Contemporary Issues Education

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES APPEAR TO BE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH A WIDE RANGE OF CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY. THESE CONTEMPORARY ISSUES INCLUDE AREAS SUCH AS SUBSTANCE ABUSE, TEENAGE PREGNANCY, SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE, SUICIDE, DELINQUENCY, AND CHILD ABUSE. MOREOVER, MANY OF THESE STUDENTS ALSO WILL BE REQUIRED TO CONTEND WITH OR TO ENGAGE IN DECISION MAKING REGARDING NUMEROUS OTHER CONTEMPORARY ISSUES (E.G., DIVORCE, DEATH, ABORTION, RACISM ABOUT WHICH THEY HAVE RECEIVED LITTLE OR NO FACTUAL INFORMATION OR GUIDANCE FROM SCHOOLS IN THE TRADITIONAL ACADEMIC CURRICULUM. IN THIS STUDY, 121 SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN BOTH SELF-CONTAINED AND RESOURCE PROGRAMS EXPRESSED THEIR OPINIONS ABOUT CONTEMPORARY ISSUES EDUCATION. TEACHER RESPONSES WERE ANALYZED USING QUALITATIVE METHODS, AND TYPOLOGIES WERE DERIVED PERTAINING TO TEACHERS' COMMENTS IN SUPPORT OF ADDRESSING CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AS WELL AS COMMENTS REGARDING OBSTACLES TO ADDRESSING SUCH ISSUES IN SCHOOL. THESE RESPONSE TYPOLOGIES ARE DISCUSSED, AND IMPLICATIONS BASED ON THE TEACHERS' PERSPECTIVE ARE EXPLORED.

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