Including Students with Special Needs

Marilyn Friend, Ph.D., has spent her career as a general education teacher, special education teacher, researcher, professor, administrator, teacher educator, and staff developer. She is Professor Emerita of Education in the Department of Specialized Education Services at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and she is Past President of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving the educational success of children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents. Dr. Friend has consulted with school professionals nationally and internationally (more than 3000 presentations and projects in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia) as they collaborate to educate their students, assisting them to create classroom partnerships through co-teaching, to form productive and efficient work teams, and to foster inclusive practices. She is the author or co-author of three widely used college textbooks on special education; a variety of co-teaching materials for teachers and administrators; more than 60 articles and chapters about collaboration, inclusive practices, and co-teaching; and a highly popular video series on co-teaching and other inclusive practices. Her work as a special education teacher education was recognized when she was named the 2016 recipient of the Teacher Education Division/Pearson Excellence in Special Education Teacher Education Award.

William Bursuck began his career as a general education teacher, and as a special education teacher and university teacher educator he has maintained an active interest in inclusive practices, publishing numerous research articles, successfully obtaining grants to conduct research, and publishing two books. Throughout his career, Dr. Bursuck has derived great satisfaction from providing classroom and future teachers with practical, research-based strategies to improve educational outcomes for students with special needs in this age of ever-increasing educational standards and teacher accountability. He is Professor Emeritus, Department of Specialized Education Services, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is the co-author (with Mary Damer) of Teaching Reading to Students Who Are At-Risk or Have Disabilities: A Multi-Tier Approach (3rd Edition, Pearson, 2015).