Special Education: A Historical, Social, and Philosophical View

Special Education has many issues that bring it into the focus of the public eye. These issues include historical facts and processes, the many aspects of societal and social issues, philosophical issues and what should be done. Tying all these issues together is the necessity of funding which is required before they can be resolved.

History points out that people with special needs have some differences that often make them noticeable. These differences caused them to be treated in ways that now are unacceptable. In the past students with special needs have been pulled or separated from regular students. The process of exclusion often created a feeling of antagonism mostly due to a lack of understanding. These misunderstandings also created a number of social and philosophical issues that had to be sorted out. Historians study the past and look at all the issues and how they were dealt with and resolved. They also look at the present and compare the way the issues currently are being handled. Finally they propose solutions to the current problems and suggest what the future will look like. The social issues deal with the fairness of the way society allowed this group of students' to be treated in the past. The social workers have recognized the historical problems and are striving hard to correct them. They also project their efforts into the future to give us an idea of what it could be like. From a philosophical point of view, one has to consider how society handled the special needs students and why they were handled in that particular way. The philosophical approach looks at ways and means to handle these situations in the future and under what premise they will be best dealt with.

To implement these programs and bring them into the main educational stream and make them work will take funding. Where will this funding come from and how will it be accounted for and used? Team C will present data and information to support special education as a viable conduit through which special needs students will receive the help and education they need.