Chapter 16: Family as Faculty in a Special Education Teacher Preparation Course

I teach a special education course on families to preservice special education teachers (PSETs).Embedded within this 16-week semester course are four Family as Faculty (FAF) workshops. FAF is anapproach adapted from healthcare for special education teacher preparation programs (Harvard FamilyResearch Project, 2000). In alignment with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which mandates the rights of parents to participate in educational decision-making regarding their child with a disability, FAF families are positioned as leaders and experts in the preparation of teachers. Research on FAF shows that the approach leads to improved communication and collaborationbetween teachers and families of children with disabilities (Patterson et al., 2009).