Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education, 15th edition

Published by Pearson (February 4, 2022) © 2023

  • Daniel P Hallahan University of Virginia
  • Paige C. Pullen University of Florida
  • James M. Kauffman University of Virginia

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For introductory courses in special education.

An introduction to the characteristics of exceptional learners and their education

Exceptional Learners focuses on students with exceptionalities and evidence-based classroom practices that help meet their individual needs. It examines the psychological, sociological and medical aspects of disabilities and giftedness, giving all educators a solid introduction to current special education theory, research and practice. Real-world features help readers develop a more sensitive understanding of exceptional learners and their families.

The 15th Edition features an enhanced focus on evidence-based content and extensive new coverage of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.

Hallmark features of this title

  • Misconceptions About Exceptional Learners debunk common myths about students with exceptionalities, helping readers understand their future students more clearly.
  • Peer Connections interviews of young adults with a disability give students a better understanding of exceptional learners later in life.
  • Success Stories highlight the knowledge and skills special educators use in the field.
  • How Can I Help? describes collaborations special and general education teachers can make to benefit students with disabilities.
  • Responsive Instruction boxes offer research-based strategies for teaching students with disabilities.
  • Up Close features individuals who serve as inspirational role models for all people, whether with a disability or not.

New and updated features of this title

Grounded in current research, issues and research-based practices

  • UPDATED: Focus on justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) in schools reflects the importance of promoting equitable educational opportunities for all students. Multicultural education is considered through a JEDI lens in a thoroughly updated Ch. 3 and throughout the text.
  • UPDATED: Evidence-based content includes over 400 new references to keep readers up to date on current research in special education and related fields.
  • UPDATED: Coverage of identification and assessment practices provides extensive discussion of RTI's role and effectiveness in assessment along with multitiered systems of support and prevention.
  • NEW: Up Close interviews and videos introduce Rebekah Lozano, who has traumatic brain injury, Jessica Richards, who has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and Jerron Herman, a dancer with cerebral palsy.
  • NEW: Coverage of the impact of COVID-19 on services for students with disabilities.

The LMS-Compatible Assessment Bank streamlines assessments and grading

  • NEW: Learning outcome quizzes, application exercises and automatically graded chapter tests can be assigned from a packaged file. Questions give students feedback and model responses based on their answers.

Features of Pearson eText for the 15th Edition

  • Video Examples, including 139 authentic classroom videos and interviews with experts in the field, expand on principles or concepts in each chapter. Video captions promote reflection, asking viewers to consider how they would respond to the situations presented.
  1. Exceptionality and Special Education
  2. Current Practices for Meeting the Needs of Exceptional Learners
  3. Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Special Education
  4. Parents and Families
  5. Learners with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
  6. Learners with Learning Disabilities
  7. Learners with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  8. Learners with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders
  9. Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders
  10. Learners with Communication Disorders
  11. Learners Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
  12. Learners with Blindness or Low Vision
  13. Learners with Low-Incidence, Multiple, and Severe Disabilities
  14. Learners with Physical Disabilities and Other Health Impairments
  15. Learners with Special Gifts and Talents

About our authors

Daniel P. Hallahan, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Education, University of Virginia. At UVA, Hallahan served as a department chair (twice), director of doctoral studies, and elected representative of the Curry School of Education (four three-year terms) to UVA's faculty senate. He held three endowed professorships, including the UVA Cavaliers' Distinguished Teaching Professorship. He received the UVA Outstanding Teaching Award and the Virginia State Council of Higher Education Outstanding Faculty Award. Hallahan was inaugural editor of Exceptionality and currently reviews for Exceptional Children, Learning Disability Quarterly, The Journal of Special Education, and Exceptionality. He is a past president of the Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). In 2000 he received the CEC Career Research Award. Hallahan's expertise covers a broad spectrum: learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, intellectual disabilities, blindness, deafness. Much of his early scholarship focused on cognitive strategy training for students with learning disabilities and ADHD. Most recently, he has focused on the need for more individualized, intensive special education instruction for students with disabilities. Hallahan is author of over 100 articles, over 40 chapters, and is coauthor or coeditor of 18 books, including Handbook of Special Education (2nd ed.) (with J. M. Kauffman & P. C. Pullen, Routledge, 2017) and Special Education: What It Is and Why We Need It (2nd ed.) (with J. M. Kauffman, P. C. Pullen, & J. Badar, Routledge, 2018). Some of his books have been translated into German, Spanish, Korean, and Arabic. Hallahan has taught thousands of pre-service and in-service teachers in the introductory course in special education, characteristics of students with learning disabilities, and characteristics of students with intellectual disabilities, as well as hundreds of Ph.D. students in research seminars.

Paige Cullen Pullen, Ph.D., is Chief Academic Officer at the University of Florida's (UF) Lastinger Center for Learning and a Research Professor in the School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies. In her role at UF, Pullen works closely with the Florida Department of Education to develop and implement a statewide comprehensive program for increasing the knowledge and skills of administrators, coaches, and teachers on the science of reading. Pullen's research focuses on early language and literacy development and interventions to prevent reading disability for vulnerable populations (e.g., cultural differences, poverty, rural living environments), as well as the educational outcomes of children with developmental disabilities. Prior to her position at the University of Florida, Pullen held a joint appointment at the University of Virginia's School of Medicine in Developmental Pediatrics and the Curry School of Education in Special Education (2001-2017). She earned her doctorate at the University of Florida in 2000, before which she had 12 years of K-12 teaching experience in general and special education. She has served as the Principal Investigator of federal and foundation-funded projects, has coauthored several books, including Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities, and Students with Learning Disabilities (with Cecil D. Mercer, Pearson, 2009; 2011), and has published book chapters, peer-reviewed articles, and presented papers focused on evidence-based reading instruction for students with disabilities. Pullen is Executive Editor of Exceptionality: A Special Education Journal (Taylor & Francis). She has also conducted reading research and professional development in Nigeria, Zambia and Botswana, Africa, as well as in the USA. Pullen is the recipient of the prestigious UVA Seven Society's Excellence in Mentoring Award (2011) and the Curry School Education Foundation's Most Outstanding Professor Award. Pullen has taught thousands of pre-service and in-service teachers in introductory courses in special education and language and literacy intervention for students with disabilities.

James M. Kauffman, Ed.D., is Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of Virginia. He is a past president of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) and the recipient of several awards, including the 1994 Research Award of the Council for Exceptional Children, the 2006 award of the Society for Applied Behavior Analysis for Presentation of Behavior Analysis in the Mass Media, and the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Kansas School of Education. His primary research interests are emotional and behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, and the history of and policy in special education. He has published over 100 articles in refereed journals, authored or coauthored dozens of book chapters, and is author, coauthor, or coeditor of more than 30 books, including Characteristics of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders of Children and Youth (11th ed.) (with Timothy J. Landrum, Pearson, 2018), Handbook of Special Education (2nd ed.) (with D. P. Hallahan & P. C. Pullen, Routledge, 2017), Special Education: What It Is and Why We Need It (2nd ed.) (with J. M. Kauffman, P. C. Pullen, & J. Badar, Routledge, 2018), and On educational inclusion: Meanings, history, issues and international perspectives, Routledge, 2020. He is also the editor of several forthcoming books. In his career, Kauffman has taught thousands of pre-service and in-service teachers in courses on emotional and behavioral disorders and behavior management, as well as hundreds of Ph.D. students in doctoral seminars.

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