mims Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 My daughter just got back form an 8 month internship at an orphanage in Africa. The kids there are required to attend a public school and she was horrified with how the special needs kids were treated. If there are 8 books in a class the 8 smartest get them. If a special needs kid doesn't do an assignment they are ignored or sent home for the day. She saw this all around not just in the school near the orphanage. Her desire is to go back and teach special needs kids. As we look at college degrees all we have seen are elementary ed degrees and if the student wants a special ed certification it is about 3 extra classes. It looks like to really focus on this she would have to get a master's degree which she is not really interested in. Any suggestions (in the North West if possible) of programs or schools where she could get a much more comprehensive education in special needs? Any other suggestions of how to reach this goal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 She might try looking into programs that have degrees in psychology or child development as the major and elementary ed certification as a possible path. That is the route I took 25 yrs ago. I am not sure if it is still a possibility for teacher certification, but I would think it would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 There is a BA Special Education and a BS Special Education. You could try CollegeBoard's college search to find all of the colleges in the NW that offer those two degrees. The college I worked at in FL offered the BA in Special Ed and it required quite a bit of observation in special ed related classrooms and a semester long internship related to special ed along with 5 or so classes specific to the major. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamarind Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, (plu.edu) offers an endorsement in Special Ed. It appears to be a great school with many opportunities for practical experience. One of my daughters seriously considered PLU for social work, but decided on Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Any suggestions (in the North West if possible) of programs or schools where she could get a much more comprehensive education in special needs? Any other suggestions of how to reach this goal? I'm not sure what is included in Special Ed coursework, but I'd encourage your student to read widely about different types of "alternative" or "non-traditional" learners both as background information and for practical suggestions. Reading recommendations would include many books often mentioned on the Learning Challenges and Special Needs boards, most of which are available at libraries. (It is interesting to note, for example, that one study showed that upwards of 90% of the Special Ed students in a particular district leaned toward a visual-spatial learning/thinking/processing style. There are a number of books to read on that angle alone; I have my favorites. I'm sure the folks on the Learning Challenges board would be more than happy to offer specific reading recommendations for nearly any special need issue.) Eta, if she's planning to go back to Africa, she might want a much more expansive education than would be necessary for a Special Ed teacher in the US. Assuming no services are available (OT, etc.) she might find herself becoming a jack-of-all-trades. Not that one person can do it all, but bringing along a few choice resources in various other areas of expertise might come in handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mims Posted May 5, 2013 Author Share Posted May 5, 2013 Thank you all. We'll be doing some digging. Wapiti, thank you for that advise. I think that is what she is somewhat realizing - she wants to somehow gain a more jack-of-all trades approach rather than an American education degree with a tad bit of special ed tagged on! We're not sure totally what we are looking for so we'll keep poking around and try to figure out the best path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erin Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 I would keep looking around for education programs, personally. In my school, SpEd as an edorsement to a Elem/Secondary Ed. major was another 40 hours...fifteen classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 For what it's worth, special education is considered a specialty, and many schools will require a master's degree. Same with their reading and math specialists, by the way. And the market for teachers is so tight right now that some are only interviewing those with master's degrees for their positions at any level. A friend of mine was looking at job prospects several years ago because of an economic downturn. This is someone who taught for some time before having children, who has many years of teaching paid homeschool classes, and is a published author of educational material. She has only a bachelor's. She was told that her resume probably wouldn't even get past the initial screening because of her lack of a master's. This was the word from the three school districts closest to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erin Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 In my area, special ed. tends to be a field that is under-represented, consequently, regular SpEd teachers have no trouble getting jobs with just a Bachelors. Orphanages in Africa would probably be similar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Orphanages in Africa would probably be similar I was actually wondering if a paid position for special ed instructors even exists in the African schools where the OP's DD interned. Is she planning to go back and volunteer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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