implemented in particular ways from the federal level to the local level. In this article, special education policy is utilized to portray the cultural aspects of policy so that this notion can be incorporated into service implementation.

Are Today’s Students With Disabilities More Likely to Attend Full-Day Kindergarten or Part-Day Kindergarten? Analysis of Two Cohorts of Students and Their Teachers

2018 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-45
Author(s):  
Michael Gottfried
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Full Day Kindergarten ◽  
Policy Analysts ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Education Coursework ◽  
Full Day

Some education policy analysts have called for increased participation of young children in full-day kindergarten programs as opposed to part-day kindergarten. However, little is known about whether students with disabilities are increasingly attending these programs and what their teachers are like. This study addresses this gap by examining whether the full-day kindergarten-going patterns have changed within two nationally representative cohorts of kindergartners (Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten classes of 1998 and 2010). The findings suggest that a greater percentage of students with disabilities are enrolled in full-day kindergarten programs in 2010 (approximately 80%) than in 1998 (approximately 55%). Comparing full-day kindergarten enrollees between the two cohorts, there were no differences in teachers’ years of experience or degrees, though full-day kindergarten enrollees in 2010 had teachers with less early education and special education coursework. However, full-day kindergarten enrollees in 2010 were more likely to be in classrooms with a special education teacher’s aide. Implications are discussed.

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