NCJ Number
85469
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 32 Issue: 4 Dated: (January 1982) Pages: 8-12
Date Published
1982
Length
5 pages
Annotation
A discussion of the need for special education training among correctional educators is followed by descriptions of the skills needed by these educators to deal with handicapped learners and of the preservice and inservice training needed for these educators.
Abstract
Research has shown that about one-third of adjudicated juveniles are learning disabled and about one-eighth are mentally retarded. Available data also indicate that a large proportion of incarcerated adults are learning disabled. Under Public Law 94-142 and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, all educators, including correctional educators, must assure that all handicapped individuals are provided with appropriate education. However, an average of only one educator with special education certification is employed for each correctional institution. To meet the needs of inmates, educators should have knowledge of the educational, vocational, and psychological characteristics of handicapped learners. Correctional educators also need knowledge of formal and informal assessment methods. Educators dealing with adults who are learning handicapped must have a knowledge of task analysis, a knowledge of the characteristics of individual handicapped learners, and an orientation to the philosophy of functional compensatory instruction. Preservice training programs to produce skills in correctional education and special education are necessary. Inservice programs which are carefully structured, planned, and documented are also needed. Twenty references are listed.