Perspectives and Challenges in Training Personnel to Serve Low Incidence Populations: Blindness & Visual Impairment

1. Perspectives and Challenges in Training Personnel to Serve Low Incidence Populations: Blindness & Visual Impairment 2006 OSEP Project Directors' ConferenceWashington, DC Kathleen Mary Huebner, Ph. D. Professor & Associate Dean Pennsylvania College of Optometry Director, National Center for Leadership in Visual Impairment

2. Outline of Presentation • Incidence – “The Count” • Personnel Crisis – Teachers-O&M-Leadership • Complexity & Personnel Preparation Shortage • Teacher & O&M Preparation & Job Requirements • Additional Challenges • Personnel Production • PCO & Other Master’s Degree & Certificate Program Strategies • Leadership Preparation Challenges and NCLVI

3. Incidence of Visual Impairment • 1 in 500 children has a visual impairment serious enough to be classified as partially sighted • 1 in 1000 can be classified as legally blind • IDEA - .05% of school-age population served as visually impaired

4. Magnitude of the Inaccurate Count (NCLID)

5. Based on a recommended 8::1 student-teacher ratio 11,700 teachers + 11,700 O&M specialists needed by 2010 (Mason, Davidson & McNerney, 2000) Annually producing approximately 200 teachers and 90 O&M specialists (http://nclid.unco.edu/newnclid/multiYrSum.php?itemid=613&blogid=131) 14 Active VI Doctoral Programs in US (Ferrell, 2004) Annually producing on average 4 doctorates (http://nclid.unco.edu/newnclid/multiYrSum.php?itemid=613&blogid=131) 72 Leaders with Doctorates needed in next 5 years (Huebner & Wormsley, 2005) The Problem-Personnel Shortage Crisis

6. New Specialists Per State, 2003-04 • 4.0 Teachers • 2.6 O&M Instructors • .4 Dual-certified Teachers/O&M • .8 Deafblind Teachers (http://nclid.unco.edu/newnclid/state200304.php?itemid=616&blogid=132)

7. Compensatory Skills, braille, communication modes, etc., Orientation & Mobility Social Interaction Skills Independent Living Skills Recreation and Leisure Skills Career Education Use of Assistive Technology Visual Efficiency Skills Self-Determination (Huebner, Merk-Adam, Stryker, & Wolffe, 2004) Teacher preparation involves: Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC)

8. Teacher +O&M preparation & work involves: • CEC or ACVREP Competencies • More credit hours • Fieldwork/Practicum & Internships • Addressing needs of 0-21 year old diverse & heterogeneous population of students including those with multiple disabilities • No two alike • Teaching in all types of settings from inclusion public schools, agencies, organizations, private schools, special schools, resource rooms, homebound, itinerant, teacher consultant, private contract, & most often supervised by non-blindness professionals

9. Some Additional Challenges • Increased demands on teachers, O&M Specialists, & Leadership personnel • Multi-competency programs take more knowledge, skill & time • Research based practices are hard to come by and document • Funding is not keeping up with increased tuition & other costs • Blind & VI children are “devalued” by society & ed. systems • Online programs still a “new teaching and learning” experience • Fewer full-time students (or more full-time employed & often already employed in jobs for which they are being trained) • Implications of “highly qualified” • Recruitment & retention into personnelpreparation & jobs

10. University Programs in Blindness States in the Northeast Regional Center for Vision Education (n = 6) States with university programsin both TSVI and O&M (n = 11) States with University programs in TSVI (n = 15)

11. All Personnel Types

12. New Completers (NCLID)

13. PCO Strategies – Master and Certificate Programs • Collaboration • Partnerships [OR, OK, WV, OH, MN, TN, GA, MD, IN, PA] • Quality-Programs & Staff • Adherence & beyond to required competencies • Flexibility • Multiple funding sources • Development & production of CDs • On-campus & on-line programs; all on-line programs require some face-to-face classes • Full complement of VI Programs, TVI, O&M, VRT, & LVR promotes degree with multiple certificates

14. Other Strategies Being Used • New England Regional Approach- • The Northeast Regional Center for Vision Education (NERVE) http://www.nercve.umb.edu/index.php?page=home • Distant education using various strategies; on-line, satellite programs; weekend classes; video; CD ROM; video conferencing, teleconferencing, etc. • National Center for Low-Incidence Disabilities (NCLID)- Data collection and sharing; repository for course materials that can be shared by IHE’s; Information exchange, knowledge advancement, etc. http://nclid.unco.edu/newnclid/index.php

15. 5 Objectives • Develop theCollaborative Model • Facilitate Preparation of Leadership Personnel • Enrich the Preparation of Leadership Personnel • Evaluate NCLVI-Program and Mode • Disseminate Information about NCLVI Model

16. NCLVI Collaborating Components

17. All 14 University Consortium Members with VI Doctoral ProgramsNCLVI 2006-07 Cohort Group of 21

18. Collaboration at Graduate and Post- Graduate Levels Promotes • Healthy competition vs. cannibalism • Sharing of resources—human, financial, & other • Building a community of practice within & beyond the IHEs • Better use of federal dollars • Greater opportunity for state participation in needs assessment, recruitment, program content, & financial support • One person programs become multi-site, multi-delivery programs increasing learning opportunities for students • Decrease competition – increase professional partnerships • Stronger programs, easy access to variety of human resources with wide range of expertise • Increased likelihood of joint research/national research efforts • Possibly more teachers with higher quality outcomes

19. For further information: Kathleen Mary Huebner, Ph. D. Professor & Associate Dean Graduate Studies in Vision Impairment PA College of Optometry 8360 Old York Road Elkins Park, PA. 19027National Center for Leadership in Visual Impairmentwww.pco.edu/nclvi.htmorkathyh@pco.edu