The purpose of the Historical Review Project is threefold:
1) to choose a special education leadership and administration topic/question and investigate the importance, significance, and impact of this chosen topic pertaining to its history, 2) to demonstrate knowledge and application of the current APA formatting and writing style, and 3) to be able to articulate a biblical worldview concerning the historical topic chosen.
INSTRUCTIONS
You will write a 1,500 word APA-formatted final paper in which you select a special
education topic and discuss how the treatment of the topic has changed over time. The paper
must include a title, abstract, and reference page. The paper must include a minimum of five
secondary scholarly sources. You must synthesize all research into a well-blended paper that
clearly addresses the research topic/question presented in your Historical Review Project:
Outline Assignment.
Paper Components:
1. Title Page
a. Title: The title summarizes the paper and its focus. The title must be clear
enough to give the reader an idea of what to expect in your paper. Avoid
statements that sound vague or flippant.
b. Other Title Page Information:
a. Student Name
b. Institution
2. Abstract
a. The abstract content is on its own page, following the title page.
b. Write a clear, concise, and grammatically sound paragraph (100–120 words).
c. The abstract is written last. The content is to be a synopsis of the main
findings of your paper. Consider this paragraph an abridged version of your
full paper.
3. Body Paragraphs and Headings
To ensure that your paper meets the requirements of the rubric, the following elements
must be clearly identified with headings.
Introduction
a. Although not labeled with a heading on your paper, this section will introduce
your topic and provide the specific research question that will be developed
throughout the paper (minimum of 250 words).
b. Discuss why you chose this particular Special Education topic and provide a
brief history of it. Give a broad overview of the scope of the work you are
reviewing.
c. Best practice is to place the research question at the end of the introduction. In
doing so, you are creating a transition to the rest of the paper that supports
your topic.
Importance
a. Why did you choose this topic?
b. What interested you in this topic?
c. Do you have any history with this topic?
Significance
a. Why is this topic significant or worthwhile to study?
b. What, if anything, can be learned from this topic?
Impact
a. How does this topic relate to current practices?
b. What important questions are answered/addressed/discussed at this present
time based on your topic?
c. Reflect on what has been learned from your study.
Biblical Worldview
a. From a biblical worldview, what are the issues this topic presents?
b. Offer alternative ideas which incorporate a solid biblical worldview. The use
of Scripture is appropriate in this section.
Conclusion
a. Your conclusion must relate to the introduction in some way so that your
paper displays coherence.
b. If your introduction includes a metaphor, quote, theme, etc., you may integrate
that content again.
c. A minimum of 250 words is expected.
4. References
1. Use at least five scholarly resources as your secondary resources as appropriate:
The Bible
Educational journals
Books you have read that have influenced your worldview or educational
philosophy
2. Do not use Wikipedia or other wiki-type pages as sources in an academic paper.
Because it is an open environment, the information is constantly being changed
by registered users and is not always reliable.
5. Point of View
When writing in current APA style, you may use the first-person point of view when
discussing your opinions or what you have learned from writing your paper (“I
learned…”).
6. Tense
Current APA style requires authors to use the past tense or present perfect tense when
using signal phrases to describe earlier research; for example, “Jones (1998) found…” or
“Jones (1998) has found…
”
7. Pronoun Usage
Common writing problems include pronoun-antecedent agreement and the gender issue
of “he or she.”
8. Gender Issue
If you repeatedly use singular antecedents and follow them up with masculine pronouns,
this technique is considered sexist. For example, “Each teacher should manage his own
classroom.” Also problematic is if you redundantly use “he or she” and “his or her.” (Do
not use “he/she” or “his/her.”)
9. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
a. Pronouns must agree in number with their antecedents. It is incorrect to write,
“Each teacher [singular] should manage their [plural] own classroom.”
b. To assist in avoiding both of these problems, it is recommended that you write in
plural as consistently as possible. For instance, use students, principals, teachers,
parents, schools, etc., instead of their singular counterparts. Follow these
antecedents up with “they” or “their.” This avoids the gender issue altogether.
c. When you find that you must use a singular, you may periodically use “he or she”
or simply restructure the sentence to avoid the “he or she” if possible. Rare use of
this phrase is acceptable.
10. Academic Integrity
Plagiarized papers will be rejected. The following tips will help you avoid any problems
with plagiarism:
a. Direct Quotations: No more than 10 percent of your paper may be made up of
direct quotations. Short quotations must be in quotation marks, and longer
quotations must be indented. If you do not set off direct quotations in this manner
and cite them, you have plagiarized.
b. Ideas and Facts: If the idea or fact is not your own, you must cite its source.
When not directly quoting, you must summarize or analyze the idea in your own
words