Chapter 1 of dissertation on building level principals' knowledge of

Chapter 1 of on building level principals' knowledge of special education law - Dissertation Example blame on the principals, it is, however, important to make sure that the authorities charged with such crucial decisions possess ample knowledge on the legal aspects of special education. Moreover, sound decisions in this regard can only be arrived at when the decision-maker is familiar with the pertinent laws on special education and has formal or any comparable educational background on special education law. A state-wide study, in this regard, will serve as an essential step towards a better understanding of school administrator’s level of proficiency in special education law. Such study will also shed light as to what interventions may be designed and implemented to see to it that the needs of students with disability can be better served, vis a vis the regular students, en route to the optimization of the academic potentials of both types of students. Background of the Study Historically, students with disabilities have not always been guaranteed access to education (Chur ch and Glaaser, 2010; Ebersold, 2011; Flexer, Baer, Luft & Simmons, 2008; Wearmouth, Glynn & Berryman, 2005). The 19th century saw the beginnings of public support for free public education through the passing of compulsory laws on education which allowed representation of both genders, different ages, socio-economic status, and cultural background. One of the most popular legal battles fought for equality in education was Brown v. Board of Education (of Topeka) where Oliver Brown challenged and conquered racial segregations in American schools in 1954 (Miller, 2004). Yet, until the middle of the 1970s, individuals with disabilities did not benefit from the so-called free education. In 1972, a court ruling in Parc v. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had to decide that children suffering from... The main purpose of the ‘Chapter 1 of dissertation on building level principals' knowledge of special education law’ is to evaluate the level of proficiency of building level administrators in Pennsylvania of special education laws and look at possible factors which facilitate or deter their decision making on special education issues by way of a mixed methods design. An investigation of factors facilitating and hindering decision making will entail a profound analysis of the type and level of the administrators’ background in special education law; experience and confidence level in handling special education issues; and proficiency of basic special education law in terms of their perceptions on selected cases. The proposed study will adopt the input-process-output model as its theoretical framework grounded on Anderson and Arsenault who recognizes this paradigm for its simplicity simple and wide applicability to education research. In this study, inputs include: (1) the perceptions of building level administrators on selected issues covered in relevant special education laws in Pennsylvania; (2) information on the type and level of special education background among building level administrators; (3) self-reported experience of the building level administrators in handling special education issues in school; (4) self-reported confidence level of the building level administrators when handling special education cases; and (5) areas of greatest concern in special education law as self-reported by building level administrators in their disposition on relevant issues in school.