Volume 24 Number 2
May 1985

Anna Gajar, PhD, The Pennsylvania State University

AMERICAN INDIAN (AI) handicapped children and personnel serving these children are located in various and diverse settings and attend different types of schools: public, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), tribal, boarding schools, etc. This diversity has resulted in blurred jurisdictional responsibilities, not only for providing services for this population but also in the area of personnel preparation. Too often the needs of Al handicapped children have been considered the responsibility of some other or unknown agency resulting in a paucity of educational services (Ramirez, 1979). This situation has made it difficult to determine the precise number of Al handicapped children and the precise number of needed AI professionals to serve these children.

As might be expected, the literature pertinent to the needs of AI handicapped children is limited. The literature that exists, however, presents compelling data regarding the disparity between the number of Al special educators currently employed, the number of Al handicapped children in need of this assistance and the need for additional personnel to service these children.

It has been established that between 4,000 and 5,000 American Indians have been identified as handicapped by the BIA (Ramirez, 1979). In addition to these children who are under the jurisdiction of the BIA, approximately 800 more American Indian students have been referred to educational facilities other than those under the BIA. These facilities include both public and private educational institutions that provide services for the handicapped.

The literature indicates that there is an immediate need for increased numbers of special education personnel to work among Al handicapped children. For example, a number of articles and reports have indicated that Al handicapped children who fall under the jurisdiction of the BIA school system have not been provided with adequate special education services. The limited nature of special education services provided in BIA operated schools during the 1960s and 1970s and the fact that Federal legislation (Public Law 94-142) has mandated the increase and expansion of special education services have led to an increased need for qualified special education personnel. In their discussion of school personnel needed to serve Al handicapped children, Ramirez and Tippeconnic (1979) have noted that in addition to the BIA's requirement for greater numbers of special educators, there is increasing evidence that public and tribal or Indian community controlled schools have similar needs (p. 27).

Since the review of the literature does not present a recent accounting of personnel and student needs the following information is presented. A review of personnel needs assessment conducted by the Dine Center for Human Development (Navajo Reservation, 1983) revealed that less than one fifth of special education teachers were Navajo professionals. Primary handicapping conditions were learning disabilities (50% of cases reported) and mental retardation (16% of cases reported). Of the 460 special education teacher positions available, 65 positions were filled. Forty-one of these positions were filled by Navajos. The projected need is 437 positions. An informal survey conducted by a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University American Indian Special Education Teacher Training Program revealed that 16% of the professionals employed in the service of handicapped Navajo children were Navajo and that the ratio of handicapped children to general special education personnel was 24/1 (Davis, 1984). It was concluded that there is an increasing need for Al special education personnel on the Navajo reservation.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs Comprehensive System of Personnel Development Plan (currently under revision) states It should be emphasized that there are many variables in training needs due to the variety of services needed, program complexity, school enrollment, school type, personnel turnover, etc. As previously stated each school is unique in service needs and geographical situation. This statement summarizes the difficulty in obtaining precise estimates of handicapped Al children and needed personnel. The need for preparing personnel to serve this population, however, is pressing and irrefutable.

Various authors have emphasized the fact that, in order to better understand and meet the educational needs of AI students, teachers must have a knowledge of and respect for the cultures and lifestyles of these pupils. Recommendations regarding methods to insure that school personnel are equipped to work more effectively with AI children have included the establishment of programs designed to train increased numbers of American Indians to assume administrative and instructional positions within schools serving these children (Fuchs & Havinghurst, 1972; U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, Special Subcommittee on Indian Education, 1969). Ramirez and Tippeconnic (1979) have specifically identified the need for increased training opportunities for American Indians in the field of special education. They have indicated that, despite federal policies which stress Indians' self-determination, Indian preference in the training of educational personnel to serve Indian students, and Indian preference in BIA employment, figures reveal that only 20.8% of special education teachers were American Indians. In addition they have stressed the importance of establishing teacher training programs which provide participants with combined training in the fields of special education and Indian education.

