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

Section 3: Preparing to Become a Special
Education Professional
CEC professional standards are built on the premise
that well-prepared special education professionals are
the cornerstone to the delivery of quality evidencebased
practices to individuals with exceptional
learning needs 4 . It has long been common sense that
well-prepared and qualified teachers get the best
learning results. Research has verified that a well-prepared
teacher has more influence on a child’s learning
than any other factor under school control (Darling-
Hammond, 2000).
In most mature professions, a strong national professional
organization validates standards that institutions
use for preparing candidates and that credentialing
agencies use for licensing individuals (Connelly
& Rosenberg, 2003). As the professional organization
of special educators, CEC has advocated for well-prepared
and high-quality special education professionals
for over 75 years. To this end, CEC develops and
Figure 3.1 Special Education Continuum
Initial
Recruitment
maintains professional standards for entry-level and
advanced special education roles, as well as for guiding
continuing professional growth. CEC expects preparation
programs to incorporate the CEC standards into
their curricula and jurisdictions to coordinate the standards
with their licensing requirements. It is through
professional standards used by preparation programs
and aligned with licensing systems that the public
can be assured that special educators are prepared to
practice safely and effectively.
Today, CEC professional standards for teacher quality
are rigorously validated, research informed, and
pedagogically grounded, CEC national recognition
of preparation programs is performance-based for
results-oriented accountability. Over the past 28 years,
CEC has validated the knowledge and skills that are essential
for well-prepared beginning special educators
and for special educators preparing for advanced roles.
4 This document uses “individual with exceptional learning needs” to include both individuals with disabilities and individuals with exceptional
gifts and talents.
Initial
Preparation
Improved Student Learning
Initial
Licensure
Initial
Induction
Continuing
Development
Recruitment Retention
National Professional Standards
Career
Ladders
SECtion : prEparing to bECoME a SpECial EduCation profESSional 1