CONTEMPORARY-ISSUES EDUCATION - TEACHER PERSPECTIVES OF THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES APPEAR TO BE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH A WIDE RANGE OF CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN OUR SOCIETY TOD AY. THESE CONTEMPORARY ISSUES INCLUDE AREAS SUCH AS SUBSTANCE ABUSE, T EENAGE PREGNANCY, SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE, SUICIDE, DELINQUENCY, AND CHILD ABUSE. MOREOVER, MANY OF THESE STUDENTS ALSO WILL BE REQUIRE D TO CONTEND WITH OR TO ENGAGE IN DECISION MAKING REGARDING NUMEROUS O THER CONTEMPORARY ISSUES (E.G., DIVORCE, DEATH, ABORTION, RACISM) ABOU T WHICH THEY HAVE RECEIVED LITTLE OR NO FACTUAL INFORMATION OR GUIDANC E FROM SCHOOLS IN THE TRADITIONAL ACADEMIC CURRICULUM. IN THIS STUDY, 121 SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN BOTH SELF-CONTAINED AND RESOURCE PRO GRAMS EXPRESSED THEIR OPINIONS ABOUT CONTEMPORARY ISSUES EDUCATION. TE ACHER RESPONSES WERE ANALYZED USING QUALITATIVE METHODS, AND TYPOLOGIE S WERE DERIVED PERTAINING TO TEACHERS' COMMENTS IN SUPPORT Of ADDRESSI NG CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AS WELL AS COMMENTS REGARDING OBSTACLES TO ADDR ESSING SUCH ISSUES IN SCHOOL. THESE RESPONSE TYPOLOGIES ARE DISCUSSED, AND IMPLICATIONS BASED ON THE TEACHERS' PERSPECTIVE ARE EXPLORED.