Performance in Education: Unique Curriculum Ensures Performance in Special Education

Performance in Education: Unique Curriculum Ensures Performance in Special Education

Introduction

            This paper will discuss unique curriculum ensures performance in special education. Curricular trend in special education has been a concern to educators and student. The impact of curriculum and its development in special education will be analyzed. Diversity in special education will also be reviewed.

Curriculum Trend in Special Education

           Change is necessary in curriculum development and that is the only way teachers can learn new methodology of dealing with issues facing special education on a global scale. Sands et al (1995) stated that the issues of special education curriculum raise concerns regarding teacher preparation and practice (p.68). Teachers must be given necessary tools that will help them to teach special education subjects. Washington, D.C, National Public Radio (2007) stated that there has been an enormous increase in the numbers of children diagnosed with autism over the past few years, now public school systems across the country face the challenge of giving them education. The increase in population of autistic students has been a matter of urgency for federal and state government to allocate revenues to hire more teachers and support workers to help the special needs student to learn basic skills of life.

Development of Curriculum in Special Education

           Educators need to understand the strength and weakness of special needs student and that is the major reason it is necessary to develop a unique curriculum for special needs student. Curriculum developers need to implement curriculum that will meet the need of individual student and that will help the student to be more focused and learn at his or her own pace. Glatthorn et al (2006) agreed that successful curriculum leaders know that an important aspect of any curriculum change is that it relates to standards and that it can be translated into individual performance indicators (p.385). It is the responsibility of school board to create Individual Education Plans (IEP) that will help student with disabilities to reach his or her full potential. Fish(2008) stated that members of the IEP meeting function to develop an educational plan based on a student’s needs and to determine placement based on the most effective delivery of instruction in a lease restrictive environment (p.10). The content of the curriculum for student with learning disabilities must be flexible and easy to teach.

Diversity and Inclusion in Special Education

      Autism in children is not associated with single race but affects all, and that is the major reason that every race black, white, Indian, Chinese and Hispanic must find a way to teach autistic education without any form of cultural difference and bias. Glatthorn, et al(2006) recognized that the need to educate large numbers of children in a more systematic manner led 19^th century educational reformers to institute graded classrooms, each with a teacher in charge, presenting a standard program (p.387). Education Inclusion is necessary in elementary, secondary and colleges for student with disabilities. Disabilities inclusion can be categorized into cross inclusion, single inclusion and large inclusion. Cross inclusion normally occurs in the classroom setting and that is the process of combining high functional student with low function to learn in the same environment with different content and grade level.

Single inclusion is like home-setting where they learn necessary social and life skills and example is regular home, group and foster home. Large inclusion basically similar to cross inclusion but the main difference is that large inclusion focuses on student in grade 10 to 12 and they engage in work experience program and that is the time for student with disabilities to learn about work ethics.

Conclusion

        This paper has greatly emphasized on the curriculum trend in special education, development of unique curriculum and diversity and inclusion in special inclusion. The primary purpose of this paper is to discuss the relationship of curriculum and special education, the state and federal government must support special education curriculum that will student with special needs to integrate to society in an effective way.