EDUC8129 Contemporary Issues in Special Education

Special Education is a complex and constantly evolving field. This topic provides students with a current overview of the field of special education and its development in a broader historical and social context. Students develop proficiency with key terminology, legislation and policies and foundational concepts, and examine a variety of perspectives and models of assessment, intervention and support in special education. A core focus of the topic is a philosophy of inclusion and its associated practices in and implications for contemporary schools and service settings. Students engage with a range of contemporary and topical issues related to special education; they critically analyse the depiction of these issues in society and the media and evaluate relevant current research.

This topic aims to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the field of special education and to develop students' understanding of the following broad special education principles:

• The field of special education is an evolving discipline based on philosophies, evidence-based principles and theories, relevant laws and policies, diverse and historical points of view, and human issues that have influenced and continue to influence the field and the education and treatment of individuals with exceptional needs both in school and society
• The beliefs, traditions, and values across within cultures can affect relationships among and between students, their families, and the school community
• Inclusive educational practices promote access to, participation in and achievement in relation to quality curriculum for all students
• The special educator's selection, adaptation, and creation of materials and instruction variables is guided by an understanding of the implications of an individual's unique characteristics and of the relationships of special education to the organisations and functions of schools, school systems, and other agencies
• professional work collaboratively to promote trans-disciplinary teaching and learning

1. Discuss the influence of historical, global, social and legal factors in shaping the contemporary field of special education
2. Demonstrate proficiency in understanding key terminology, concepts, roles and service models in special education
3. Discuss legal and ethical professional practice standards and relevant policies and their implications for students across a range of settings
4. Communicate findings and concepts from research and discuss in relation to both theory and practice
5. Evaluate the extent to which specific learning environments foster cultural understanding, safety and emotional well-being, positive social interactions, and active engagement and encourage the independence, self-motivation, self-direction, personal empowerment, and self-advocacy of individuals with diverse learning needs