those in supervisory positions. There are certain competencies, however, which apply with special significance to persons who are designated as "specialists," "supervisors," or "consultants." For example, a State director may foster and improve local programs of special education by gaining community support for better educational facilities for children with unusual needs, or by the maintenance of statewide standards for special schools, classes, and services. The specialist will also foster and improve local programs but in a different way. He may, for example, encourage the special teacher, help her with special problems, and make her aware of her relationship to an ongoing national program. The same is true in regard to recruitment, teacher education, and inservice training. If the director of special education has a staff, the specialists often carry the major part of these services. If the director works alone, these are his responsibilities. By training and experience, the specialist at the State level, regardless of the area for which he is responsible, should be at least as competent as any worker in a local program in his State. This means that if he is a speech correction specialist, he should be able to perform as creditable a piece of work with children in a speech correction situation as any speech correctionist working with children in the schools. Indeed, in order to merit complete confidence, his competency should be superior to that of any of his colleagues. To achieve this position the individual must have adequate training and wide experience in his field. SUPERVISORY SERVICES Since State consultants work with teacher or local specialists rather than directly with children, they should understand so-called "supervisory techniques." They should merit confidence through their personal competence and professional training rather than through the prestige of the position they hold. One of the very real contributions which the consultant can make to the local teacher or specialist is to help in the diagnosis of individual cases which may be causing concern. To do this requires skill and knowledge in the specialized area of exceptionality, an understanding of children, and the ability to quickly establish rapport with the individual child. After the evaluation, the specialist may be called upon to assist in arriving at a course of action. This requires good judgment and knowledge, insight into the problem, and a willingness to allow the local person to arrive at his own solution. Telling is not teaching; neither is it consulting. Only by making it possible for the local worker to make his own decisions or to participate in arriving at a decision will the desired goal be achieved. This requires true leadership, human understanding, and devotion to duty. The specialist should be fully equipped with knowledge and understanding of the latest developments in his area of responsibility and capable of keeping his State director informed about these at all times. Furthermore, he should be able to share his knowledge and understanding with local special educators through personal contacts, correspondence, and the preparation of duplicated and printed materials. When local communities are preparing to inaugurate new programs of special education in his area of exceptionality, the specialist should be available to help them analyze their needs, develop a program, and get the program started. In order to help them he should have the ability to organize a community survey, to plan a course of action, and to analyze all elements in a situation. The State [ specialist should then know the best course of action to be followed and possess the qualities of leadership to get the community started on that program. Knowledge of human nature, skill in group dynamics, and objectivity will be required in such situations. The specialist at the State level is in an unusually strategic position to help teachers and others to "accept" the handicapped child. A properly qualified State consultant should have a superior understanding of such children and should therefore be able to lead others to respect the human personality of each child. Mention has been made of the ability of State specialists to evaluate the educational problem of a handicapped child in the particular area of exceptionality. Frequently the local community is eager for an evaluation, hoping that the results may help solve its problem. If the responsibility of the specialist is to recommend what is best for the child, he should have the ability to make the educational evaluation and the knowledge and judgment needed to arrive at a sound solution of the problem on that basis. Should the proposed solution require school or environmental adjustments, it is necessary that the specialist be skilled in human relationships if his recommendations are to be accepted by the local authorities. All of the latter competencies involve a deep understanding of human growth and development and of human behavior coupled with a working knowledge of human relationships. The successful specialist should be a superior person, highly competent in working with people, possessed of a superior knowledge in his area of specialty, and devoted to the cause of handicapped children. (End of Committee report.) PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES AND PREPARATION A CCORDING TO the committee report, State directors and specialists responsible for the education of exceptional children need a wide range of knowledge and ability-so wide, in fact, that the questions arise, "How can individuals in these positions possibly learn all that is necessary in order to be truly effective?” and "What specific professional preparation and experiences will contribute most to the successful performance of the many and varied duties of a State leader in the education of exceptional children?” Fourteen hundred special educators-State and local directors and supervisors of special education, teachers of exceptional children, and instructors in colleges and universities preparing special educators-gave opinions on the professional experiences, academic majors, minors, and degrees, which they thought constituted the best combination of preparation for State leaders in special education. They did this by selection (within the inquiry form) from a list of items which, together with a summary of their opinions, appears in table 3, page 20.' The combined opinions of these four groups could be assumed to have particular significance, since each group evaluated the matter from a different vantage point. The State directors and specialists themselves had the advantage of giving daily leadership to the statewide program and were in a position to know what had been most helpful to them. Staff members in colleges and universities were concerned with curricular offerings which contribute to the effectiveness of State special education leaders. Local supervisors and teachers looked at the preparation and experience of their leaders in the light of the practical help which they hoped to receive in developing programs at the local level and in solving the everyday problems of exceptional children. From these opinions it would seem that the most successful State leader is basically an educator with a strong background of experience and preparation in special education. From their opinions, some differences may be drawn between the director and the specialist; these can perhaps be best understood by briefly summarizing the opinions, first concerning the director and second concerning the specialist. (Refer again to table 3, page 20.) For the director, special educators as a total group believed that a person with a background of experience and professional preparation in education, rather than in psychology, medicine, social work, or other allied fields, was more likely to be successful. The experiences receiving the greatest percentage of choices were See Appendix D for question as it appears on the inquiry forms. supervisory duties in special education at the State or local level (60%) and actual experience in the teaching of at least one type of exceptional child (58%). The State personnel placed greater emphasis on experience in administrative duties in general education and somewhat less emphasis upon the teaching of exceptional children than did the special educators as a whole. Table 3.-Experience and Professional Preparation Needed by Directors and Specialists, According to the Opinions of 1,400 Special Educators Table 3.-Experience and Professional Preparation 1 Altogether 101 State, 261 college, 150 local educators, and 888 teachers of exceptional children answered this question. 2 ? Participants were given opportunity to list other experiences and/or majors and minors which they felt were valuable. So few items were listed, however, that no new category was needed. 3 Percentages in groups 1 and 3 are based on the number of each type of special education personnel answering this item as a whole unit. Since more than one choice was allowed, percentages in any column may add to more than 100; for example, each individual experience could have been checked by 100 percent of all groups of special educators. Percentages in groups 2 and 4 are based on the total number answering the particular section. Only one choice was allowed in these groups, and total percentages do add to 100. This choice was not included in the questionnaire sent to State personnel. This fact probably accounts for the higher percentage of personnel choosing "one area" and/or "orientation to all areas."' 5 Inquiry forms filled in by State personnel said "Psychology," not "Clinical psychology." |