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Special Education: What is Special About it?

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Special Education: What is Special About it?
Special Education: What is Special About it?
Grand Canyon University: UNV 501
August 6, 2012

Special Education: What is Special About it?
Aron, L., & Loprest, P. (2012). Disability and the education system. Future Of Children, 22(1), 97-122. Education of people with disabilities has not always been what it is today and this article reviews the history of special education and the process of getting it where it is today. I am interested in this article because it shows how society has come to accept disabilities by reviewing the laws and obstacles overcome in the years past. Identifying what types of disabilities a students has is the first step in declaring what will be the most effective way to teach them. Aron & Loprest note that improving the system will require better ways of understanding and measuring both ends of the special education continuum, namely, what services special education children need and receive, and what academic outcomes these students achieve.(2012) This article has been peer reviewed which makes it a scholarly work.
Jones, J. L., & Hensley, L. R. (2012). Taking a closer look at the impact of classroom placement students share their perspective from inside special education classrooms. Educational Research Quarterly, 35(3), 33-49. This article addresses how the placement of children with disabilities in isolated classrooms affects their relationships, self-determination and social interactions with peers and teachers. I found this article of particular interest because it evaluates the trials and errors of what has been done and is being done in the field of special education. The article shows progress in the management of disabilities. The environment to which children are exposed to is a major determining factor in how they learn to interact and communicate with others. “Research has repeatedly shown the importance of a child's relationship with his teacher to school experience and related outcomes.” (Jones & Hensley, 2012, 5) The fact that this article has been peer reviewed deems it a scholarly work.

Obiakor, F. E., Harris, M., Mutua, K., Rotatori, A., & Algozzine, B. (2012). Making inclusion work in general education classrooms. Education & Treatment of Children (West Virginia University Press), 35(3), 477-490. This article is arguing that inclusion into the mainstream classroom is the best way for students with disabilities to learn and progress. “Many times, when students are removed from the general education classrooms to receive their special education services within a special education classroom, they sometimes receive a watered down curriculum that places them at an even further disadvantage.”(Obiakor, Harris, Mutua, Rotatori & Algozzine, 2012, 9) School resources are geared to benefit all students and should be accessible to all students. If children with disabilities are not allowed to access all the valuable resources available they are at a huge disadvantage and can feel insignificant in their environment. This article was peer reviewed which makes this a scholarly article.

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