Syracuse University's School of Education has been awarded a U.S. Department of Education grant for $799,925 in support of a program to recruit and train seven doctoral-level students as teacher educators in special education. The grant will fund a five-year program to prepare teacher educators to provide inclusive teacher preparation using research-based knowledge, consistent with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The successful proposal, titled "Preparation of Leadership Personnel: Preparing Future Teacher Preparation Faculty for Outcomes-Based, Inclusive Education," was written by Dean Douglas Biklen and outlines a program to prepare highly qualified teachers, as defined in NCLB and IDEA, to support participation and academic achievement for students with disabilities.
"Syracuse University has a long tradition of excellence in disability related education research and in training doctoral students who go on to teach at some of America's leading research universities," says Biklen. "This latest grant award ensures that we will be able to continue as a leader in inclusive education."
The proposal addresses NCLB and IDEA stipulations that special educators employ research-based practices to demonstrate educational outcomes for students with disabilities, therefore requiring doctoral-level teacher educators with expertise in this content.
The program will provide annual support for seven doctoral students recruited from a national pool of applicants who meet state and national qualifications of highly qualified special education teachers. The program will support the students with a minimum of 48 hours of course work beyond the master's degree, focused on inclusive educational practice, policy, theory and research methods. Students will be supported for 12-24 credit hours of dissertation credits for research related to school inclusion and implementation of national education standards.
The program also will collaborate with the Syracuse City School District and with parent leaders on the Center on Human Policy's Advocacy Board to identify internships in preschool and K-12 schools. Schools will be selected based on their commitment to improving inclusive education. The program also will require collaboration with and mentoring by senior faculty in teaching undergraduate, standards-based, teacher preparation courses that focus on inclusive schooling.
Students in the program will be required to complete a research apprenticeship project that yields a manuscript ready for submission, as well as a dissertation focused on inclusive schooling and teacher preparation.
