In this course, you will learn how to contribute to resolving current issues in the field of Special Education. You will focus on recent concepts and models, the history of the establishment and features of modern Special Education, and consider the effectiveness of interventions in special education practice.
The context of the course is shaped by current developments in care and education in the Netherlands and beyond, such as the transition of juvenile care, the Participation Act, and inclusive education. You will learn how to approach current special education issues from various perspectives, including cultural diversity in (inter)national contexts, and how to analyse them at different levels.
One of the theoretical frameworks central to the course is Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. You will be expected to critically apply this theory – in which the micro, meso, exo, and macro levels of human interaction play an important part – to issues that are relevant to special education. At the micro level, for example, child-related factors and personal relationships play a role; at the meso level, it is the social network, the family, SES and peers; at the exo level, it is the neighbourhood, the school, the local environment and the district; and at the macro level, it is policy, legislation, politics and economics.
Examples of special education issues include multilingualism, divorce, primary and early education, juvenile and other crime, and child abuse. In the first week, you will attend a lecture about critical thinking and a lecture about the requirements for the individual assignment. From the second week onwards, you will work intensively on the assignment in small groups. This course provides you with a basis for working in the field of Special Education as an academic professional with interdisciplinary training.