Educational Objectives of the Program
Master of Arts in Special Education: (with Concentration in Intellectual Disabilities (Mental Retardation), Learning Disabilities, and/or Emotional/Behavioral Disorders)
Students completing the Master of Arts in Special Education will:
Adopt and model knowledge, skills, and attitudes of inquiry throughout professional careers, including advanced understanding of student's differences, effective translation of research and theory into practice, self-direction of professional growth, and engagement in collaborative leadership.
At the conclusion of the program, graduates will have gained the skills and knowledge to do the following:
- Respond effectively to students' differences by:
- Respecting differences influenced by diversity and development
- Demonstrating advanced knowledge of typical learners and learners with special needs at the elementary and secondary levels
- Creating a classroom environment in which all students feel welcome, safe, and successful
- Promoting respect and acceptance of all students in classroom, school, and community
- Responding effectively to students' individual academic, social, emotional, and physical needs
- Demonstrate advanced knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy appropriate to elementary and secondary students with special needs by:
- Demonstrating knowledge of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (K-12), as well as other curriculum appropriate for students with special needs (e.g., social skills, vocational, tasks of daily living)
- Helping students develop language and literacy competencies across the curriculum
- Assisting students to acquire knowledge and skills through effective assessment, instruction, and modification
- Demonstrating advanced knowledge of pedagogical knowledge and skills including modification of instructional materials and curriculum for students with special needs
- Planning for and effectively managing behavior in schools and other settings.
- Direct personal and professional growth as educators by:
- Taking responsibility for learning
- Setting and striving to meet personal and professional goals
- Initiating and engaging in professional inquiry (e.g., action research) with colleagues, parents, students, and other professionals for mutual growth
- Adopting and modeling knowledge, skills, and attitudes of inquiry throughout professional careers
- Critically reading professional literature and translating research and theory into practice
- Participate voluntarily in personal and professional development (e.g., participating in professional and parent organizations, conducting research, participating in conferences).
- Demonstrate collaborative leadership in education by:
- Asking for and sharing successful instructional strategies, modifications and adaptations, and behavioral interventions with professionals, parents, and students
- Sharing responsibility for students' education with parents and students
- Participating in decision making for classroom, school, and district issues
- Participating actively as leaders in solving educational problems (e.g., school committees, state task forces, and committees in professional organizations)
- Mentoring and collaborating with colleagues, administrators, parents, and students to enhance teaching/learning, and to solve educational problems
