Edward Polloway, Ed.D.
Enhancing special education
Research is an important part of the professional development of special educators. At Lynchburg College, we encourage our undergraduate students to be actively involved as consumers of research and, where possible, as contributors to the professional literature. Many of our students continue on for graduate degrees at Lynchburg College (as well as other institutions) where the focus on research increases significantly. A number of excellent contributions to the professional literature are published in our Lynchburg College Journal of Special Education.
Jackie Lubin '07, M.Ed. '08 and Karian Antoine '07, '08 M.Ed. completed a national study of terminology, definitional, and assessment practices relative to intellectual disabilities across the fifty states. The research was published in the journal Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities. It is a replication of a study that I did previously with several Lynchburg College students (Christopher Denning, '99 M.Ed. , Jolie Chamberlain Ganley '98 M.Ed , '00, '07). In addition, Jackie co-authored an historical study of the concept of "feeblemindedness," which was published in the Encyclopedia of American Disability History and also co-authored an important paper on trends in the field of intellectual disabilities that also was published in Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities. Karian co-authored with me a chapter on the causes of intellectual disabilities for the revision of the textbook Intellectual Disabilities (eighth edition) that is published by Pearson.
Another area of particular concern is for persons with intellectual disabilities in adulthood. Two projects were completed with Tammy Smith '06 M.Ed. as the senior author. The first focused on the importance of self-determination skills in students with intellectual disabilities. Through Tammy's research, we emphasized the ethical importance of teaching self-determination skills within the curriculum for students with special needs as we prepare them for independence in adulthood.
Second, Tammy and I also completed projects in the area of criminal justice considerations for individuals with intellectual disabilities. In light of the Supreme Court decision in Atkins v. Virginia (2002), there has been an increased focus on the ways in which individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience unique difficulties within the system. Lynchburg College alumna, Julie Beyer '06, '08 M.Ed. was also a co-author of this work. Both the self-determination and criminal justice papers were also published in Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities (ETDD). An updated paper on persons with disabilities in the criminal justice system with Tammy, Julie, and Wendy Bailey, '08, '08 M.Ed., will appear in a forthcoming issue of the journal, Exceptionality. Julie also completed an article on her own which was published in ETDD and focused on students with autism spectrum disorders.
These talented young students have made significant contributions to the literature in the field of special education as they connected their scholarship with their coursework. We continue to encourage our students to take advantage of such opportunities.
