Teaching and Leadership
Preparing Researchers
- Overview
- Inclusive Educational Studies
- Special Education Disability and Policy Studies
- Requirements
- Research Apprenticeship Requirement
- The Qualifying Examination
- Special Education Faculty
- Selected Books Published by Faculty
- History of Special Education at Syracuse University
- Recent Dissertations in Special Eduation at Syracuse University
The doctoral program in special education is a research degree. A core aspect of doctoral study is to learn how to conduct research and to transform the results of research into articles and scholarly presentations. The majority of graduates become professors in colleges and universities. Many students in the Special Education Doctoral Program also enroll in the newly created Concentration in Disability Studies.
Overview
Special Education at Syracuse University:
A Tradition of Innovation
Syracuse University has a long tradition of leadership in the field of special education and is recognized nationally and internationally. SU offered one of the first comprehensive programs of its kind in the United States and continues to be recognized for its leadership and vision in inclusive education. Throughout its fifty-year history, faculty and students in the program have engaged in critically important educational issues and concerns. Syracuse was among the first universities to bring attention to the educational needs of students with disabilities and to effectively develop and refine assessment and educational strategies for diverse learners. Syracuse also led the way in deinstitutionalization policy, research and advocacy. Syracuse faculty and students continue this important legacy of promoting the rights of students with disabilities. In collaboration with area school districts, faculty and students have been instrumental in demonstrating ways of meaningfully integrating students with disabilities in general education classrooms.
We believe that doctoral study should afford students the opportunity to examine critical issues in the field in the broadest possible contexts. It should encourage expansive thinking about important educational issues as well as in-depth study. At Syracuse University we pursue both aims by supporting broadly framed inquiry as well as in-depth investigations into particular areas or issues. We have organized our program around two interrelated foci: the development of effective instructional programming for diverse learners and a concern for public policy affecting the lives of people with disabilities. Doctoral students are asked to select one focus area: 1) Inclusive Educational Studies; or, 2) Disability Studies & Policy. The purpose of selecting one of these areas of study is to help bring focus to student’s coursework plans, research activities, internships and career planning. Students are not limited to any one particular area and are encouraged to take courses and participate in seminars that expand or contribute to their research interests.
The doctoral concentration is designed to prepare students to pursue leadership positions in special education or related fields. This includes those who seek a career in the academy, or as field-based researchers, government/policy specialists, public and private agency/organization directors, program developers, and special education consultants and advocates. The majority of our graduates seek our academic positions as faculty at colleges and universities.
The Inclusive Educational Studies emphasis focuses on effective and innovative inclusive practice and the preparation of teachers and support personnel to teach in inclusive settings. Candidates in the program work with professors on local, regional, and national projects and research. The program is designed to prepare scholars for a variety of professional roles: developing, implementing and evaluating model inclusive programs; training future teachers and support personnel in best practices for inclusive education; conducting basic and applied research that focuses on inclusive practice.
Opportunities are available for mentored college teaching experiences, supervising teacher education students in the field; conducting in-service seminars and collaborating with faculty members in research, teaching, and grant writing. Workshops in teaching at the college level are provided through training seminars and orientation sessions, which deal with issues and approaches to college teaching. All incoming students are encouraged to participate in the Teaching Assistant Orientation Program and the Future Professoriate program, which provides mentoring to candidates interested in a career in higher education.
To effectively meet the objectives of the Inclusive Educational Studies emphasis, students participate in advanced course-work, clinical and fieldwork, teaching and supervision, and research opportunities culminating in the dissertation.
Most doctoral students enter the program with previous coursework and experiences in special education at the Master’s level. An effort is made to build on students’ prior coursework and professional experiences. In some instances, more introductory coursework in special education is required.
In consultation with your advisor, each doctoral student is required to identify a core sequence of courses in Inclusive Educational Studies. Some examples of courses in this area include:
- Curriculum Development & Field-based Projects
- Psychoeducational Evaluation and Planning
- Administration and Supervision of Special Education
- Perspectives on Learning Disabilities
- Literacy, Disability and Inclusion
- Teaching Children and Adolescents with Autism
- Collaborative Teaching and Educational Consultation
- Federal Policy and Special Education Law
- Significant Disabilities: Shifts in Paradigms and Practice
- Facilitated Communication
- Positive Approaches to Challenging Behavior
- Pro-Seminar in Special Education
In addition to coursework in the Inclusive Educational Studies emphasis, students are also expected to complete coursework in the Disability Studies and Policy, as well as in relevant areas outside the School of Education (e.g., Psychology, Sociology, Law).
In addition, 12-15 hours sequence of research courses are required of all doctoral students, as well as Institutions and Processes of Education, which is required of all doctoral students in Syracuse University's School of Education.
Students will also have the opportunity to be directly involved in practicum settings. These roles include:
- Field supervision of undergraduate and master's level students.
