Special Education in Contemporary Society: An Introduction to Exceptionality

by Richard M. Gargiulo

Providing teachers with a firsthand look into the lives of children with exceptionalities, as well as their families and educators, this fully updated Fourth Edition of Richard Gargiulo’s acclaimed text provides a highly readable, research-based introduction to the field. Blending theory with practice, the book helps pre-service and in-service teachers develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs they’ll need to construct learning environments that make it possible for all students to reach their potential.  

Genres: Education, Textbooks, Nonfiction, Teaching, School

728 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2002

Reviews

[Kate♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5stars

*dabs* I cant believe I actually read this textbook all the way through

this textbook but also this class (Special Education) was a JOY. I ADORED taking this this semester and it's definitely been one of my favorite classes I've taken. Highly recommend taking an intro to special ed if you can cause it's a joy!

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an assigned text.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a textbook, so naturally the writing can seem dry. I enjoyed this book, however, and found it highly informative and incredibly useful. I feel it was most applicable for elementary education, and while it touched on higher grades and adult life, the focus remained on elementary education.

The book calls itself "An Introduction to Exceptionality" and does indeed provide a solid introduction. It looks at people and their abilities, disabilities, strengths, and needs. It talks about students in the greater context of school, society, and families. It looks at programs, practices, laws, history, and educational considerations. Individual chapters focus on specific needs such as learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, ADHD, visual and hearing impairments, speech and language impairments, and physical disabilities, to name a few. The last chapter also focuses on another population with unique needs: gifted and talented students.

All in all, this is a very quality textbook and it is written at a level that is both well-informed and informative.

[Mikayla Beckman]

I read this textbook for my FIRST class about special education in college (yay!). This textbook reminded me of a high school textbook. The content was very self-explanatory and sometimes worded poorly. Overall, I didn't hate having to read this over the course of the semester as the material was incredibly easy, however, I also can't say that I learned much from this textbook either.

[J.R. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative and clear descriptions of LDs.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent text. It is easy to read with great current information about the field. It is helpful for both teachers and social workers.

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to read for clasd

[Alison Melville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, this is a textbook. I’m counting it because it’s the only book I read this month, and I did read the whole thing. 😆

[teacupsandunicorns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes dense, other times meandering.

Sometimes the authors insert their opinions, which honestly was unnecessary and unneeded. But otherwise great info.

[jacky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good as far as textbooks are concerned. The first section is very dry, but the chapters on the actual categories of disabilities are interesting and useful.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent primer for the Praxis II 0543 exam! Very thorough and very well organized.

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this was a very thorough book, the lack of focus on secondary education was disappointing. I felt an elementary teacher can garner more from this book than a secondary teacher.

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of information presented in a clear and readable way.

[Anne Hendricks · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent textbook on the subject of special education in the classroom.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmmmmmm.......nothing to say

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and reader friendly (for a textbook anyway).