Professional Preparation & Credential Standards
Introduction and Context
Standards for Preparation of Special Educators
Program Report Developer Resources
References
Content Standards & Knowledge and Skill Sets
CEC Recognition of Preparation Programs
Get Help Preparing for Your Program's NCATE/CEC Accreditation Review
Introduction and Context
From its earliest days, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) recognized the significance of professional standards for the preparation quality of educators, and CEC accepted responsibility for developing and disseminating professional standards for the field of special education. At CEC's first meeting in 1922, the establishment of professional standards for teachers in the field of special education was identified as one of its primary aims (Council for Exceptional Children, 2009).
In 1965, CEC held a conference on professional standards, but it was not until 1981 that the CEC Delegate Assembly charged CEC to develop, promote, and implement preparation and credentialing standards along with a professional code of ethics to guide professional practice. In its current strategic plan, CEC reiterates this commitment to professional standards leadership by identifying the promotion of professional standards that support high-quality teaching and learning as a way to advance the education of individuals with exceptionalities (Council for Exceptional Children, 2008).
In 1988, the CEC Delegate Assembly recognized the relationship between the skills and knowledge with which special education teachers enter the profession and the quality of educational services for individuals with exceptionalities. More recently, the significance of the well-prepared teacher as the within-school variable having the greatest influence on a student’s learning has been widely documented and recognized.
The recent emphasis on teacher accountability and high expectations for individuals with disabilities makes it even more imperative that all special educators are well-prepared, career-oriented professionals with the conditions that allow them to provide individuals with exceptional needs the most effective interventions and that encourage entering special educators to become career-oriented special education professionals (Gersten, Keating, Yovanoff, & Harniss, 2001; Darling-Hammond and Loewenberg Ball, 1997).
In 2002, CEC made it policy that preparation programs, whether traditional or alternative, should demonstrate their alignment with CEC preparation standards through submission to a CEC performance-based review.
In this context, CEC uses multiple strategies to ensure that entry-level personnel have the skill and knowledge to practice safely, ethically, and effectively and that practicing special educators have effective mentoring.
Standards for Preparation of Special Educators
For entry to initial practice as a professional special educator, CEC expects that every candidate:
Pedagogy
Historically, pedagogy or teaching skill has been at the heart of special education. From its roots, special educators have placed individualized learning needs at the center of special education instruction. Whether helping individuals with exceptional learning needs master addition, cooking, independent living, or philosophy, special educators have focused on altering instructional variables to optimize learning.
Among the sine qua non characteristics of mature professions are the identification of the specialized knowledge and skill and the assurance to the public that practicing professionals possess the specialized knowledge and skill to practice safely and effectively (Neville, Herman, & Cohen, 2005).
Through credentialing of professionals and professional recognition of preparation programs, the public is assured that practicing professionals have mastered the specialized skills for safe and effective practice.
 The CEC Preparation Standards are built in a four-step pyramid. In its approach to the specialties in special education, CEC uses a rigorous consensual validation process to identify sets of knowledge and skills for entry-level and advanced special educators in a variety of specialty areas.
First, CEC standards capture the professional knowledge base, including empirical research, disciplined inquiry, informed theory, and the wisdom of practice for their area of expertise for each proposed knowledge and skill. Each validated specialty comes with a literature report that documents and classifies the professional knowledge base.
As a part of the validation process, CEC rigorously validates the specialty set using a multi-step consensual validation process (CEC Validation Study Resource Manual, 2010).
This consensual validation process has actively involved the leadership from the specialty, as well as thousands of practicing special educators (teachers, administrators, and teacher educators) in coordination with the CEC Knowledge and Skills Subcommittee with representation of the 17 divisions within CEC. The result is rigorous and comprehensive sets of specialty knowledge and skills for the preparation of quality special educators.
Third, CEC specialty sets are synthesized into rich narratives in the CEC Content Standards organized around:
- learners and learning environments,
- foundational and curricular knowledge,
- specialized pedagogical skills, assessment, and
- professional and collaborative skills to foster challenging learning levels.
The CEC Initial Content Standards describe in rich narrative the specialized skills that all special educators bring to initial special education practice.
Finally, the rich narrative content standards are analyzed into 28 essential elements with which preparation programs align program assessments of special education candidates for CEC Professional program recognition.
While the CEC Content Standards cross special education specialty areas, the specialty sets inform and differentiate the content, context, and issues of the respective specialty areas (e.g., early childhood, mild/moderate, developmental disabilities, and learning disabilities) and provide the validated knowledge and skills that special educators must master for safe, ethical, and effective practice.