Based on the established need for American Indians special education personnel a number of training programs have been funded by The United States Department of Education. The following narrative will describe the components of one of these: The American Indian Special Education Teacher Training Program at The Pennsylvania State University.

Curriculum specifics. The program is designed to prepare American Indian students to work with handicapped American Indian children. Emphasis is placed on a behavioral approach to serving a broad range of handicaps including autism, severe emotional disorders, severe developmental retardation, early childhood handicaps, secondary career problems, and mild learning and behavioral problems. Certification is generic. Students are certified to teach in the area of the Mentally and Physically Handicapped, ages 3-21. In addition, graduates in their position as Master teachers can provide assistance to other professionals in their field and initiate and supervise model programs.

The curriculum followed is based, in large part, on the existing curricula of the Special Education Department and the Division of Educational Theory and Policy at Penn State. The Special Education curriculum leads to competence in thirteen different skill clusters. These clusters include the following:

1. Diagnosis and identification of relevant characteristics of children. Competencies in this skill area will enable the teacher to determine the educationally relevant characteristics of individual learners and to use their observation skills and background knowledge of child development to identify specific educational strengths and weaknesses.

2. Specification of instructional/behavioral objectives. Skills for demonstrating mastery will include formulation of instructional objectives in terms of observable behaviors to be displayed by the individual learner, conditions under which the behavior is to be exhibited, and criteria for acceptable performance.

3. Task Analysis. Once the terminal or preferred behavior is identified the teacher will analyze the existing behavior and enroute behavior will be determined and listed sequentially to master the terminal behavior. After identifying the enroute behavior as yet unmastered by the child, the teacher performs the next tasks in the Diagnostic Teaching Model, i.e., selection and use of instructional strategies and materials.

4. Selection, modification and use of instructional materials. The teacher gains an awareness of the wide range of instructional media and materials and criteria for their selection and modification.

5. Selection and use of instructional strategies. Competencies required for selecting and using appropriate instructional strategies demand that the teacher first be aware of the variety of instructional procedures available for effectively managing the educational programs of children. Then, an appropriate match must be made between the objective for a given child and the most appropriate strategy for having him/her reach the objective.

6. Evaluation of student progress. Competencies associated with evaluation of pupil progress call for skill in empirical research to some extent because of the experimental nature of the diagnostic teaching situation. In this situation, any match between the learner's needs and characteristics and the strategies and materials is tentative and must be checked out on an empirical basis. Included here are skills in administering and interpreting teacher-made and standardized evaluation tests.

7. Utilization of resources. Related to task area #4 is the ability to make appropriate use of resources through the retrieval of instructional strategies and materials. Since the teacher cannot be expected to develop specialized and unique strategies and materials for all children for whom he or she is responsible, skill in using information retrieval systems and other resources is vital to efficient use of time. Also included are utilization of human resources in school and community.

8. Behavior Management. Behavior management refers to ways to strengthen desired behaviors, shape new behaviors, and reduce the frequency of undesired behaviors.

9. Individualized Instruction. Individualizing instruction by means of diagnostic teaching procedures (areas 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6) enables the teacher to recognize and remediate existing learning problems, and enhance learning assets that a child might demonstrate.

10. Parent Involvement. Recent public interest in the Federal support of early childhood programs and appropriate educational programs for all exceptional children has focused attention on the importance of parent involvement. Parent involvement can be facilitated through child training development along with an awareness of potential effects of parental attitudes and expectations on children. Competencies in parent counseling require skills in inter-personal relations and knowledge of the dynamics of human interactions.

11. Professional Activities. Professional activities include participation in professional organizations, contributing to the knowledge base in special education by carrying out empirical research, and recognizing the continual need for individual self-improvement and professional renewal.

12. Knowledge of Contemporary Trends. A professional teacher is actively involved in professional organizations. Teachers may attempt to influence local, state and national legislation in favor of special education goals, organize and attend conventions, conferences, and workshops to expand his/her knowledge, etc. Further, teachers analyze information from professional journals, seek and implement methods for enhancing his/her professional development, maintain professional ethics, and communicate ideas to others in the field by word of mouth and/or written expression.

