Introduction
Special education is defined as specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. Special education is put in place in order to provide additional services, programs, support and special environment for the learners. It is important to note that special education entails the provision for students with special learning needs. These needs are addressed through special education .In the USA ,special education is taken so seriously that it is governed by federal law in most educational jurisdictions .this is done under Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act(IDEA).There are various aspects of special education including;instructional strategies,creation of disability awareness as well as early childhood education for children with special needs.
Farrell, M.: Debating Special Education. New York .Routledge , 2010.
This book gives a very short definition of education in its first chapter .Special education concerns with the provision for pupils with disabilities and disorders comprising of :curriculum and assessment pedagogy ,school and classroom organization ,resources ,and therapy .Farrel (2010)writes that the aim of special education is to encourage the academic progress and personal and social development of children with special needs .It then proceeds to give an elaborate the basic elements of this topic. The following information in this chapter defines general education. As well as authorities concerned with special education is vital for policy makers ,academics ,professionals associated with special education ,teachers doing advanced levels of special education as well as authorities concerned with this field of education. This book is therefore going to be of great importance in the further understanding of special education .I will find this very relevant as the book gives both wide ranging and far reaching knowledge in understanding special education.
I am going to find this book particularly important in the presentation of the elements of special education, types of disabilities and disorders children may have. The reason here is that I am going to have better knowledge on how to provide maximally for these children to benefit fully from the education given to them .Still it is going to enable to give a good account of both academic progress and psychological development of these learners.
Tomlinson, S.: A Sociology of Special Education. New York. Routledge, 2012.
This book strives to extend debates about special education by introducing sociological perspective of special education .It does this by asking relevant questions about the social structures and social relationships that happen when part of amass education system in an industrialized society as “special” rather than normal. Further, it addresses the questions related to how conflicts between various individuals and social groups arise in special education .Besides this ,it asks about the beliefs and ideologies used to justify varied and many actions and relationships in this kind of education ;
We find, in this book, current dominant perspectives on special education .They are given as medical, administrative, psychological and educational perspectives. These perspectives are very relevant in presentation of necessary arguments that are concerned with the topic of special education. I can also use this book to relate special education with the society within which it takes place. In doing this, am going to look at how the two influence one another.
I am going to find this book very valuable in the analysis of current hostility to sociology as an academic activity in the field of special education. The importance of developingsociology of special education for those professionals and practionears who are involved in the field of special education .This extends to students who are preparing for either special or normal teaching .For example, it gives parents of handicapped children and sociological colleagues. This persuades me that there is a wide scope for starting to develop sociological perspectives on the various undertakings that forms special education .
Kauffman J., Hallahan ,D. Special Education :What It Is And Why We Need It
Some of major issues related to special education are addressed in this book. It asks questions such as what is special education is (page 1).It then continues to explore the questions of who should actually get special education and the reasons behind it in the proceeding pages.
Kauffman ,et al presents some facts and misconceptions concerning special education .For example ,it gives facts such describing special education as not just being good education for education for typical students but instruction that differs significantly from what is effective for typical students –special in ways we will find in a later chapter(Page 1).An example of misconception depicted here is on page 2 where special education is seen , mainly, as a matter of having patience ,of being tolerant of students who don’t learn readily or behave well .
Daugherty is concerned with some very exciting issues concerning the topic of education .In the introduction part, it explores elements such as the origins of special education and some of the historical recordings pertaining to it. The following sections of the book discuss the eligibility acts,
Sacks, A.: Special education: a reference handbook.California.ABC-CLIO, 2001.
This is another book on special education .It is divided into chapters each of which deals with specified areas of special education .It starts by giving an in- depth analysis of the development of this type of education in the United States .In the pages 1-11,it digs deep into the special education ,special institutions and the growing awareness of special education in the US A. Covered still within these pages are the legal implications and the funding of special need education .The following pages give the process of selecting the best suitable teaching methods and processes for maximum learning process when dealing with the students with special needs .Various types of assessments best suited for some specific special needs are also explained in this book(Pages 14-16).Still, chapters 3,4 .5 and 6 are related to some of the most important concepts of special education. For instance, chapter 4 looks at the special education and its relationship with the law. In other words, it gives an account of how the law affects special education (page 88).Special education and Advocacy is looked at as well. On pages 98 and 99, for example, as parents and schools as advocates are looked at. The importance of politics as another factor influencing education is also explained in this book.
