Critical Issues in Special Education: Access, Diversity, and Accountability

by Audrey McCray Sorrells and Paul T. Sindelar

This book represents the contributions of prominent researchers, teacher educators, policy makers, teachers, and parents on current and emerging issues facing the field of special education, and their... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0205340229
• ISBN13: 9780205340224
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Pearson
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Access and accountability are NOT 'special' to the authors

As both a former special education student and ongoing disability rights activist, I appreciated the editors' approach to this anthology. Their selections document that despite progress, students with disabilities continue to be shortchanged because of prejudice, as opposed to their actual ability to perform a task. That some of the same issues which I had personally wrestled with (indifferent special education teachers, biased 'regular' education teachers...etc) remain relevant is a chilling indictment of the modern American education system. We are treated badly because our schools and/or school districts assume that students in special education cannot make meaningful contributions to the world. I would have liked to see more essays on gender differences in special education service eligibility /receipt. Girls are less often referred/enrolled in special education classes than boys. I also would (not surprising given my own program participation) liked to see an essay (or a couple) which examines the program/staff from the perspective of students with disabilities, and includes their own self-perceptions. If they feel stigmatized for being in special education, what coping strategies (if any) are these students with disabilities utilizing? I would also recommend lowering the price so this critical work reaches a larger audience (even for a 'trade' paperback, the cost may deter all but the most already-fascinated individuals). Overall however, I feel the editors and authors have attempted to provide a reasonable forum for discussion of a still-volatile issue.