James W. Tawney

Assessing Demand for Special Education Faculty in Higher Education: A Pilot Study and a Prototype for a National Registry

Supply and demand for special education faculty in institutions of higher education has been an issue of national concern for more than a decade, following efforts to terminate support programs for doctoral study. One organization, the Higher Education Consortium for Special Education (HECSE), and a limited number of investigators have reached reasonable conclusions: there is a critical need to train additional doctoral-level personnel; the existing problem is, in part, a reflection of the greying of the American professoriate, and, a host of other possible factors such as salary, career choice, and instability in American higher education. This study was initiated to accomplish two objectives. First, we tested the feasibility of our approach as the basis for a national study. Knowing that the universe of special education teacher certification programs is small and the universe of programs that train doctoral level personnel is even smaller, it was believed that such a national effort was feasible. Second, an attempt was made to gather basic demographic information on the universe of faculty in Pennsylvania colleges and universities that offer teacher certification in special education. Knowing that a significant number of those special education faculty might be approaching retirement age, we attempted to learn the retirement plans of those who were age 55 and older. The outcomes of the study are described and the magnitude of the problem in one state, Pennsylvania, is emphasized. Strategies for obtaining more information are suggested, including the establishment of a national registry of doctoral-level special education personnel. Broader issues such as the values, economics, and rewards of careers in higher education are discussed. We conclude with a request for serious consideration of novel solutions to the imminent problem of a potential national shortage of special education faculty.

Approximating Noncategorical Teacher Education

A program is described which approximates the noncategorical approach and serves as a transition from categorical to noncategorical programs in teacher education. The essential components of this program were (a) the identification of course content that was common and unique to four methods courses, (b) the development of semi-independent modules of instruction, (c) team teaching, and (d) presentation of content in large groups followed by small group instruction. Evaluation indicated that students and faculty were generally receptive to this approach.

Using Telecommunications Technology to Instruct Rural Severely Handicapped Children

A prototype telecommunications project designed to bring home instruction to severely handicapped preschool children in remote and isolated areas is described. The project demonstrated that a minicomputer control system could serve a large number of families simultaneously. Reliable telephonic data transmission between computer and home based teaching machines was achieved, families accepted the placement of equipment in their homes, and children interacted with automated devices on a daily basis. The feasibility of large scale service delivery through a similar system is discussed.

Explorations in the Development of Teacher Competence

When first I began to teach college students, particularly graduates with classroom experience, it was my custom to open each course with a narration of my own years in the classroom. This tactic, suggested by an older and wiser colleague, was intended to establish my credibility as a transmitter of new information, or to be more direct, to insure that students would actually listen to anythin € ! mi ht propose during the term. There seemed to be two reasons for doing this. First, teachers view as suspect anyone with more than

Compliance Monitoring: A Dead or Critical Issue:

Public Law 94–142 (The 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act) contains a compliance monitoring mechanism to assure a free, appropriate education to handicapped children. Federal agencies monitor states, and states are required to monitor local agencies. Parent participation is suggested in the federal regulations but, as shown by analysis of state monitor plans, is little used. The status of such efforts is reported here, and issues are discussed related to compliance monitoring in the face of efforts to repeal or deregulate the law.