For any meaningful discourse on the issue of special education to be done, it is significant to include the issues raised in this book. I will therefore find this book important in areas such as giving the historical background of this topic. When dealing with the whole process of teaching and assessing students with special needs, I will include in my discussion the methods and techniques of teaching and assessments best suited to each learner.
Instructional Strategies
Agran ,M. ,PhD., King –Sears,M.PhD.,Wehneyer,M.L.,and Copeland, S.R. ,PhD. Teacher’s Guide to Inclusive Practices Student Directed Learning .Baltimore ,M.d: Brooks Publishing Co.,2003.Printed.
This collection shows the importance of student- directed learning .It also provides teachers with some specific teaching techniques for helping the students learn through self-monitoring, self instruction, self-directing, practical cues problem solving strategies as well as other student-self directed strategies of learning.
This volume is going to be very useful to me when looking at instructional strategies for learners with different special needs during the learning processes.
Cole,R.(Ed.)Educating Everybody’s Children. Diverse teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners. Alexandria, VA:]Association for Supervision and Curriculum Dvelopment,1995.Print.
This book digs deep into the whole issue of strategies to actively involve learners in lessons, the. use of thematic, interdisciplinary columns while taking into account learners’ differences.
I am going to particularly find this book very relevant in the description of learners’s differences and how these differences need to be catered for during the learning process so as to realize an all inclusive learning.
Early Childhood
Moore,L.O. ,PhD. Inclusions :Strategies for Working With Young Children. A Resource Guide for Teachers, Children care provider and Parents. Available at :http://www.peytral.com.
The guide provides developmentally based strategies and techniques that focus on children between the ages three and seven. These strategies are directed towards ensuring that they learn as much as possible from their young age without their disabilities causing any kind of hindrance to them.
It is very vital for it will help me develop have an insight into children who need an additional challenges as well as older learners who may be delayed developmentally. This will go a long way in actually explain and describing their individual differences in the long run right from their early childhood stages of life.
Disability awareness
Grenot, Cheyer et al. At the End of the Day:Lessons Learned in Inclusive Classrooms.Baltimore,MD:Paul H.Brooks Publishing Co.2001.Print.
In a nutshell, this book looks into the eight case studies including diverse children with varying disabilities right from preschool up to high school. It also shows how including such children in the classroom learning activities affects not only families and teachers but also other students.
I will find this book as a vital component in the developmental of links of how the inclusion of learners with some learning difficulties in classroom discussion have various and fare-reaching effects on other individuals and groups such as teachers, families and their fellow students as well.
Miller,Benson et al. Everybody’s Different :Understanding and Changing Our Reactions to Disabilities. Sante Fe, NM: John Muir Publications,1999.Print.
This publication was written by third to sixth graders. It presents to us some ten courageous young people answering children’s on the disabilities with a lot of candor and sensitivity.
The importance of this book is that it is very relevant and helpful when it comes to the varied understanding and perceptions that young people have concerning disabilities and how these disabilities can be handled in the provision of special education.
La Voie .Last one Picked First one on.PBS Video.VHS, 68 minutes. This video is about self esteem and the effects of social deficits faced on learners with special needs.
I will find this video to be very helpful in helping me give a very good account of how self esteem among learners with special disabilities is very important. Still, I will find this video as a big asset in showing how learners with special abilities can actually be helped so as to succeed in their daily situations ,particularly social interactions where they usually experience some failures, isolation and discrimination.
La Voie. How Difficult can this Be.PBS Video.VHS Video,70 minutes .Available at :http:/www.nprinc.com/.
This video explores series of simulations to parents; teachers and counselors .These simulations are very important and are designed to depict daily experiences of children with special needs or learning disabilities.
This video will be very useful to me because I will use these simulations depicting daily experiences of these learners to show the actual difficulties that they encounter in their daily live. This will help me in describing the best possible instructional methods that can help them not only to learn effectively but also to make them have a sense of being like any other normal learner. Another importance of this video is that it will help me look at the various ways of letting these students to appreciate their difference from normal learners without developing any of inferiority complex.
Graphon Publishing HouseAvailable at:http://www.circleleofinclusionorg/English/pim/.
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