- Program development in collaboration with faculty (e.g. in professional development schools, transition programs, and in early childhood centers).
- Internships at local schools and agencies in conjunction with faculty.
- Collaborating with faculty on field-based grants, research, and publications.
Students are also required to complete a Research Apprenticeship (RAP) with a faculty member. This mentored research experience can be done as a part of a field-based project, a collaborative research project, or independent study.
Upon completion of coursework and the Research Apprenticeship, students take written and oral qualifying examinations. These exams are individualized for each student, with the aim of integrating and articulating each student’s specific area(s) of expertise. Questions may cover current trends and issues in the field, research-based practice; research design and methods; and related studies.
These program requirements serve as preparation for the completion of a dissertation. Each student, in consultation with a faculty committee, designs his/her dissertation project focusing on some critical concern in inclusive instructional principles and practices.
Special Education Disability and Policy Studies
The Disability Studies and Policy Studies emphasis is designed to provide students with intensive training in both policy studies and critical special education practice. As a part of this strand, students take courses leading to a Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) in Disability Studies.
Disability Studies applies social, cultural, historical, and philosophical perspectives to the study of disability in society. Building on the tradition of Syracuse University's School of Education in the area of disability, the concentration is designed to help students understand and work to overcome the barriers to full participation of people with disabilities in the community and society. Consistent with the Syracuse tradition, this concentration stands at the forefront of change and new ways of thinking about and accommodating people with disabilities.
The Disability Studies and Policy Studies strand also prepares students to hold leadership positions in policy development, implementation, and research in special education and related fields. Graduates of the program are prepared for careers in higher education; federal, state, and private research organizations, national advocacy organizations, legislative bodies, and federal and state mental human service agencies.
Students in the Disability Studies and Policy Studies develop an individualized program of study in consultation with their advisor. Students develop expertise in areas such as advocacy, the history of special education, deinstitutionalization and community integration, federal policy, international perspectives on disability, law and policy studies, program evaluation, critical issues in inclusive education, sociology of disability, economics of special education, and current issues and trends.
The policy studies emphasis has four major components: coursework; Research Apprenticeship (RAP) in policy studies; written and oral qualifying examinations; and the dissertation. Doctoral students take courses in four major areas: special education law and policy; disability studies; critical perspectives; and 12-15 hours of research methods. Students also take Institutions and Processes of Education, which is required of all doctoral students in Syracuse University's School of Education.
In consultation with your advisor, each doctoral student is required to identify a core sequence of courses in Disability Studies and Policy Studies. Some examples of courses in this area include:
CFE 614 Critical Issues in Disability and Inclusion
CFE 723 Representation of Disability
DSP 621 Sociology of Disability
DSP 688 Social Policy and Disability
DSP 775 Gender, Disability and Sexuality
DSP 700 Special Topics: Race and Disability
LAW 763 Disability Law
LAW 809 Advanced Disability Law & Policy
LAW 896 Education Law Seminar
SPE 717 Federal Policy and Local Practice in Special Education
SPE 860 ProSeminar in Special Education
While doctoral students can take a variety of courses within the School of Education, faculty also offer independent study opportunities to advanced students to enable them to concentrate on a specific policy issue or topic.
Doctoral students are also expected to take courses leading to the CAS in Disability Studies as well as several courses in policy studies, which may be offered by other divisions either within the School of Education or in other Schools in the University. Students, for example, may also take courses in sociology, economics, law, cultural foundations of education, history, social planning, public administration, management, anthropology, and communications offered in the University's Maxwell School, the College of Law, the Newhouse School of Communications, and the School of Social Work.
Finally, doctoral students are required to take coursework in quantitative and qualitative research methods, including statistics, methods of educational research, and participant observation. This coursework provides students with the tools necessary to conduct, evaluate, and interpret research in special education policy.
During their fourth or fifth semesters of graduate study, doctoral students participate in a practicum in policy analysis and implementation. The practicum provides students with the opportunity to apply their skills in theory, analysis, and research to a particular policy question. The practicum requirement, which is designed in conjunction with each student's advisor, may be fulfilled in any one of three ways: participation in a faculty member's research project in policy; a student-initiated policy research project; or a one-semester internship at a federal, state, or private organization involved in policy research, analysis and implementation, including the Center on Human Policy. The policy practicum meets the Research Apprenticeship (RAP) requirement.
After doctoral students have completed their coursework and RAP, they complete written and oral examinations in three broad areas: current trends and issues related to special education policy; disability studies; and research methods. The examination questions reflect each student's individual program of study and are written by faculty members with whom he or she has worked closely.
Students concentrating in Disability Studies and Policy Studies complete dissertations focusing on a major policy issue in special education or services for the disabled. The dissertation is written in consultation with the student's advisor and a committee of faculty members from the Division. Each student is encouraged to choose a dissertation topic that reflects his or her career goals.
