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SPECIAL ED DEGREES ON THE RISE, SLIGHTLY

October 29, 1999

The number of college graduates receiving degrees in special education increased slightly in 1997 compared to a year earlier, despite the number of overall education degrees remaining flat in that period. While this may seem an encouraging trend amidst growing concerns about teacher shortages now and in the coming years, the change is less encouraging when examined in whole numbers, rather than percentages.

The number of graduates with degrees in the general special education field, in more realistic terms, went from really really small, about 16,400 in 1996, to really small, about 17,100 in 1997. The number of people getting graduate degrees in special education administration, on the other hand, dropped more than 50 percent from 1996 to 1997. With an estimated 6 million special ed. students in grades kindergarten through 12, many say a major sea change in teacher training across all categories - general ed. teachers, special ed. teachers and university students preparing for teaching careers - is needed to ensure special ed. students get the attention they need in coming years.

The report on all degrees conferred by federally acredited higher education institutions was released this week by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. Despite its low overall numbers of special education graduates, the report does contain some promising indicators. Special education teaching degrees, for both general special education teaching and for specific special ed. categories, increased from 9.5 percent of all education degrees in 1996 to 9.7 percent in 1997. In addition, Bachelors' and graduate degrees in special education teaching are all on the rise, with doctorates in general special education jumping from 2.6 percent of education degrees in 1996 to 3.4 percent in 1997.

Not surprisingly, the most common special ed. needs are also the ones attracting the most future teachers. Degrees in teaching students with learning disabilities and students with speech impairments are the most common among specific special ed. teaching fields. The fewest degrees awarded were for teaching the blind and visually handicapped, with just over 50 degrees awarded each year. Though some in special education cynically call autism the "disability of the '90s," no post-secondary students in either year specialized in teaching autistic children.

Education as a whole continues to attract a significant share of university students, with 9 percent of all Bachelors' degrees and 26.2 percent of all Masters' degrees awarded in both 1996 and 1997.8