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What Every Must Know Special Educator - Council for Exceptional ...

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Figure 2.1 Practicing <strong>Special</strong> Education Teachers Who Are Not Licensed<br />

<strong>for</strong> individuals with disabilities makes it even more<br />

imperative that all special educators are well-prepared<br />

and have the conditions that allow them to provide<br />

individuals with exceptional needs the most effective<br />

interventions and encourage entering special educators<br />

to become career-oriented special education pro-<br />

fessionals. It is within this context that CEC has used<br />

multiple strategies to enhance the influence of the CEC<br />

standards to ensure that entry-level personnel have<br />

the skill and knowledge to practice safely, ethically,<br />

and effectively and that practicing special educators<br />

have effective mentoring.<br />

sTandards <strong>for</strong> The preparaTion of speCial eduCaTors 2<br />

The preparation of candidates <strong>for</strong> entry to special<br />

education professional practice begins with appropriate<br />

preparation. At a minimum CEC expects that every<br />

entry-level special education professional (Figure 2.2)<br />

• Possess appropriate pedagogical knowledge<br />

and skills<br />

• Hold at least a bachelor’s degree from an<br />

accredited institution, and<br />

• Master appropriate core academic subject<br />

matter content.<br />

In addition, CEC expects that professional special<br />

educators in new positions undergo a systematic and<br />

structured discipline-specific period of induction.<br />

Pedagogy<br />

Historically, pedagogy or teaching skill has been at<br />

the heart of special education. <strong>Special</strong> educators have<br />

always recognized that the individualized learning<br />

needs of children are at the center of special education<br />

instruction. Whether helping individuals with<br />

<strong>What</strong> EvEry SpECial EduCator MuSt KnoW<br />

exceptional learning needs master addition, cooking,<br />

independent living, or world history, special educators<br />

have focused on how to alter the instructional<br />

variables to optimize learning.<br />

Among the characteristics of mature professions is the<br />

identification of the specialized knowledge and skill<br />

along with the assurance that practicing professionals<br />

possess the specialized knowledge and skill to practice<br />

safely and effectively. In addressing this responsibility,<br />

CEC uses a rigorous consensual validation process to<br />

identify, update, and maintain sets of knowledge and<br />

skills <strong>for</strong> entry-level and advanced special educators.<br />

As a part of this validation process, CEC documents<br />

the literature upon which the knowledge and skill<br />

sets are based. This process has involved thousands of<br />

practicing special educators (teachers, administrators,<br />

and teacher educators) in consonance with a national<br />

CEC committee with representation of the 17 national<br />

divisions within CEC. The result is the most rigorous<br />

and comprehensive sets of knowledge and skills<br />

available anywhere <strong>for</strong> the preparation of high quality<br />

special educators.

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