An Examination of Bilingual Special Education and Related Training

Abstract

Court mandates and legislation have established the groundwork for the provision of equal educational opportunity and an appropriate education for culturally and linguistically different exceptional students. This process has in turn demanded that training programs be established to prepare teachers and other personnel who can meet the special needs of these individuals. Without adequate numbers of bilingual special education and related area training programs, implementation of the provisions of litigation and legislation will be impeded. This study surveyed Institutes of Higher Education to determine the number of bilingual special education, bilingual school psychology, bilingual diagnostician, and bilingual speech language pathology programs in the United States. The ethnic makeup of trainees, area of concentration, targeted language, and level of programming were also investigated. The number of minority faculty providing the specialized training and the type of funding the programs received were also examined. The results indicate that, while there has been an increase in programs and trainees, the numbers of those currently enrolled and graduates still do not meet current needs, according to prevalence figures. There are shortages of trainees in certain areas of exceptionality as well as at certain levels of training. Federal funding appears to be crucial for the continuation and enhancement of training.