Still other special educators will pursue doctoral level studies in special education. There are currently over 150 programs preparing special educators at the doctoral level. Like all other preparation programs, CEC expects doctoral programs to demonstrate their quality through CEC performance-based recognition.
Of interest is the fact that independently NCATE has likewise made the accreditation of advanced programs a priority focus.
Assuring Ethical Professional Practice Central to any profession is its will to abide by a set of ethical principles and standards. As professionals serving individuals with exceptionalities, special educators possess a special trust. As such, special educators have a responsibility to be guided by their professional principles and practice standards. Appendix 4 contains the CEC Code of Ethics and Standards by which professional special educators practice. The Code of Ethics has eight fundamental ethical premises to which special educators are bound. The Standards for Professional Practice describe the principles special educators use in carrying out daily responsibilities. The Professional Practice Standards are how special educa-
tors measure their own and each other’s professional excellence. It is incumbent on all special educators to understand and use these standards in all aspects of their professional practice. CEC first approved the Ethics and Professional Practice Standards in 1983 and charged the PSPC to implement them. They are published in Section 1 of What Every Special Educator Must Know, as well as on the CEC Web site. Special education preparation programs routinely use the Ethics and Practice Standards to help prepare special education candidates.
Assuring Quality Professional Services CEC is currently developing procedures for identifying and disseminating quality service standards that will assure the conditions to permit special educators
to deliver quality professional services. The reader is invited to visit the professional standards page on the CEC Web site for progress in this area.
References Billingsley, B. S. (2005 cited as 2006). Cultivating and keeping committed special education teachers: What principals and district leaders can do. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.
Council for Exceptional Children. (2002a). CEC professional policy section four part 3 special purpose resolutions and government actions: Position on preparation program accountability. Arlington, VA: Author.
Boe, E. E., Cook, L. H., & Sunderland, R. J. (2008). Teacher turnover in special and general education: Exit attrition, teaching area transfer, and school migration. Exceptional Children, 75, 7-31.
Council for Exceptional Children. (2002b). CEC professional policy section four part 3 special purpose resolutions and government actions: Position on academic subject matter content of the general curriculum and special educators. Arlington, VA: Author.
Bonnie, S. B. (2004, cited as 2006). Special education teacher retention and attrition: A critical analysis of the research literature. Journal of Special Education, 38, 39-55. Council for Exceptional Children. (2000). Bright futures for exceptional learners: An agenda to achieve quality conditions for teaching and learning. Reston, VA: Author.
Council for Exceptional Children. (2003). What Every Special Educator Must Know: Ethics, Standards, and Guidelines for Special Educators. Reston, VA: Author Council of Chief State School Officers. (2001). Model standards for licensing general and special education teachers of students with disabilities: A resource for state dialogue.
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