Perspectives of Special Education: Literature Review and Interview

Abstract

This article provides historical and present-day perspectives on special education including a review of current literature as well as data collected from a face-to-face interview with a special education leader at an elementary school in south Louisiana. The interviewee offered rich insight and first-hand knowledge regarding placement of students with disabilities in inclusive school settings. Based on the interview responses, two themes emerged in response to the overarching question of how do SPED teachers and leaders create success for students with learning differences? These themes include: 1) the SPED environment and 2) approaches of successful SPED teachers. The data within these themes suggest that the interviewee perceives inclusion to be the greatest advancement in the field of special education as his experiences describe the beneficial aspects of the inclusion classroom setting for students with disabilities. These experiences have contributed to his belief that one day all classrooms in every school will be inclusive in nature.