Special education teacher reviewing an assignment with high school student

Academic Program

Special Education

Apply a person-centered approach to education, including all people with disabilities in school and society.

Our Special Education program prepares highly-qualified and competent special education teachers, behavior analysts, and researchers who contribute to positive outcomes for individuals with diverse needs. Students learn effective methods for supporting and advocating for individuals with disabilities through their work with faculty who are noted experts in autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, multilingual learners, and emotional behavioral disorders.

Guiding Principles

The philosophy that underlies the program curriculum and faculty activities includes the following:

Data-driven Approach 

The program offers a data-driven approach to teacher education with an emphasis on using data to individualize and monitor instruction. Graduate students in the program gain expertise in using student data for curriculum development, selecting instructional strategies, and planning behavioral support that are applicable to students with a variety of needs, including those with learning disabilities, emotional/behavioral disorders, intellectual disability, physical disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, traumatic brain injury and other disabilities.

Experiential Learning

The best way to learn how to teach and support individuals with disabilities is through a combination of course work and direct experience. All course work in special education involves fieldwork experiences. The program is affiliated with university-operated programs and local schools that provide opportunities for student funding and fieldwork.

Preventive and Proactive Strategies 

The most successful approaches for individuals with disabilities focus on prevention. Programming should focus on early identification and intervention to avoid the development of serious challenges. Interventions should build supportive environments that are instructive and maximize positive learning opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

Person-centered

Programs and educational experiences for individuals with disabilities should encourage self-determination and competence. Skills that facilitate autonomy and personal freedom are critical. Our faculty are committed to the enhancement of quality of life for people with disabilities.

Innovative

Our faculty are uniquely involved in the development of research-supported and innovative practices. As researchers, they investigate new instructional methods and ways of supporting students with disabilities. All of our students learn to design instruction and other forms of support based on research and best practices. Opportunities to collaborate with faculty on research endeavors are available to doctoral students.

Accreditation

The Special Education programs have met the rigorous criteria and standards designed by the following governing boards to provide a top education for our students.

Centennial School teacher working with Student

Centennial School

Many of our current master’s students who are pursuing their Special Education master’s degree and/or certification work at our highly acclaimed and nationally recognized lab school, Centennial School. Centennial School offers our graduate students optimal opportunities to be engaged in hands-on learning and immersed in evidence-based practices including positive behavior support strategies and data-based explicit instruction. Learn more.

Learn More

Special Education Spotlight

  • Sara Kangas

    Kangas Receives Prestigious Grant from the Spencer Foundation

    Sara Kangas, program director of COE's Special Education and ESL programs, has received a grant from the Spencer Foundation through its prestigious Large Grants program. Kangas and Jamie Schissel, an associate professor of Teacher Education and Higher Education at UNC Greensboro, are the principal investigators for the project titled, "Individualized Language Plans for Multilingual Learners with Disabilities: Investigating Implementation and Stakeholder Perspectives."

  • Jennifer Lauriello

    Lauriello Mixes Teaching, Mentorship and Research to Create a Career in Behavior Analysis

    Jennifer Lauriello oversees clinical operations for Lehigh University Autism Services (LUAS) and  provides supervision for the Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) who work directly with clients.

    Working at LUAS and enrolling in the COE’s Special Education doctoral program have allowed Lauriello to grow her clinical skill set, while developing and implementing interventions in a clinical setting. Her position also allows her to teach future clinicians and LUAS staff  to incorporate naturalistic interventions with clients.

  • McFadden Recognized as Outstanding Scholar, Receives Candace S. Bos Innovative Project Grant

    Special Education doctoral student Kimberly McFadden is back in the news with another grant award. She was recently awarded a Candace S. Bos Innovative Project Grant through the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)’s Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD). McFadden's research focuses on word reading intervention for students with reading difficulty in the upper grades. Congratulations, Kimberly!

  • COE_News_Story_Chen_Shi.jpg

    Supporting Parents of Children with Behavioral Challenges

    Chen Shi’s research is focused on helping children with emotional behavioral disorder and ADHD, and their families.

    Shi is happy she chose Lehigh’s College of Education for her doctoral work. “Lehigh is such a supportive environment—especially my program,” she says. “All the students are my allies—if I have a question, I either knock on a faculty door or I text my cohort,” she says. “It's a tight group that supports each other.”

Faculty & Staff