Special Education Tenets of Clinical Practice

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In collaboration with the CEEDAR (Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform) Center, AACTE engaged higher education and PK-12 leaders in applying the AACTE CPC frameworks for clinical educator preparation to address problems of practice encountered when preparing teacher candidates to meet the needs of students who require specialized supports. AACTE convened a Special Education Task Force in 2017 to identify critical areas and emergent issues in relation to the preparation of special education teachers, as inclusive practitioners and leaders, through the lens of clinical practice and the 10 AACTE CPC Proclamations.

The AACTE Special Education Task Force identified five key areas of consideration when developing a highly effective clinical preparation for special educators: preparation program, preparing interdisciplinary professionals, educational leadership, student assessment, and professional disposition. Tenets highlighting key considerations within these five areas were then defined by the AACTE Special Education Task Force. The special education clinical preparation tenets are aligned with the AACTE CPC Proclamations and are undergirded by substantive research in the areas of special education and inclusive teacher preparation . This publication is a compendium to the AACTE CPC report, A Pivot Toward Clinical Practice, Its Lexicon, and the Renewal of Educator Preparation. It is to be used to identify and define key areas of consideration in special education clinical preparation.

This report is available to AACTE members only.