Curriculum Reform To Address Multicultural Issues in Special Education.

Overview & Synopsis

This paper focuses on the outcomes of the social forces that operate against African American males in school and society and their all too frequent placement in special education programs, with the core of the problem remaining in the Institutions of Higher Education (IHE). Reasons for the overrepresentation of African American children and youth in special education program are discussed, including placement and testing procedures, cultural differences, parent and teacher training programs, economic factors, and the inability of schools to educate diverse populations adequately. The methods of IHEs in preparing pre-service teachers are critiqued, particularly the separation of special and regular pre-service programs, and the lack of coursework at the college level that concentrates on classroom management techniques, modifications of curricula materials to address the needs of diverse learners, or collaborative strategies to promote dialogue among parents, students, and other educators. The paper closes by emphasizing the need for IHEs to combine regular and special education teacher programs and reform their curriculum to graduate teachers fully prepared to teach culturally and ethnically diverse students in the 21st century. (Contains 15 references.) (CR)