Special Education - Theories and Research, 15 credits

Main field of study

Course level

Advancement level

Course offered for

• Special Needs Training Programme

Entry requirements

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of the course, the student should:
- demonstrate knowledge of central special educational concepts
- be able to discuss special education in a historical and cultural perspective
- be able to discuss special education as a phenomenon both in research and society
- demonstrate knowledge of national and local steering documents concerning special educational activities and organisation
- demonstrate knowledge of law and ethics with relevance to special education activities
- demonstrate an understanding of different perspectives on special education and special tuition both in including and segregating organisation of teaching
- demonstrate an understanding of the work of the special education teacher in preventive special educational activities
- demonstrate knowledge of educational leadership
- be able to reflect theoretically on special education practice and the special educational professional roles
- demonstrate awareness of what a scholarly and research-ethical approach may imply.

Course content

The course covers special education and approaches to special education from both historical and present-day perspectives. Central concepts that are problematised and discussed in the course are wholeness, participation, inclusion, integration, deviation, normality, differentiation and segregation. Knowledge of the community's and school's encounter with and responsibility for children and adolescents is central to the course, and the laws and statutes regulating this responsibility are studied. An important part of the course is the cooperation and collaboration between different actors and institutions with regard to pupils, which provide an overall view of what the special education work may involve. Further processed in the course are dilemma situations where ethical and legal considerations and positions are taken with the purpose of developing the students' judgement and approach

Teaching and working methods

The teaching takes the form of field studies, student active literature seminars, lectures and oral and written assignments, individually or in groups.

Examination

The course is examined through literature seminars and course/field assignments, individually and in groups, orally and in writing. The course is completed with an individual written examination assignment

Applies to all courses regardless of grading scale.

• Students failing an exam covering either the entire course or part of the course two times are entitled to have a new examiner appointed for the reexamination.

If the course has a three-graded grading scale (U - VG), following applies:

• Students who have passed an examination may not retake it in order to improve their grades.

If the course is a VfU course, the following applies:

• Examination of applied social and didactic abilities is limited to three (3) occasions.

Grades

Other information

Planning and implementation of a course must take its starting point in the wording of the syllabus. The course evaluation included in each course must therefore take up the question how well the course agrees with the syllabus.

The course is carried out in such a way that both men´s and women´s experience and knowledge is made visible and developed.

Department