The national effort to strengthen character education for all students can benefit from and is a benefit to students with disabilities. The inclusion of ordinary students with disabilities and their relationships with their peers without disabilities can serve to enhance character education efforts by serving to illustrate the complexities of ablesim and by providing opportunities for and creating a climate of personal rsponsibility, kind acceptance, and thoughtful citizenship. Providing opportunities for students with even the most severe disabilities to participate in character education provides a context where teachers must expand their repertoire of effective pedagogical methods. Further, while the character education curriculum used for teaching students should be used for teaching all students, some with disabilities have individualized program goals focusing explicitly on aspects of character education, making their inclusion in the curriculum even more pressing.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AgranM., and WehmeyerM. (2005). Teaching problem solving skills to students with mental retardation. In WehmeyerM., and AgranM. (Eds.), Mental retardation and intellectual disabilities (pp. 255–272). Boston: Pearson.
2.
BebeauM. J., RestJ. R., and NarvaezD. (1999). Beyond the promise: A perspective in research in moral education. Educational Researcher, 28(4), 18–26.
3.
BroganB. R., and BroganW. A. (1999). The formation of character: A necessary goal for success in education. The Educational Forum, 63(4), 348–355.
4.
BrownF., GothelfC., GuessD., and LehrD. (1998). Self-determination for individuals with the most severe disabilities: Moving beyond chimera. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 25(1), 17–26.
5.
BrownL., NietupskiJ., and Hamre NietupskiS. (1976). The criterion of ultimate functioning and public school services for severely handicapped students. Hey, don't forget about me: New directions for serving the severely handicapped.Reston, VA: Council for Exceptional Children, 2–15.
GiangrecoM. F., CloningerC. J., and IversonV. S. (1998). C.O.A.C.H.: Choosing outcomes and accommodations for children (2nd edition). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
Institute for Citizenship Education (2002). Citizenship education for young people with special education needs. Retrieved April 21, 2006 online from www.citizen.org.uk/education/senresources.html.
11.
JonesS. C., and StoodleyJ. (1999). Community of caring: A character education program designed to integrate values into a school community. NASSP Bulletin, 53(609), 46–51.
12.
KuncN., and Van der KliftE. (Producer) (1996). Credo for support (DVD). Available from Special Needs Project Bookstore (www.specialneeds.com).
13.
LavoieR. (1989). How difficult can this be? (DVD). Available online from PBS at http://www.shoppbs.org.
14.
LickonaT. (1998). Character education: Seven crucial issues. Action in Teacher Education, 20(4), 77–84.
15.
MartinsonD. L. (2003). High school students and character education. The Clearing House, 77(1), 14–17.
16.
National Curriculum of England (2006). Responding to pupils' needs when teaching PSHE and citizenship. Retrieved March 24, 2006 online from http://www.nc.uk.net/ld/index.html.
17.
National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (2005). School-wide PBS: Primary prevention. Retrieved March 21, 2006 online from http://www.pbis.org/primaryprevention.htm.
18.
PerskeR. (1972). The dignity of risk and the mentally retarded. Mental Retardation, 10(1), 24–27.
19.
SaloojeeA. (2001). Social inclusion, citizenship and diversity. Conference paper presented at “A New Way of Thinking? Towards a Vision of Social Inclusion” (November 8–9, 2001), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ottawa, Canada. Retrieved April 22, 2006 online from http://www.ccsd.ca/subsites/inclusion/bp/as.htm.
20.
SchapsE., and LewisC. (1999). Perils on an essential journey: Building school community. Phi Delta Kappan, 81(3), 215–218.
21.
ShapiroJ. P. (1994). No pity: People with disabilities forging a new civil rights movement.New York: Random House.
22.
SugaiG., HornerR. H., DunlapG., HienemanM., LewisT. J., NelsonC. M., ScottT., LiaupsinC., SailorW., TurnbullA. P., TurnbullH. R.III, WickhamD., ReufM., and WilcoxB. (2000). Applying positive behavioral support and functional behavioral assessment in schools. Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions, 2, 131–143.
23.
TomlinsonC. A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed ability classrooms (2nd edition). Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
24.
WilliamsM. M. (2000). Models of character education: Perspectives and developmental issues. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development, 81(1), 32–40.
25.
WolfensbergerW. (1972). Normalization: The principle of normalization in human services.Toronto: National Institute on Mental Retardation.
