EDUC 673 Crawford_External_Influences_on_Education_Timeline_ ESSAY 2021.pdf

EXTERNAL INFLUENCES ON EDUCATION TIMELINE

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External Influences on Education Timeline

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Abstract

Throughout history there are examples of political, economic, and social events that helped

shape the educational content, delivery process, and overall inclusion strategies in the field of

education. As recently as this past year with the Covid-19 pandemic, we are seeing how the field

key to being a successful business is being able to adapt and change as the consumer needs adapt

and change over time. In education, our product stays the same, but the way we deliver the

information and the resources and services students have available, as well as how we measure

student success has seen the most radical changes throughout history.

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External Influences on Education Timeline

special education services to all students. The first law truly addressing the access all students

should have to an education regardless of their disabilities. The law was the foundation for

amendments in 1990, 1998, and 2004 that all continued to focus on the access that students with

special needs would have in education.

40% of additional costs to provide these services. This changed the way public schools treated

and provided for special needs children, and this was the first law of its kind that focused on

special needs individuals. Unknowingly at the time, this created the needs for dedicated teachers

to help serve these students which in turn created more jobs within the educational system. The

law also provided families a safety net of support for navigating the new law. “Congress included

an elaborate system of legal checks and balances called “procedural safeguards” that are

designed to protect the rights of children and their parents” (Wright, 2021)

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modifications and accommodations. This step towards full inclusion no meant that parents with

students who have disabilities were not longer cast out as different, and the overall treatment of

people with disabilities drastically changed in a positive way for the first time.

Second Event: 1983.

External Influence: Political

President Reagan establishes the National Commission on Excellence in Education. The

Commission’s report, A Nation at Risk, calls for K-12 reform (1983). Created more standardized

testing across grade-levels, increase in time spent on science, mathematics, and technology, but

areas. Those areas included; greater accountability in terms of student achievement, standardized

testing across all grade levels, greater time for science, mathematics and technology, longer

school days, longer school year, and more homework, and higher graduation requirements.

Cristine Patterson states that “the focus on character, content and choice that developed from A

Nation at Risk set the agenda for education reform over the past 35 years. They created the

framework for debate about the need for testing and accountability and for choice-based

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desperate need for more blanket policy for instruction and testing. Encouraging more uniform

standards is not a bad thing on the surface, but I am of the belief that when you have blanket

policies to fit any large group it very rarely gives the results you were hoping to find. There is no

one size fits all policy, and when the Federal Government began inserting itself in public

education, it created a slippery slope that we are still fighting with each and every new

administration.

Third Event: 1990

External Influence: Advocacy Group

Summary of the Event

transition services for students, and added autism and traumatic brain injury to the eligibility list.

Impact on Education

The IDEA website states that the following changes happened in 1990, “changed the

law’s name from EHA to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. It also added

traumatic brain injury and autism as new disability categories. Additionally, Congress mandated

that as a part of a student’s individualized education program (IEP), an individual transition plan

(ITP) must be developed to help the student transition to post-secondary life.” (IDEA, 2020)

Personal Thoughts on Influence

From 1975 to 1990, we were able to see a massive shift in understanding how to best

serve students with disabilities. As a Special Education Teacher I believe finding different ways

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education as a whole is still being felt to this day. We are constantly updating and improving the

laws and protections for our students with disabilities.

is passed and signed into law, replacing the Perkins IV Act of 2006. The Alliance for Excellent

Education stated, “provides states and local communities with the opportunity to be creative in

ensuring that all young people—particularly those from historically underserved groups—are

ED, Perkins 2021)

Impact on Education

CTE because of the impressive results from the students and the local economies. “Perkins

V forces states to spend 85% of all of their allocated funds on individual communities, allowing

the state to reserve up to 15% of their total grant” (Zook, 2019). This legislation places an

enormous emphasis on building local communities with a local reserve fund, and gives school

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skill or trade during their time in high school. Providing funds to schools to allow for certain

programs and partnerships within the community to pour into the next wave of skilled workers

before they graduate high school is helping our students make career decisions and become more

prepared than ever before. We are also able to introduce our middle school aged students to the

different pathways early on so they can experience many different avenues before committing to

one specific career field.

Fifth Event: 1965.

External Influence: Business and Economic Impact

Summary of the Event

in a school district through the Title I part of the act. Funding varies from one-fourth to one-half

included more support services for math and reading for children who were in low-income

housing areas, as well as objective testing measures and evaluation measures on the student

achievement in a majority of elementary and middle schools across the United States. The

negative impact is that the evaluation measures would have a significant impact on student

assessment and how those funds would be properly allocated.

Personal Thoughts on Influence

systems to change across the country. First, the stipulation on integration to be eligible for a

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larger portion of federal funding pushed those that were on the fence about integration to fully

jump in with two feet. Second, providing support services for low income areas as well as the

evaluation of the achievement yielded both positive and negative outcomes. Any time you tie

funding to achievement, you worry about how the students achievement is truly being measured.

end of year tested well in understanding the order of the operations they would still be

considered below grade-level for their age group. Ultimately though, you could argue that the

student achieved a massive learning goal and had a very productive school year as a student.

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References

Wright, P. W. (2021, January 3). The History of Special Education Law in the United States by

Peter W.D. Wright, Esq. - Wrightslaw. The History of Special Education Law.

https://www.wrightslaw.com/law/art/history.spec.ed.law.htm

Zook, C. (2019, April). The 5 Parts of Perkins V Every Teacher Should Know. Applied-

Educational-Systems. https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/the-5-parts-of-perkins-v-

every-teacher-should-know