Requirements
Requirements for Courses on Methods of Research and/or Scholarly Inquiry
The Programs of Study must include 12-15 hours of courses on methods of research and/or other forms of scholarly inquiry. The minimal requirement of 12 research credit hours is usually best met by completing EDU 603 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods and EDU/EDP 647 Statistical Thinking and Applications Methods of Educational Research , plus six additional credit hours selected to develop further expertise appropriate to his or her dissertation and post-doctoral work. The Ph.D. student may select other 12 credit sequences with the approval of his or her advisor. The student may take a research design course and a three-course sequence in statistics, or may prefer a 12 credit hour sequence.
Research Apprenticeship Requirement
Ph.D. students must complete a research apprenticeship prior to beginning work on the dissertation. As part of this requirement the student must submit a completed research document in publishable format to the Higher Degrees Committee.
The research apprenticeship is usually supervised by a sole faculty member who is either the student's program advisor or another member of the faculty. Some students complete the research apprenticeship experience within the context of a regular course (in which case the course instructor sponsors the apprenticeship). Other students contract with their sponsor for an independent study course carrying 3 to 6 hours. Still others conduct the apprenticeship without any formal hours attached to it.
The students will take the Qualifying Examination when they have completed their coursework. The exam covers the major field and, if applicable, the minor or Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS).
Douglas Biklen, Ph.D., Syracuse University
Disabilities studies; child advocacy; public policy; facilitated communication; inclusive education; qualitative research methods
Benita Blachman, Ph.D., University of Connecticut
Early literacy acquisition of students at-risk for reading failure, the prevention of reading disabilities, and the language factors important in reading development, especially the importance of phonological processing
Gail Ensher, Ed.D., Boston University
Early childhood education of special needs children
Beth A. Ferri, Ph.D., University of Georgia
Inclusive education; disability studies; narrative inquiry; gender, race & disability
Mara Sapon-Shevin, Ed.D., University of Rochester
Teacher education; inclusive schools; cooperative learning; diversity
Corinne Roth Smith, Ph.D., Syracuse University
School psychological assessment and intervention practice; learning disabilities
Julie Causton-Theoharis, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison
Paraprofessional influences on inclusive education, differentiation, professional collaboration in inclusive settings and inclusion as social justice
Steven J. Taylor, Ph.D., Syracuse University
Social policy, qualitative research methods, sociology of disability, advocacy, and community integration
Selected Books Published by Faculty
Reading Resistance: Discourses of Exclusion in Desegregation & Inclusion Debates (2006). B. Ferri
Autism and the Myth of the Person Alone (2005). D. Biklen,(with R. Attfield, L. Bissonnette, L. Blackman, J. Burke, A. Frugone, T.R. Mukhopadhyay, and S. Rubin).
Learning Disabilities: The Interaction of Students and their Environments (2004, 5th Ed.). C. R. Smith
Access to academics (2003). P. Kluth; D. Straut; & D. Biklen.
Communicazione facilitata (1999). Biklen, D. .(with P. Cadei & F. Benassi) (1999)
Learning Disabilities: The Complete Parent Guide to Learning Disabilities from Preschool through Adulthood (1997) C.R. Smith
In Search of the Promised Land: The Collected Papers of Burton Blatt (1999). S. Taylor (Ed.)
Special lectures on humans and caring: Together with people with disabilities: Collaboration among people with disabilities, their families, and professionals [English translation]. (1999). O'Brien, & S. Taylor.
Because We Can Change the World: A Practical Guide to Building Cooperative, Inclusive Classroom Communities (1999). M. Sapon-Shevin
Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (1998, 3rd ed.). S. Taylor & B. Bogdan
Foundations of Reading Acquisition and Dyslexia: Implications for Early Intervention (1997). B. Blachman
Contested words, contested science: Unraveling the facilitated communication controversy (1997). D. Biklen & D. Cardinal (Eds.)
The Variety of Community Experience: Qualitative Studies of Family and Community Life (1995). S. Taylor, B. Bogdan, & Z. Lutfiyya (Eds).
Playing Favorites: Gifted Education and the Disruption of Community (1995). M. Sapon-Shevin.
The Social Meaning of Mental Retardation (1994). S. Taylor & B. Bogdan
Newborns at Risk: Medical Care and Psychoeducational Intervention (1994). G. Ensher & D. Clark
Communication Unbound: How Facilitated Communication is Challenging Traditional Views of Autism and Ability/Disability (1993). D. Biklen.
Schooling Without Labels (1992). D. Biklen.
Interpreting disability: A qualitative reader (1992). Ferguson, Ferguson & S. Taylor (Eds.).
Housing, support, and community: Choices and strategies for adults with disabilities. Racino, Walker, O'Connor, & S. Taylor (Eds.) (1992).
