Master of Education in Special Education

The Master of Education in Special Education degree prepares the master’s level student with knowledge, understanding, and abilities in the field of special education, EC-12. The MED in Special Education program provides the framework for effective communication and partnership, personnel management, assessment, instruction, and compliance with federal and state regulations. The 36-hour, non-thesis general Special Education program consists of 18 hours of special education academic specialization, 9 hours in the professional area, and 9 hours in the resource area.

In accordance with the national governing agency, Council for Exceptional Children, all candidates must have certification in EC-6, English language arts, math, science or history to be considered a “highly qualified special education teacher.”

ADMISSION
There are no additional requirements other than those required for admission to the graduate program at DBU.

PREREQUISITES 

Entrance requirements for graduate programs in the College of Education must be met, including having at least two years of credible teaching experience in an EC-12 public or private school by the time the candidate has completed the necessary coursework and is ready to take the appropriate certification examinations. A copy of the teacher candidate’s service record will be required to substantiate the teaching experience requirement prior to recommending the teacher candidate to register for the state certification examinations.

PROGRAM CONTINUANCE

Continuance in the program past the first 12 hours is pending submission of a satisfactory score on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE®).

A waiver of the GRE or MAT requirement may be considered if the student meets one of the following conditions:

• earns an “A-“ or higher in each of the first four courses (12 hours) of graduate coursework in the DBU College of Education, or

• holds a Bachelor’s degree from the DBU College of Education earned within the past five years with a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher, or

• holds a Master’s degree from DBU.

• Students seeking teacher certification will be required to complete two (2) seminars in preparation for the TExES exams.

• Students seeking teacher certification will complete Student Teaching or Internship in Teaching I and Internship in Teaching II (6 hours credit).

ADMISSION REVIEW DISMISSAL (ARD) FACILITATOR SPECIALIZATION

The Master of Education in Special Education with ARD Facilitator Specialization prepares the master’s level student with knowledge, understanding, and skills in the field of special education with emphasis on ARD facilitation. The program provides the framework for effective communication, networking with educators, professionals, and families, instructional needs, and compliance with federal and state regulations. The 30-hour, non-thesis program consists of 12 hours of special education specialization, 12 hours in the professional area, and 6 hours in the resource area.

Note: Students are encouraged to apply for the educational diagnostician certification program upon completion of this MED That program consists of an additional three courses, SPED 6330 Comprehensive Assessments, SPED 6340 Individual Diagnostic Practicum I, and SPED 6350 Individual Assessment Practicum II.

DIAGNOSTICIAN SPECIALIZATION

The Master of Education in Special Education with Diagnostician’s Specialization degree prepares the master’s level student with knowledge, understanding, and abilities in the field of special education with emphasis placed on diagnostician knowledge and skills. The program provides the framework for effective communication and partnership, assessment, instruction, and compliance with federal and state regulations. The 36-hour, non-thesis program consists of 15 hours of special education academic specialization, 15 hours in the professional area, and 6 hours in the resource area. The MED in Special Education with Diagnostician’s Specialization leads to Texas diagnostician’s certification.

In accordance with the national governing agency, Council for Exceptional Children, all candidates must have certification in EC-6, English language arts, math, science or history to be considered a “highly qualified special education teacher.” Diagnostician candidates must hold one of these content area certifications and professional roles/responsibilities certification before being accepted to this master’s program.

Refer to course descriptions in the back of this catalog for course prerequisites.

(S-L) = Course(s) with field-based service-learning component.

MONTESSORI INCLUSION SPECIALIZATION  

The Master of Education in Special Education with Montessori Inclusion Specialization degree prepares the master’s level student with knowledge, understanding, and skills in the field of special education in Montessori settings. The program provides the framework for effective teaching, learning, and general evaluations in Montessori inclusion classrooms. The 30-hour, non-thesis program consists of 15 hours of special education academic specialization, 6 hours in the professional area, and 9 hours in the resource area.

College of Education Graduate Defense of Degree

Because of Dallas Baptist University’s quest for meaningful assessment of graduate candidates, a defense of degree is required in all College of Education Graduate Programs. The defense of degree is a capstone collection of signature assessments and artifacts with reflections that demonstrate a candidate’s personal growth, development, and acquisition of knowledge, skills and dispositions.

A digital format will be utilized by the candidate to enhance the presentation and to justify why the degree should be awarded to the candidate. The candidate’s formal defense will be presented to members of the Educator Preparation Board and will take place on the main campus each semester.

It is recommended that candidates attend a Defense of Degree workshop held each semester. It is also the candidate’s responsibility to schedule a meeting with their designated program director who will provide additional information regarding objectives, service-learning, artifacts, reflections, presentation format, and evaluative criteria and scoring.

Candidates must register for the Defense of Degree course as prescribed in their degree plan during the semester in which they will present their defense of degree to the Educator Preparation Board. The EPB is a group of experienced and widely successful educators from Dallas Baptist University and the Metroplex. Practicing teachers, administrators, consultants, superintendents, guidance directors, personnel directors, and Educational Region Service Center personnel, as well as DBU professors and administrators, volunteer their time for this highly selective process. The Educator Preparation Board serves as the College of Education Graduate Programs’ advisory board and meets three times a year to assess graduate candidates’ defense of degrees.

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION GRADUATE E-PORTFOLIO

Dallas Baptist University’s educator preparation programs strive to provide a quality learning experience that enables all candidates to impact EC-12 learning. The E-Portfolio is designed to be an individualized collection of documents to prepare the candidate for future positions; demonstrate the candidate’s ongoing knowledge, skills, experiences, and dispositions; and provide the candidate with the opportunity for self-reflection. All graduate candidates are required to compile and maintain an electronic, developmental E-Portfolio. There are three types of documents that must be included in the E-Portfolio: required documents, foundational elements, and competency artifacts. Throughout the program, the candidate will collect these documents and upload them to their designed TaskStream account.

The organization of E-Portfolio is governed by the State Board of Educator Certification standards and competencies, DBU/InTASC competencies, and DBU’s Educator Preparation Provider competencies in addition to specific field of study competencies.

The E-Portfolio will be used to assess your development as you proceed through your designated program. Candidates who do not have all required documents and “signature assessments” uploaded into TaskStream will not be allowed to proceed to the next level as designed by these Transition Points:

• Transition Point One: Requirements for Program Admission

• Transition Point Two: Requirements for Program Entrance

• Transition Point Three: Requirements for Program Continuance

• Transition Point Four: Requirements for Program Completion

• Transition Point Five: Requirements for Program Evaluation

It is the candidates’ responsibility to meet with their designed program director and/or advisor to discuss the E-Portfolio required documents, checkpoint scoring, foundational elements rubric, and the competency artifacts rubric.

NON-CERTIFICATION SEEKING STUDENTS

The following track in Special Education is available only to International Students or others not pursuing Texas State Certification.

International students and other students who have no teaching experience are expected to complete a minimum of 32 hours observing and assisting in school classrooms each semester. These hours may be served concurrently with courses that include school experiences or will be planned with the program director if no concurrent placement is available. (Courses that include school placements are SPED 5332 and SPED 6360. Additional courses include some hours in the classroom but are less than the required 32 hours.)

(S-L)=Course(s) with field-based service-learning component.

Refer to individual course descriptions for course requisites.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Find course descriptions by category under the Graduate Course Descriptions section in the navigation panel.