Liberal Arts
While pedagogy is central to special education, special educators must have a solid grounding in the liberal arts -- ensuring proficiency in reading, written and oral communications, calculating, problem solving, and thinking -- demonstrated by holding at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
Core Academic Subject Matter Content
As well, special educators must possess a solid base of understanding of the content areas of the general curricula (i.e., math, reading, English/language arts, science, social studies, and the arts). This knowledge base must be sufficient to collaborating with general educators, teaching or co-teaching academic subject matter content of the general curriculum to individuals with exceptional learning needs across a wide range of performance levels, and designing appropriate learning and performance accommodations and modifications for individuals with exceptional learning needs in academic subject matter content of the general curriculum.
Because of the significant role that content-specific subject matter knowledge plays at the secondary level, special education teachers routinely teach secondary-level academic subject matter classes in consultation or collaboration with one or more general education teachers appropriately licensed in the respective content area. However, when a special education teacher assumes sole responsibility for teaching a core academic subject matter class at the secondary level, the special educator must have a solid knowledge base in the subject matter content sufficient to assure individuals with exceptional learning needs can meet state general curriculum standards (Council for Exceptional Children, 2010).
Induction and Mentoring
In addition to the three critical elements mentioned above, professionals entering initial practice in special education should receive a minimum of a one-year mentorship during the first year of professional special education practice (Council for Exceptional Children, 2010). The mentor should be an experienced special education professional in the same or a similar role as the individual being mentored who can provide expertise and guided support on a continuing basis. Even with quality preparation, the beginning special education professional faces challenges in applying and generalizing newly acquired skills. Like other professionals, special educators who have the support of more senior colleagues become proficient more quickly and are more likely to remain in the profession (Billingsley, 2006). The goals of the mentorship program must include:
- Facilitating the application of knowledge and skills learned.
- Conveying advanced knowledge and skills.
- Acculturating into the school’s learning community.
- Reducing job stress and enhancing job satisfaction.
- Supporting professional induction.
Whenever special educators begin practice in a new area of licensure, they should have the opportunity to work with mentors who are experienced professionals in similar roles. The purpose of mentors is to provide expertise and support to the teachers on a continuing basis for at least the first year of practice in that area of certification. The mentorship is part of continuing education; thus, it is a requirement for maintaining licensure, not a requirement for initial licensure. The mentorship is a professional relationship between the new teacher and an experienced teacher that aids the new teacher in further developing knowledge and skills in the area of certification and provides the support required to sustain the new teacher in practice.
The mentorship is collegial, not supervisory. It is critical that the mentor have knowledge, skills, and experience relevant to the new educator’s position in order to provide the required expertise and support. Thus, it is essential that new teachers practice in environments where mentors are available. Members of the special education profession are expected to serve as mentors as part of their professional responsibilities, and they should receive the appropriate resources and support to carry out this responsibility effectively. The CEC Standards provide that special education teachers should receive mentorships when they begin practice in each area of licensure. Thus, for example, an experienced special educator of individuals with visual impairments who, after the additional preparation, becomes credentialed to teach individuals in early childhood should receive a mentorship during the first year of practice in early childhood in order to maintain the credential in early childhood.
Program Report Developer Resources
In addition to an array of technical support options, CEC provides the following resources:
If you have any questions, a CEC Professional Standards representative will be happy to answer them. The staff can be reached at 703-264-9469 or prostandards@cec.sped.org.
References
Billingsley, B. S. (2004). Special education teacher retention and attrition: A critical analysis of the research literature. Journal of Special Education. (38).
Billingsley, B.S. (2006). Cultivating And Keeping Committed Special Education Teachers: What Principals And District Leaders Can Do. California: Corwin Sage.
Council for Exceptional Children. (2009). WHAT EVERY SPECIAL EDUCATOR MUST KNOW: ETHICS, STANDARDS, AND GUIDELINES (6th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.
Council for Exceptional Children. (2010). CEC Professional Policy, Section Four, Part 3, Special Purpose Resolutions and Government Actions: Position on Seeking Professional Program Recognition. Arlington, VA: Author.
Council for Exceptional Children. (2010). CEC Validation Study resource manual. Arlington, VA: Author.
Darling-Hammond, L and Loewenberg Ball, D. (1997). Teaching for High Standards: What Policymakers Need to Know and Be Able to Do. (Washington, D.C.: National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future).
Gersten R., Keating, T., Yovanoff, P., & Harniss, M. (2001). Working in Special Education: Factors that Enhance Special Educators’ Intent to Stay. Exceptional Children (67)4 pp. 549-567.
Neville, K.S., Herman, R.H., and Cohen, C.E. (2005). Preparing and training professionals comparing education to six other fields. Washington, D.C.: The Finance Project.
National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future. (1996). What Matters Most: Teaching and America’s Future. Woodbridge, VA: Author.
Wise, A. (2005). Professional Accreditation, NCATE, and TEAC. Retrieved October 15, 2008 from http://www.ncate.org/public/artAwiseProfAccred.asp?ch=87.
Initial Special Education Content Standards
Initial Specialty Knowledge and Skill Sets
Advanced Special Education Content Standards
Advanced Specialty Knowledge and Skill Sets
CEC Recognition of Preparation Programs
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