A Case Study of Federal Leadership Perspectives on Special Education

SMC Author

Alta Joy Broughton

SMC Affiliated Work

1

Status

Faculty

School

Kalmanovitz School of Education

Department

Teacher Education

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

Publication / Conference / Sponsorship

Journal of Special Education

Description/Abstract

This article is part of an illustrative study of federal leadership in special education based on interviews with persons who served as Assistant Secretaries in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services and Directors of the Office of Special Education Programs. The perspectives cover the time period since the inception of the HEW—Bureau of Education for the Handicapped in 1967 until 2012. A phenomenological approach to interpreting the data revealed that these leaders faced similar barriers in their efforts to implement their vision, that their family background experiences influenced the policies they pursued, that their accomplishments frame major evolutions of the field, and, that their work represents a lifelong commitment to improving education and services for students with disabilities and special needs. We believe what we learned has value not only in helping to understand the challenges and accomplishments that have passed but also in its potential for guiding the future of federal and other legislation protecting the rights of and improving and sustaining the services needed for individuals with disabilities.

Scholarly

yes

Peer Reviewed

1

DOI

10.1177/0022466920909909

Volume

54

Issue

4

First Page

205

Last Page

2016

Disciplines

Education

Original Citation

Kleinhammer-Tramill, J., Karanxha, Z., & Broughton, A. J. (2021). A Case Study of Federal Leadership Perspectives on Special Education. The Journal of Special Education, 54(4), 205–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466920909909

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