13. Teaching in Content Areas. Competent teaching assumes a knowledge of content to teach. Content areas of teachers in special education may be drawn from cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains, with special focus on adaptive behavior for the severely handicapped and academic areas where appropriate for the mildly handicapped.

In addition, curriculum for American Indian trainees includes a special component that relates to the needs of American Indian students. Part of this special component is a two-credit seminar that deals expressly with the needs of handicapped American Indian students. In this seminar, all pertinent literature concerning handicapped American Indian students is reviewed and discussed. The trainees are able to examine weaknesses in the research literature and discuss methods for rermediating these weaknesses. It should be stressed that this seminar discusses those specific aspects that are germane to the population of handicapped American Indian students. This is one of the first courses of its kind in the United States.

Another part of the American Indian component includes taking classes addressing needs of Al education such as the History of American Indian Education and a seminar in AI education. This seminar is designed to provide students with a wide variety of activities intended to promote individual knowledge of the present status of Indian education. These activities include a comprehensive survey of the literature wherein students review and critique research previously conducted on Indian education. The research studied includes the more familiar studies such as the Meriam Report, Kennedy Report, Havinghurst Report, American Indian Policy Review Commission Report on Indian Education, and others. Additionally, the seminar focuses on studies of innovative approaches to instructional delivery and analyzes them in terms of their applicability to American Indian educational needs. The subjects of these studies include such well-known devices as open systems, integrated curricula team teaching, Montessori methods, Piagetian theories, etc. The seminar provides the opportunity to study federal incentive programs for education and utilizes various methods of doing so. In proposal-writing exercises, students become familiar with the federal regulations governing programs such as Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and Tide IV of PL 92-318, the Indian Education Act. Reviews of significant congressional enactments such as the 1819 Civilization Act, the removal policies of the Jackson administration, Grant's Peace Policy, the Dawes Severality Act, the Dawes Commission, the Wheeler-Howard Act, the Self Determination Act, etc., are conducted by seminar participants.

Extracurricular activities are also integrated into the student's curriculum. It is the contention of the program that education is not always served by confinement to the classroom. Penn State is in a unique position of being close to highly traditional Indian nations, the headquarters of the Council for Exceptional Children, and the seat of the United States government. In taking advantage of this geographical position, program participants have access to native American communities of the Iroquois Nations in Western New York and Ontario, Canada and various governmental agencies and congressional offices in Washington, D.C.

Progression through program. A typical student's progression through the program can be described in several stages. A student lacking a background in special education would take course work including: (a) A survey of exceptional children, (b) Educational adjustments for exceptional children, (c) Diagnosing educational disabilities, (d) Cultural foundations of education, (e) Developmental psychology, (f) Mental retardation, (g) The teaching of math and reading, (h) Practicum in special education. Progression toward the M.Ed. degree would include the following:

Stage A: Students demonstrate knowledge and competency in the basic content areas of exceptionality and Al education. Competence would include reading and evaluating research dealing with handicapped American Indian children and knowledge of current issues and practices within the field of AI special education. Coursework includes: (a) Problems of research with Handicapped populations, (b) Seminar in Issues of Al special education (see above description), (c) Human Rights for the handicapped, (d) A course in Learning Disabilities and Emotional Disturbance.

Stage B: Students demonstrate knowledge of curriculum, materials and methods for teaching exceptional children. Coursework includes: (a) Instruction for the mildly handicapped, (b) Instruction for the severely handicapped.

Stage C: Students participate in activities intended to promote individual knowledge of the present status of Al education. Coursework includes: (a) History of American Indian education policy, (b) Seminar American Indian Education (see above description), (c) Individual studies in American Indian Education.

Stage D: Students demonstrate advanced specialized knowledge related to specific exceptionalities. Coursework includes: (a) Individual studies; Parent Training, Early Childhood Education, etc.

Stage E: Students demonstrate competencies involved in one-to-one instruction with an exceptional child. Coursework includes initial practicum experiences.

