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Collaboration across Early Childhood Special Education.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

This paper discusses a graduate personnel preparation program in Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) and how it has been sustained by fostering collaborative relationships with university personnel and the community. This paper defines collaboration and discusses the field of ECSE and how service delivery in ECSE is based on developing effective collaborative partnerships with a variety of individuals. It also outlines the vision and purpose of the ECSE program, collaborative efforts with partners, lessons learned, and future directions.

Introduction

Collaboration is a complex and multidimensional process that has been increasingly advocated in the field of education, particularly within the branch of special education. It has been defined as "cooperation among two or more people concerning a particular undertaking" (Dunst & Paget, 1991, p. 28); "a style of interaction" (Montague & Warger, 2001, p. 22); "the exchange of different forms of expertise" (Risko & Bromley, 2001, p. 14); and a "means of finding ways to work through the barriers that define our daily work and keep us from working together effectively" (Zimpher, Fallon, Szymanski, & Vogel, 2002, p. 34). This style of working together (Dinnebeil, Hale, & Rule, 1999; Pugach & Johnson, 2002) assumes each member of the collaborative team can make a contribution, is a decision maker, and is part of a valued and committed partnership. According to Cornwell and Korteland (1997), the major components of a true collaborative partnership include: 1) mutual acceptance, 2) respect, 3) openness, 4) trust, and 5) a shared sense of responsibility. Furthermore, each partner should be an effective communicator, negotiator, and problem-solver who supports, facilitates, informs, and prescribes possible solutions and/or actions (Pugach & Johnson, 2002) through a voluntary partnership (Warger & Rutherford, 1996).

A challenge facing schools of higher education today is how to form effective partnerships that mutually benefit both the university and the local school community. This is necessary in order to enhance personnel preparation programs and establish effective teaching and learning processes for graduates and the Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) to 12 grade students they will eventually instruct. Universities have often been criticized for not preparing educators for the realities of the classroom environment (Winton & McCollum, 1997) which often times leads to problems with teacher attrition and retention. Until recently, the types of relationships that have existed between universities' schools of education and schools can be characterized as "episodic" (Pugach & Johnson, 2002, p. 200). Typically, universities seek schools for associate teacher placement sites, and schools call upon universities for assistance with professional development. However, this relationship has undergone changes since educators have become aware that both the university community as well as the local public school system ultimately shares in the responsibility of teaching...

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