Special Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Special Education - Research Paper Example Special education is a very important field of study as it seeks to integrate the special needs child into the mainstream society and empower them to grow into autonomous citizens, despite their personal exceptionalities (Farrell, 2010). Essentially, special education seeks to find avenues through which to shun the victimization and discrimination against exceptional individuals in the society. This can be achieved through the enhancement of active learning and recognition of chief learning experiences for learners with special needs. The historical development of special education Special education has a history filled with challenges, breakthroughs, and disputes. According to Rotatori, Obiakor, &Bakken (2011) the period before the 16th century was characterized by inhumane treatment of people with exceptionalities. The society viewed such individuals as cursed people who had to be isolated from the conventional society. In line with this mindset, individuals with special needs were treated inhumanely and sometimes even killed to rid the society of curses. In the 16th and 17th centuries, however, there were rising philosophical campaigns on human dignity and the right of every individual to be treated equally and fairly, in spite of their exceptionalities. This period also witnessed the premier educators of special education who came up with different philosophies of educating individuals with exceptionalities