Stage F: Students demonstrate competencies involved in group instruction with handicapped children. All trainees complete from 6-12 credits of practicum with handicapped children. These practica place trainees in actual situations with handicapped students under the supervision of University faculty and trained teachers of handicapped students.

Stage G and H: Students demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of special education and the AI handicapped child. A comprehensive examination is taken and each student is required to submit a master's paper.

As stated previously a number of American Indian projects have been funded by the Division of Personnel Preparation Office of Special Education Programs U.S. Department of Education. The following narrative will summarize projects with curricula featuring content related to linguistic and cultural aspects of educating American Indian handicapped children and those with one half or more American Indian trainees. It is beyond the scope of this presentation to list all personnel preparation programs serving or benefiting American Indian special educators. The reader is urged to contact local, state and federal agencies for additional program information.

1. Papago Special Education Personnel Preparation Program Inservice for Special Education Staff including Paraprofessionals. Contact: Ms. Marty Haas Indian Oasis School District P.O. Box 248 Sells, Arizona 85634.

2. Diné Special Education Personnel Preparation Project. Trains Navajos as educational diagnosticians and speech pathologists. Contact: Navajo Community College Dine Center for Human Development, Tsaile, Arizona 86556.

3. Navajo Special Education Clinical Teacher Development Program. Trains Navajos for special education teacher certification at the Master's level. Contact: Special Education Coordinator, Navajo Division of Education, The Navajo Tribe P.O. Box 1400 Window Rock, Arizona 86515.

4. American Indian Professional Training in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Preservice. This project prepares American Indian speech-language pathologists and audiologists at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Contact: University of Arizona, Speech and Hearing Sciences, Speech Building #114, Tucson, Arizona 85721.

5. An Associate of Arts Program for Paraprofessional Training in Special Education and Related Services. This project will develop a certification program for teacher aides and design and implement an associate of arts degree program for paraprofessional training in special education and related services on the Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Contact: Dull Knife Memorial College, P.O. Box 206, Lame Deer, Montana 59043.

6. In-Field Teacher Training Program for Native Americans in Special Education. The program prepares Bachelor level special education personnel and provides in-service training to regular classroom teachers and paraprofessionals. Contact: All Indian Pueblo Council, Inc. Division of Education, P.O. Box 6507, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87197.

7. Inservice Training for Native American Paraprofessionals in Communication Disorders. The project is designed to train paraprofessional personnel from the Navajo Child Development Program. Training is targeted toward teacher-aides but also involves social service and community health personnel. Contact: Southwest Communications Resources, Inc., P.O. Box 1785, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87103.

8. Preparation of Hispanic and Native American Bilingual/Bicultural Special Education Teachers and Educational Diagnosticians Master degree level training for bilingual/cross cultural education personnel. Target languages are Spanish, Navajo, Keres, and Tewa. Contact: University of New Mexico, Dept. of Special Education College of Education, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131.

9. American Indian Special Education Teacher Training-Preservice. Trains Master students in Al Special Education. Contact: The Pennsylvania State University, 226B Moore Building, University Park, PA 16802.

10. Preparing Indian Administrators to Direct Special Education Programs Preservice training for M.A. and Ed.S. in the area of special education/administration. Contact: University of South Dakota Indian Education Center, School of Education, Vermillion, South Dakota 57069.

Davis, J.L. (1984, July). Factors affecting the delivery of special education services on the Navajo reservation within the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Unpublished M.Ed. paper. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Fuchs, E. & Havinghust, R.J. (1971). To live on this earth: American Indian education. Garden City, NY: Doubleday

Ramirez, B.A. (1979). Educational Rights of American Indian and Alaska handicapped children. An ERIC Fact sheet prepared by Director, American Indian Special Education Policy (AISEP) Project.

Ramirez, B.A., & Tippeconnic, JW. 111. (1979). Preparing teachers of American Indian handicapped children. Teacher Education and Special Education, 2(4), 27-33.

U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Labor and Public Welfare Special Subcommittee on Indian Education (1969). Indian Education: A national tragedy—A national challenge. Washington, D.C. Government Printing Office.