The Identity Crisis in Early Childhood Special Education A Call for Professional Role Clarification

Abstract

Professional roles and responsibilities in early childhood special education (ECSE) are rapidly expanding to encompass increasingly complex functions related to work with young children with disabilities and their families in a variety of community contexts. Traditional frameworks for conceptualizing the roles of professionals in ECSE and/or early intervention have focused almost exclusively on the direct service component of the early childhood special educator's job. Furthermore, existing conceptualizations have not addressed how professionals can balance multiple roles to avoid role conflict and role overload. Implications of expanding roles for personnel preparation and practice are discussed.A movement to revolutionize the role of professionals in early childhood special education (ECSE) is currently underway. As a result, many of us who completed training in the field as little as 5 years ago are experiencing a professional identity crisis. Not only are new professional roles emerging, but traditional roles are expanding to encompass increasingly complex functions related to work with young children with disabilities and their families in a variety of service delivery contexts. Perhaps as a reflection of Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological framework, traditional child-centered roles in ECSE have evolved first, to incorporate a view of the child in the context of the family, and second, to incorporate a view of the child and the family in the context of the community. The impetus for new professional roles comes TECSE 13(4), 418-429 (1993) © PRO-ED Inc. 418

Cross Cultural Variation in the Neurodevelopmental Assessment of Children – The Cultural and Neurological to 2nd Language Acquisition and Children with Autism

“…Educational resources will likely require the interaction of universities and professional organizations in addition to communities and families. Better education and cultural immersion continue to improve early therapeutic detection and intervention for ASD (106)(107). We now understand that not only the methodologies of education and determination of efficacy need to be improved but cultural immersion with continued and long-term exposure to backgrounds, traditions, and languages needs to be a continued goal.…”

Preparing Teachers for Family Centered Services: A Survey of Preservice Curriculum Content

“…Respecting the contribution that parents and the child's natural environment make to the child's development, and empowering parents in their role as the primary decisionmaker for their child with disabilities can positively impact the outcomes of early intervention programs and the long-term benefits to children and families (Dunst, Trivette & Johanson,1994;Gettinger et al, 1999;Rush, Sheldon & Hanft, 2003). These content areas require more attention than they historically have been provided in ECSE programs (Buysse & Wesley, 1993;Gallagher, et al, 1997) in order for students to master the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to implement a family-centered service model. It may be that time constraints or other barriers prevent faculty from addressing this content to the extent desired.…”

“…In order to provide familycentered services, teachers working with young children with disabilities must have competence in several domains in addition to the skills needed for working with children. These domains include (a) understanding families (Iglesias & Quinn, 1997;Whitechurch & Constantine, 1993), (b) developing and implementing Individualized Education and Family Service Plans (IEPs/IFSPs) (Sileo, Sileo, & Prater, 1996), (c) respecting intercultural/familial diversity (Garland & Frank, 1997), (d) communication skills (Minke & Scott, 1995;Turnbull & Turnbull, 1997), and (e) teamwork (Buysse & Wesley, 1993). This shift in focus from ''child'' to ''child and family'' means that personnel preparation programs must provide content and experiences that allow future early childhood special education teachers to learn the philosophy and principles of familycentered services.…”

“…Several other authors have suggested that institutions of higher education are not adequately preparing early education and intervention personnel to implement family-centered services (Bailey, Palsha & Huntington, 1990;Hanson & Lovett, 1992;Rousch, Harrison, Palsha & Davidson, 1992;Winton, 1996). Based upon a review of the literature regarding professional roles and responsibilities in early childhood special education, Buysse and Wesley (1993) suggested that personnel preparation programs need to change in order to equip professionals with the consultation and teambuilding skills necessary to work effectively with families and other professionals. Gettinger and colleagues (1999) concluded that a need still exists for more effective training in working with families at both the preservice and inservice level for early intervention professionals.…”

Classroom-Based Practices for Preschoolers with Disabilities

“…What is clear, however, is that the outcomes are tied to the quality of the program; that is, what occurs within the program is more likely to produce effects than the program structure (inclusive versus segregated; Fewell & Oelwein, 1990;Strain, 1990). Barriers that interfere with program quality include lack of leadership, lack of preparation of general education personnel in teaching children with disabilities, lack of consultation and assistance from experts (Wolery et al, 1994), and shifts in the roles and responsibilities of specialists-particularly early childhood special education teachers (Buysse & Wesley, 1993).…”