Professional Certification in Early Childhood Special Education.

Overview & Synopsis

Certification and personnel preparation programs have not kept pace with the increasing knowledge base related to early intervention with special needs children. The current Early Childhood Special Education Approval for professional certification in Illinois is a set of four courses attached to either of two teaching certificates. The Illinois Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children, the Higher Education Commission on Early Childhood of the Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children, and the Illinois Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development cite factors which have brought about the need for more adequate and specific training: (1) new knowledge in early childhood special education, (2) a broader range of identified handicapping conditions and a broader range of severity levels, and (3) the requirement that teachers work effectively with families and that they coordinate an array of interdisciplinary services. The organizations cited above recommend that the Early Childhood Special Education Approval requirements be expanded. They also recommend specialized approvals for developmental educators (serving the birth through 2 age levels) and early childhood special education teachers employed in public school systems (serving 3 through 6-year-old children). Recommended content requirements for these approvals involve both coursework and practica. (JDD)