Department of Special Education

Doctoral Program Example Cognates

Teacher Education Cognate

The University of South Florida offers a 12-hour doctoral cognate in teacher education to prepare doctoral students for roles as education professors, administrators of university teacher education programs, and school district staff development specialists. Graduates with this cognate come to understand the totality of teacher development. Through the coursework and experiences designed as part of this cognate, doctoral students engage in reading, discussion and examination of the components of teacher preparation programs, the range of philosophical and technical underpinnings of program models, the standards that drive the teacher education experience, the external and internal forces and factors that shape how we think about curriculum in higher education and program alternatives, and the trends, issues and problems that teacher educators encounter when doing their work. Contact Jeannie Kleinhammer-Tramill for more information.

Gifted Education and Talent Development

A cognate area entitled Gifted Education and Talent Development is proposed for the Doctoral Program with an Emphasis in Urban Special Education to prepare leaders who will integrate the roles of researchers, teacher educators, and school leaders to improve the lives of children with gifts and talents with an emphasis on systemic change in urban and other settings.

Upon admission to the doctoral program, students with an interest in a Gifted Education cognate area will meet with faculty with expertise in the cognate area to ascertain basic content in gifted education needed prior to taking the advanced coursework. All five of the existing Master's Level courses are available on line; thus, an individualized plan of studies can easily be developed and offered to students.

Administration and Policy Cognate

This 12 semester hour cognate is being cooperatively planned and will be delivered as series of courses to be offered by the Education Leadership and Special Education Departments. A total of approximately 8-9 course options will be offered in the areas of school law, school finance, education administration , and special education administration, including an internship option. Specific courses would be negotiated on a student-by-student basis with the doctoral student, their major professor, and at least one faculty member from the cognate area. Depending upon the student's academic and career plans, the course work could simultaneously be applied toward Florida certification in Education Leadership and support student careers as school district special education directors; state, regional, and national policy and other leadership positions, or with professional organizations or interest groups working on behalf of students with disabilities.

Research and Behavior Systems

This proposed cognate in the Special Education doctoral program will be developed on an individualized basis for students wishing to acquire advanced knowledge and experience with research and program development related to the behavioral adaptation of children and adolescents with disabilities. The 12-hour cognate will be built around the student's academic and professional background and designed to further the student's research goals and career development. Existing and special topics courses, as well as independent studies, will comprise the cognate. The topics may include positive behavior support, applied behavior analysis, school-wide and classroom-wide systems of motivation and discipline, advanced study of pertinent research designs (e.g., case study and single-subject designs), interventions for promoting students' social and emotional well-being, interdisciplinary and wraparound processes, and/or other related subjects and themes.

Instructional and Distance Learning Technologies

This cognate would help prepare leaders in the field who will create knowledge required to successfully integrate technology in special education and who will function as change agents within this field. This cognate is designed to prepare doctoral students to apply technological approaches/distance education technology to the teaching and learning processes.

The following cognates are being developed as options for doctoral students in this program. Although student options will not be limited to what we are developing, each of these options fits the philosophy and purpose of the program in urban special education.