Restructuring Special Education Services

Abstract

Research and reform in special education has focused on the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education settings. Collaboration and consultation strategies, including cooperative teaching and cooperative consultation, are among the strategies being used to facilitate integration. Site-based management and shared decision-making are now being used widely in the general education community to bring about school improvement. An opportunity exists for aligning reform efforts in special education and general education. In this paper we review the philosophical, political, policy challenges encountered in the institution of collaborative teaching for serving students with disabilities in public schools engaged in substantive general education reform. Strategies for confronting and overcoming these challenges are also presented, as well as research methods for collecting evaluative data.