An evaluation study of an undergraduate special education endorsement program in Southern Colorado

Special education is a high need area in the Nation and in Colorado. It is imperative that highly qualified special educators are trained to meet the high demands in public special education. To meet this need one college in Southern Colorado developed an undergraduate endorsement program in special education. This study is an evaluation of this program.;The researcher supplemented data from existing program documents with course observations and interviews with instructors and program participants to develop an understanding of the training received; an external evaluator independently reviewed the program data as well.;The undergraduate special education generalist program was judged to have merit and worth by the researcher, the stakeholders and the external evaluator. The program courses and student teaching experience are useful and relevant in providing students with a good foundation to meet many requirements of special education teaching. As in many educational settings, there is room for improvement in the program. Participants believed that they received a good education within the program to meet the needs of students with disabilities.