Special Education in Northwest Ohio: A Case Study of Rural Service Delivery Problems.

Abstract

This article describes the core of a larger study that examined rural special education service delivery problems as perceived by various personnel within County Boards of Education as opposed to, County Boards of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities within a 12-county area of northwest Ohio. By utilizing instrumentation similar to an earlier national study conducted by Helge (1983), responses were compared between agencies within the 12 counties themselves, as well as, parallel comparisons drawn with national outcomes. Limited access to educational support services, geographic isolation, commuting distance, carreer opportunities, burnout, and scarcity of personnel were identified as problem areas. Recommendations that are low-to-no-cost are provided that address each identified problem area within the 12-county region.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Akin,

J.N.

(1988). Teacher supply and demand: A recent survey. 1989 ASCUS Annual: A Job search handbook for educators (pp. 6-9). Addison, IL: Association for School, College, and University Staffing.

Berkeley,

T.R.

, & Ludlow,

B.L.

(1991). Meeting the needs of special populations in rural locales. In A.J. DeYoung (Ed.). Rural education issues and practice (pp. 239-268). NY: Garland.

Crowner,

T.T.

(1985). A taxonomy of special education finance. Exceptional Children, 51 (6), 503-508.

Hare,

(1991). Identifying, recruiting, selecting, inducting, and supervising rural teachers. In A.J. DeYoung (Ed.). Rural education issues and practice (pp. 149-175). NY: Garland.

Helge,

D.I.

(1980). A national comparative study regarding rural special education service delivery systems before and after passage of PL 94-142. Murray, Ky: National Rural Research Project, Center for Innovation and Delivery.

Helge,

D.I.

(1983). Images: Issues and trends In rural special education - January, 1983. Murray, Ky: National Rural Research Project, Center for Innovation and Development.

Helge,

D.I.

(1984). The state of the art of rural special education. Exceptional Children, 50 (4), 294-305.

Kirmer,

, Lockwood,

, Mickler,

, & Sweeney,

(1984). Regional rural special education programs. Exceptional Children, 50 (4), 306-13.

Marrs,

L.W.

(1984). A bandwagon without music: Preparing rural special educators. Exceptional Children, 50 (4), 334-342.

10.

Minor,

J.W.

, & Williams,

P.P.

(1987). Problem-solving strategies. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 8 (2), 44-45.

11.

Seager,

D.D.

, Miller,

R.M.

, & Bagby,

(1980). Important issues in rural education: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 191 648)

12.

Sher,

J.P.

(1978). A proposal to end federal neglect of rural schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 60, 280-282.