Life in the community: Case studies of organizations supporting people with disabilities. S. Taylor, B. Bogdan & Racino (Eds.). (1991).
Schooling and disability (1989). D. Biklen; D. Ferguson; & A. Ford (Eds.).
Community Integration for People with Severe Disabilities (1987) S. Taylor, D. Biklen, & J. Knoll (Eds).
Achieving the Complete School: Strategies for Effective Mainstreaming (1985). D. Biklen.
Inside Out: The Social Meaning of Mental Retardation (1982). B. Bogdan & S. Taylor
History of Special Education at Syracuse University
Burton Blatt (1927–1985) was a former dean and faculty member in special education at Syracuse University. A staunch advocate of deinstitutionalization, Blatt called for programs to integrate students with disabilities into public schools and the community. His groundbreaking exposé, Christmas in Purgatory (1966), provided a horrific portrait of life in a mental institution and brought national attention to the abuse of people with mental retardation in American institutions. Burton Blatt’s paper are archived at http://archives.syr.edu/archives/collections/faculty/blatt.html
Wolf Wolfensberger is credited with originating the idea of normalization and social role valorization theory (the societal devaluation of groups & individuals) Much of his work has been concerned with services to people with developmental disabilities and their families.
William Cruikshank was a faculty member at Syracuse University in the 1960s and 1970s. Cruikshank developed some of the earliest educational programs for children who would later be labeled with attention deficits (ADHD). His book, A Teaching Method for Brain Injured and Hyperactive Children (1961) focused on perceptual motor training as the basis of more complex mental development. Cruikshank maintained that learning disabilities were caused by neurological and perceptual deficits.
Inclusive Education provides a way for all learners to gain meaningful access to the general education curriculum and participate as full members of the general education classroom. Syracuse University was an early and influential pioneer of the Inclusion Movement.
Center on Human Policy (CHP) was founded in response to widespread abuse of and discrimination against people with disabilities in society. The Center's philosophy and activities grew out of the institutional exposés of is founder and first director, Burton Blatt. The Center on Human Policy's priorities and activities have progressed over the years to meet the evolving challenges facing people with disabilities. During its early years, Center staff members confronted the mass warehousing of children with disabilities and school exclusion through investigations, community education, legal advocacy, and the development of model programs. Throughout its history, the Center has been deeply involved in strengthening disability and parent groups and creating positive attitudes toward people who have disabilities.
The Center, which is now called the Human Policy, Law, and Disability Studies (CHPLDS), is a network of academic programs, centers, student organizations, and affiliated faculty whose research, teaching, and advocacy seeks to promote the rights of people with disabilities locally, nationally, and globally, and to facilitate a critical examination of disability as an aspect of diversity in society. Today, the staff devotes attention to promoting inclusive education, employment opportunities, and full community participation for people with disabilities.
Recent Dissertations in Special Education at Syracuse University
Ashby, Christine (2008). "Cast into a Cold Pool": Inclusion and access in middle school for students with labels of mental retardation and Autism.
MacDonald, Teresa (2007). Special education instruction for secondary students with learning disabilities: Current instructional practice and teacher preparation.
Rossetti, Zachary Stephen (2007). Learning to connect: Developmental disability and friendship in high school.
White, Julia M. (2007). Slovakia's litmus test: Policy, prejudice, and resistance in the schooling of Romani children.
Kim, Ji-Ryun (2006). The influence of different types of teacher preparation programs on preservice teachers' attitudes toward inclusion, their self-efficacy, and their instructional practices.
Morton, Mary Winston (2006). Silenced in the court: Facilitated communication and the meanings of disability research in the legal setting.
Smukler, David (2006). Uanticipated speech and autism.
Arndt, Katrina Lauren (2005). "They should know they have Usher syndrome around here": College students who are deafblind [Ph.D. dissertation].
Cory, Rebecca Claire. (2005). Identity, support and disclosure: Issues facing university students with invisible disabilities
[Ph.D. dissertation].
Broderick, Alicia A. (2004). "Recovery," "science," and the politics of hope: A critical discourse analysis of applied behavior analysis for young children labeled with autism. [Ph.D. dissertation].
Harris, Perri Jacqueline. (2003). "Mom will do it." The organization and implementation of friendship work for children with disabilities. [Ph.D. dissertation].
Smith, Valerie Marie. (2003). "You have to learn who comes with the disability": University students' reflections on service learning experiences with peers labeled with disabilities. [Ph.D. dissertation].
Kasa-Hendrickson, Christi Rae. (2002). Participation in the inclusive classroom: Creating success for non-verbal students with autism. [Ph.D. dissertation].
Rice, Nancy E. (2002). A "textbook" case of professional prerogative: Authority, disability and policy in introductory special education textbooks. [Ph.D. dissertation].