BARRIERS TO EDUCATION

Career and Technical Education (CTE) disciplines, such as technology education, give students an understanding of technology and its impacts on the environment. Some of the strategies which augment the efficacy of theses courses for students are interpreting the practice of operating, designing and utilizing technologies which influence the environment including its people and the societies they comprise.
The pragmatic nature of technology education (formerly industrial arts) has historically been credited for creating environments in which all students could thrive. The classroom setting coupled with modular laboratory activities made it necessary for technology education teachers to be among the forerunners in removing barriers to education and assuring a safe and effective teaching learning environment for all students, including students with disabilities to join their peers in general education courses. Consequently, technology education teachers continue to incorporate a multiplicity of strategies coupled with the real-world problem solving methods it espouses to remedy barriers to education.
One of the most powerful tools enlisted in the battle against educational barriers in the United States has been Landmark legislation such as the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). It has been more than a quarter of a century since the passing of IDEA. Since that time the United States has become one of the nations leading the world in developing and implementing services, early interventions, programs and special education for record numbers of individuals with disabilities. Other benefits resulting from these legislations include educating more students in neighborhood schools, and increased rates of high school graduation. Additionally, there are three times more students with disabilities enrolled in post secondary education and twice as many students with disabilities engaged in gainful employment compared to this demographic before these legislations were passed (USDOE, 2003).
Other tools which have been effectively utilized to help eradicate educational barriers include educational strategies, guides and interventions which were developed and implemented by educators and administrators from a broad spectrum of disciplines. These innovative approaches to education can be utilized to help minimize the effects of tangible barriers to education. Consequently, this will provide educators the opportunity to better serve the increasing numbers of students with disabilities in CTE and other general education courses.