Secondary Inclusive Education

Department of Curriculum & Teaching

Program Description

Steeped in the philosophy of John Dewey and framed by a progressive tradition, the Preservice Program in Secondary Inclusive Education emphasizes student-centered practices and the social construction of knowledge, and conceives of teaching as complex professional activity necessarily embedded in particular moral, political, historical, economic, and cultural contexts. The philosophy of the program is simultaneously driven by the larger institutional conceptual framework for teacher education programs at Teachers College, which emphasize inquiry, curriculum, and social justice. We aim, therefore, to prepare teachers:

To understand teaching as a recursive process of learning/inquiry,
To conceive of themselves as curriculum developers and each of their decisions as curriculum, and
To conceive of their work as vital to working toward socially just schooling in a diverse, pluralistic, democratic society.

We believe that inclusive education is not just about students with labeled disabilities but rather is fundamentally about all students and more significantly, about the cultural practices of schooling. Consequently, the full spectrum of challenges of contemporary schooling must be attended to in order to generate transformative action.

We, therefore, necessarily interrogate and work to actively challenge the many sociocultural, institutional, bureaucratic, and interpersonal ways in which children and their families experience marginalization and exclusion (e.g., on the basis of race, ethnicity, social class, dis/ability, gender, nationality, sexuality, language, religious [non] affiliation, etc.). We simultaneously inquire into how such resistance can be translated into meaningful engagement with existing systems and schooling practices in order to effect change.

We also inquire into and seek to imagine creative alternatives to current schooling practices that frame poor, disabled, or other marginalized children as deserving of test-prep curricula and disciplinary practices based on behavioral control, rather than rich engagement with an exploration of the world. Such techno-rational approaches to education that aim to sort students into educational categories and apply received wisdom about best practices are obviously inadequate to the complexity of the challenges that face the inclusive educator. For this reason, we aim to support our preservice teachers to embrace the inherent ambiguities of teacher work; to fashion their inclusive pedagogies through their own commitments (as advocates for all children and youth) to curriculum inquiry, reflective practice, and the pursuit of social justice; and to conceptualize the work of inclusive educators as the complex intellectual, moral, theoretical, and political work that it is.

TEACHING RESIDENTS AT TEACHERS COLLEGE

The Teaching Residents at Teachers College (TR@TC) program is a multifaceted 14-month graduate-level program that enables TC students to apprentice with experienced mentor teachers in secondary classrooms within high-need New York City schools for one year while earning a Master's degree in one of three programs (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages K-12, Secondary Inclusive Education, or Intellectual Disabilities Autism). In addition to the graduate degree, the TR@TC program leads to New York State initial certification in either Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages K-12 or Teaching Students with Disabilities 7-12 Generalist.

Like the Secondary Inclusive Education philosophy described above, TR@TC is guided by the larger Teachers College conceptual framework for teacher education programs. TR@TC embraces a philosophy of inclusive education, seeking to prepare teachers of all students in schools.

Faculty

Faculty
- Srikala Naraian Professor of Education

Courses

C&T 4000 - Disability, Exclusion, and Schooling

This course focuses on the cultural and historical bases of ableism in the U.S., in particular the ways in which ableism operates in schools. We will examine current legal and bureaucratic structures, discourses, and practices of education and learn about the pedagogical supports necessary to provide students access to equitable education in U.S. schools. We will also consider the ways in which disability status intersects with other facets of identity (such as one’s race, ethnicity, class, language background, gender, sexuality, religious [non]affiliation, etc.) to understand how intersections work in tandem in the cultural processes of exclusion in schools.
C&T 4037 - Relational Approaches to Challenging Behavior

This course explores the possibilities for building strong classroom communities when students’ behavior is understood as communication rather than defiance and when supports are understood as relational rather than punitive. Course content critiques punishment and reward systems for disciplining and managing students. Punishment systems, behavior modification, and positive behavior support approaches are typically implemented for students with disabilities and youth of color and are exclusionary, oppressive, ableist, and carceral. We’ll examine approaches that focus on compliance and zero-tolerance policies, which are a gateway to funneling youth into the school-to-prison pipeline. Instead, this course emphasizes approaches that build trusting relationships, are culturally sustaining, and inclusive. We will specifically focus on healing practices, restorative justice, conscious discipline, and collaborative and proactive solutions and illuminate how these practices intersect with disability studies, dis/crit, anti-oppressive, and abolitionist principles and pedagogies.
C&T 4046 - No Title Found in Banner

An introduction to teaching, learning, and curriculum in secondary classrooms including: development and learning processes; instructional planning; observation and assessment; classroom management and environments; integrating instructional technologies and digital media; working in urban, diverse, and inclusive settings; and culture and community. The course emphasizes the relationship between theory and practice and supports students in the development of self-analytic, reflective, and problem solving skills in pedagogical contexts.
C&T 4047 - No Title Found in Banner

Continuation and extension of C&T 4046, with an emphasis on curriculum design issues, state learning standards, Common Core standards, differentiation and assessment. Emphasis on inquiry-based procedures for teaching in secondary content areas to students with substantial academic and/or behavioral difficulties and on monitoring that instruction in a range of school environments. Students work collaboratively to plan and develop multi-level curriculum.
C&T 4200 - Fieldwork in curriculum and teaching

Students will observe and critically reflect on curriculum, instruction, assessment, learners, and professional development in a variety of educational contexts. Classroom placements can be arranged for students who need to fulfill the 50-hour practicum requirement for professional certification in elementary and secondary classrooms. Required for students in the MA-CUED, MA-CUSD, and MA-CURR degrees.
C&T 4301 - Educational Assessment of Students with Disabilities

This course is designed to acquaint graduate students with the methods of assessment used to identify and program for students with disabilities. The function of a response to intervention model within a multi-tiered system of supports will be explored. Graduate students will reflect on best practices in the early identification and support of learning needs. Students will develop the ability to recognize and respond to the need for individualized intervention within the general education classroom. Students will also learn about the process of evaluation in order to consider eligibility for special education. Individualized Education Program development and progress monitoring will be explored. Issues around the overidentification of students with disabilities and the least restrictive environment will be considered.
C&T 4501 - Teaching and learning in the multicultural, multilingual classroom

Student diversity (characterized by gender, race, ethnicity, language, special needs, and sexual orientation) is examined in relation to decisions about methodology, curriculum, instructional materials, student grouping, home-school-community relationships, and teachers' professional growth and development.
C&T 4705 - Observation and student teaching: Learning disabilities

Students complete three full days per week at their residency placement in the fall and 4 full days per week at their residency placement in the spring. Students must follow the NYC DOE academic calendar.
C&T 5080 - Access to Full Partpatn Schls

This course is designed to offer an in-depth understanding of issues that frame the participation of students with disabilities in various educational settings. It critically examines the legal and structural framework that regulates the education of students with disabilities. This course explores current pedagogical practices within the field of special education, while it simultaneously seeks to build the tool-kit of teachers to meet the needs of students with varying kinds and degrees of educational needs. This involves a critical examination of classroom structures for participation that have traditionally been made available to students with disabilities as well as the exploration of alternate ones that can facilitate the learning and development of a diverse student body.
C&T 5081 - Collaborative Comm Cult Cntxts

This course explores, from a disability studies perspective, strategies for developing effective communication and interpersonal interaction skills appropriate for both collaborative and consultative relationships in schools. Focus is on the development of these skills in interactions with both school professionals and family members of students. Particular attention is paid to the development of these skills in ways that are responsive and relevant to people from marginalized groups.