M.A. in Education

Special Education Specialization

• Overview
• Admission
• Faculty

Overview

The graduate program in special education is designed for applicants who hold a bachelor’s degree and are seeking certification in either elementary or secondary special education. The program is aligned to the Council for Exceptional Children Professional Preparation Standards (2020), the Rhode Island Professional Teaching Standards (RIPTS) (2007), and the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) Standards.

There is a national, regional, and state shortage of certified special education teachers. In Rhode Island, special education has been identified as a shortage area both at the elementary, middle, and secondary levels (US Department of Education, 2021); accounting for 19% of emergency certificates issued in the state in 2021 (RIDE, 2021). The shortage of special education teachers affects the 15% of school-age students nationally who have been identified with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (National Center on Education Statistics, 2023). The Feinstein College of Education aims to address the special education teacher shortage within the region and state through a social justice and equity-minded lens of inquiry.

For information or questions about the graduate program in special education, please contact program coordinator, Dr. Adam Moore.

Program Outcomes

Graduates of the Graduate Program in Special Education will be able to:

• Demonstrate culturally-competent partnerships with families/caregivers, educational professionals, related service providers, and other school personnel to develop, utilize, and assess individualized and inclusive supports for students with disabilities.
• Apply knowledge of the legal and ethical obligations required of professionals in the field of special education into their daily work.
• Enact inclusive pedagogical and anti-racist approaches and practices aimed at providing a justice-oriented education for all students, particularly students from historically minoritized groups (i.e. students of color, students living in poverty, students with disabilities, students who are English Learners, students who identify as LGBTQ+).
• Conduct, score, and interpret individual curriculum-based and norm-referenced educational achievement assessments that are culturally relevant, valid, and reliable in order to inform a student’s eligibility of special education services, develop Individualized Education Programs, and guide instructional practices.
• Utilize evidence-based strategies to meet the diverse instructional, behavioral, cultural, linguistic, and social/emotional needs of students with disabilities.
• Utilize science of reading strategies to address specific learning disabilities in reading, including dyslexia.
• Develop strategies to facilitate the successful inclusion of students with disabilities in inclusive settings.

News

Feinstein College of Education is awarded $1.1M grant to prepare special education teachers over the next 5 years (October 2023)