Inclusive and Special Education - Graduate Certificate

This certificate prepares educators to be leaders in rethinking inclusive and special education in their schools and districts by humanizing students with dis/abilities and the systems designed to support them, by gaining valuable knowledge about legal, historical and social precedents in special education, and by expanding their instructional toolkit.

Educators will examine federal, state and local policies and they will also learn practical strategies they can use to plan instruction and to support students in general education and intervention settings. Each course draws upon culturally and linguistically appropriate practices that attend to the needs and strengths of all students, with an emphasis on creating equitable learning environments. Course content and assignments consider dis/ability to be one of multiple identities that makes each of us human, rather than a defect or problem in need of a cure. We use the term dis/ability, choosing purposefully to place a slash between dis and ability.

Students who wish to take classes and separately complete certificates without enrolling in the full MA program should see the Teacher Leadership program graduate certificate pathway.

Requirements

In order to earn a certificate, students must receive a minimum grade of a C or higher in each course. The cumulative GPA for certificate courses must be 3.0 or higher.

Learning Outcomes

The certificate will prepare teacher leaders to:

• Understand the historical, political, and social influences on inclusive and special education.
• Identify the features of creative, flexible and supportive inclusive learning environments for students with and without dis/abilities.
• Use instructional strategies to include students with dis/abilities and those with a range of learning strengths and needs in curriculum and school structures.
• Synthesize knowledge on inclusive and special education to create and implement an advocacy project.