Training Division Opening Twin License Program Pending State Approval – THE EXPONENT
One of the many struggles in special education is the growing need for more teachers who have experience with special education children. In the current training program at Baldwin Wallace, students can obtain a license, which limits their marketability and focuses the curriculum on one area. With a dual licensing program, these students could get a general education license and an early intervention specialist license.
The program has been approved by the BW faculty senate but has yet to be approved by the Ohio Department of Higher Education. The program proposal to the ODHE will be available in mid-October. Once approved, the university can advertise the program.
For current students, Department of Education Chair Debra Janas said, “The transition should be fairly smooth, if they are freshmen and sophomores they should be able to transition smoothly into the program.” Current seniors and potential juniors will miss the opportunity on the program as the requirements and schedule will change depending on the curriculum required.
“We’ll get them out in the Field New Year, we have two 100-level courses with field experience, and it’s very developmental. We’re trying to get her to take off her student hat and put on her teacher’s hat, ”said Janas. One of the goals of the program is to empower the families the students would work with and to give them the peace of mind that their children are receiving trained teachers who can handle their specific situations without difficulty.
Education professor Cynthia Dieterich said: “More and more children have special needs. Even if you don’t specialize in teaching children with special needs, now you will have the training to deal with children who may have more special needs. You will be better prepared and more marketable because you have already completed all of the training courses. “
Federal laws, such as the Disabled Persons Act, aim to integrate special needs children into regular lessons, where they can be with their peers and not only grow socially, but also gain more regular school experience.
Dieterich said the dual licensing program would give BW students the training and experience to deal with difficult situations. Professor Dieterich then said: “With regard to early intervention permits, there is a shortage of qualified people in the country, and they need more people, they need more early intervention specialists.”
