Overview

The book identifies and analyzes important yet insufficiently explored moral issues in k-12 special education. It aims to achieve a successful combination of experience and theory. The experience comes from the many years the author was an Illinois special education due process hearing officer (1987-2007). The theory comes from the even more years he taught and did scholarly work in the areas of moral, political, legal, and educational philosophy as a philosophy professor (1969-2012). Each of the moral issues considered in the book figured importantly in one or more of the most significant disputes the author was called upon to adjudicate. Throughout the book he draws upon important concepts in moral, political, legal, and educational philosophy as conceptual resources. He considers these concepts invaluable for analyzing moral issues, especially when a person experiences discomfort caused by a sense that an issue is morally problematic but finds it hard to articulate the crux of the issue. Throughout the book, however the author has tried hard to write in language that readers unfamiliar with the terminology and discourse style of philosophy can understand, and always to make it apparent why and how particular philosophical points bear upon important moral issues in k-12 special education.

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9781475855340

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Reviews

Dr. Ladenson challenges us to contemplate the fundamental aims of public education and its purpose in serving those who are most in need. His work is groundbreaking as it relates to the moral obligation we hold to our students classified with disabilities. He provides hope for those who need it most.--Matthew C. Williams Ph.D., principal of Henninger High School, Syracuse, New York, and former director of special education, Syracuse City school district Robert Ladenson has written an important and much needed book for the field of special education, one that should be read by practitioners, policy makers, and academics. Professor Ladenson's focus on philosophical theories of social justice helps us understand better the moral arguments underlying difficult issues in the education of children with disabilities and provides persuasive, morally justifiable ways of resolving them.--Lois A. Weinberg, professor and coordinator of the joint doctoral program in special education, Special Education and Counseling, California State University, Los Angeles In this book, Bob Ladenson articulates well the justification, morally and logically, for universal quality free public education, and for students with disabilities in particular. His years of experience as a special education hearing officer, and an academic philosopher and ethicist provide a unique vantage point for this analysis. He blends philosophy with individual examples from his work, giving the reader the benefit of understanding both the theory and the real world application. I intend on using this in my classes.--Julie Underwood, Susan Engeleiter Professor of Education Law, Policy, and Practice; and Dean Emerita, School of Education, University of Wisconsin

In this book, Bob Ladenson articulates well the justification, morally and logically, for universal quality free public education, and for students with disabilities in particular. His years of experience as a special education hearing officer, and an academic philosopher and ethicist provide a unique vantage point for this analysis. He blends philosophy with individual examples from his work, giving the reader the benefit of understanding both the theory and the real world application. I intend on using this in my classes.--Julie Underwood, Susan Engeleiter Professor of Education Law, Policy, and Practice; and Dean Emerita, School of Education, University of Wisconsin

Author Information

Robert F. Ladenson is Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He was an Illinois Special Education Due Process Hearing Officer (1987-2007).

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