What Is Occurring in Higher Education and How Does This Affect the Training of Educators Who Teach the Handicapped Population? A Response to the "Training of Parents of Exceptional Children" TOPEC Project Directors.

Overview & Synopsis

Observations on teacher education are offered from the point of view of a parent of a learning disabled child who is also supervisor of student teachers in elementary and special education. Implications of a movement which advocates phasing out traditional 4-year undergraduate teacher education academic programs and substituting graduate programs are noted. Also cited are the discouragingly small percentages of minority students in teacher preparation programs and the need for decisive action in terms of bilingual education. Resistance to including cultural pluralism in teacher education programs is noted as well. Difficulties produced by inconsistent interpretations of mainstreaming are reviewed. The paper concludes with a plea for a spirit of shared responsibility among parents, regular education teachers, and special education teachers. (CL)