By Anne L. Corn, Ed.D.
Every semester I receive calls from parents of children with blindness
or low vision wondering if it’s true that their school systems cannot
find qualified teachers. Families often relocate to try to ensure that
their children receive needed services. Our own Department of Special
Educationóranked first in the nationóhas more traineeships for
preparing teachers of blind and low vision students than we have
students. Teaching children with visual impairments is a fascinating
area of education that provides for one-to-one instruction and jobs are
available throughout the nation.
In the U.S. there are also more openings for faculty in visual
impairments than universities are preparing. And, for each faculty
position that goes unfilled, more children will be without teachers
qualified to teach braille, use of optical devices, and the other
unique skills these children need. While new faculty members are in
demand in all areas of special education, the area of visual
impairments seems to be especially impacted by changes in career paths,
funding of programs, and university supports.
Among the top ranked ten departments of special education (U.S. News
and World Report, 2004), only Peabody College remains with a program in
visual impairments; six of the ten universities never had a program in
visual impairments and three programs have closed. Although there are
excellent teacher training and leadership programs in the country,
several major research universities have dropped both their teacher
training and leadership programs or experienced a reduction in their
faculties in visual impairments. From 1995-96 through 1998-99 academic
years, an average of four new doctorates were awarded in the U.S. in
all areas of visual impairments combined ñ education, deaf-blindness,
and orientation and mobility.
Today, many faculty members across the country are focusing on training
teachers and find little time or support for research. A study in
2000 reported that 5,000 teachers of students with visual impairments
were needed throughout the country, but only approximately 250 teachers
and 100 orientation and mobility instructors had been prepared in each
of the previous five years.
A sufficient number of faculty members and a number of university
programs must remain or be developed to meet the needs of children with
visual impairments who require special education services. A sufficient
number of faculty and programs at doctoral granting universities with
strong research components are also needed to sustain the level of
research that is needed as well as to develop new researchers.
Peabody College took the lead in addressing this national need by
organizing a two-day meeting in August of doctoral-granting
universities with programs in visual impairments and those interested
in developing leadership programs. A promising course of action that
emerged was a proposed formation of a national consortium to provide a
sufficient number of highly qualified leadership personnel. The group
will meet again to formulate guidelines for establishing a consortium
that would be sensitive to the academic requirements of individual
universities’ programs while benefiting from the talents of leadership
personnel in the field.
Greater commitment and creativity is called for than ever before to
address the national need for special education leadership in visual
impairments. On November 4, at 4 p.m., the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center
for Research on Human Development will be opening an exhibit, Focusing
on the Future of Students with Visual Impairments: Teachers in Action.
This photographic exhibit, along with a panel including an educator, a
parent, and a photographer will highlight this career. Plans are for
the exhibit to travel nationwide to help with recruitment of new
teachers and leadership personnel into this area of special education.
Ann Corn is a professor of special education and a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center member.