Samuel A. Kirk (1904-1996)

By Sommer Bianchi

Samuel A. Kirk (1904-1996) was an American educator and psychologist who was known for creating educational programs for special needs children [1]. He is thought of as the “father of special education” for both working to create the term “learning disability” and creating ways for all children to receive state education. He was born on September 1st, 1904, in Rugby, North Dakota [2]. His parents were farmers, and his first experience with teaching came from instructing illiterate farmers on how to read [3]. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Chicago in 1929 [4]. He then attended the University of Michigan, where he completed a Master's in 1931 and a Doctorate in 1935 [5]. Kirk’s career spanned over 60 years, and he received multiple awards, such as the Association for Children with Learning Disabilities Annual Award and the International Milestone Award from the International Federation of Learning Disabilities [6]. 

Kirk’s focus on children with intellectual disabilities began during his PhD research. His work as a research psychologist at the Wayne County Training School in Northville, Michigan [7]. Kirk realized that education for those who had intellectual disabilities was limited to their caretakers, and wanted to develop both programs and tools to make sure that those children could also receive education [8].  He continued to teach reading to children with learning difficulties through the 1930s [9]. Kirk wrote multiple books on the subject, including Educating Exceptional Children and Teaching Reading to Slow Learning Children, in which he first mentions the term ‘learning disabilities’. [9]. Kirk joined the Milwaukee State Teachers College as the director of the Division of Education for Exceptional Children until 1947 [10]. After this, he became a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and founded the Institute for Research on Exceptional Children [11]. He retired from the University of Illinois in 1968 and moved to Tucson, Arizona, joining the University of Arizona as a professor until his death on July 21, 1996 [12]. 

Kirk’s work on learning disabilities is especially influential due to his profession as a psychologist. Early writing and research about learning disabilities were conducted by doctors rather than teachers or psychologists, and this led to a focus on physical reasoning and solutions, such as eyesight and glasses [13]. Kirk’s experience as both a psychologist and a teacher allowed him to search for other causes for learning difficulties and find other tools and solutions. His work was essential to standardizing the terminology and system of special education. His speech in 1963 is particularly famous as he is considered the first person to define what a ‘learning disability’ is, distinguishing it from the general category of intellectual disabilities [14]. This provided both the theoretical framework and language used by special education programs and research [15]. Kirk also created the first test for learning disabilities, known as the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities, which measured language, cognitive abilities, and memory in children. [16]. Kirk’s work is filled with his hopes for the future of special education, including creating several ways to conduct special education classes and creating new courses that bridge the gap between regular education and special education [17]. His aspirations for the future include discussions still held within the special education and disabled communities today. This includes the helpfulness of a focus on labels rather than an analysis of an individual's behavior and the impacts of socio-economic class and race on the diagnosis of children and their placement within special education classes [18].

Kirk’s work was also in the government as well as the classroom. His 1963 speech caught the attention of President John F. Kennedy [19]. He was then appointed as the director of the Division of Handicapped Children within the Office of Education [20]. He held this position in 1963 and 1964 [21]. His work here included advocacy for more funding from Congress for resources like teacher training [22]. He also helped establish laws that require access to appropriate public education for all children, including the 1969 Children with Specific Learning Disabilities Act, which helped spread awareness about special education [22]. 

Samuel A. Kirk was a pioneer in the creation of special education and the study of learning disabilities. His achievements allow for many children, then and today, to receive federal education in the United States, and his work continues to be influential in the development of special education and the perception of learning disabilities. 

Further Reading:

Danforth, Scot, Laura Slocum, and Jennifer Dunkle. “Turning the Educability Narrative: Samuel A. Kirk at the Intersection of Learning Disability and ‘Mental Retardation.’” Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 48, no. 3 (2010): 180–94. https://doi.org/10.1352/1944-7558-48.3.180. 

Hopkins, Nicholas. “Samuel Kirk: The Birth of Special Education.” In Engine of Innovation: The University of Illinois, edited by Frederick E. Hoxie, 213–14. The University of Illinois, 2017.

Kirk, Samuel A. “Learning Disabilities: A Historical Note .” Academic Therapy 17, no. 1 (1981): 5–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/105345128101700101. 

Kirk, Samuel A., and Winifred D. Kirk. “On Defining Learning Disabilities.” Journal of Learning Disabilities 16, no. 1 (1983): 20–21.

Mather, Nancy, and Richard J. Morris. “What Samuel A. Kirk Really Said about Mental Retardation and Learning Disabilities: A Response to Danforth, Slocum, and Dunkle.” Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 49, no. 2 (2011): 113–19. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-49.2.113. 

Citations:

1. Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell and Lana Collet-Klingenberg, Education (Sage Publications, 2011), 166-8.

2. “Samuel Kirk,” Illinois Distributed Museum (University of Illinois Urbana-Campaign, n.d.), https://distributedmuseum.illinois.edu/exhibit/samuel_kirk/.

3.  “Samuel Kirk” website; Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 166. 

4. Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 166.

5. Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 167. 

6. Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 167-8. 

7. Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 167.

8. Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 166. 

9. James C. Chalfant, “Introduction,” in The Foundations of Special Education: Selected Papers and Speeches of Samuel A. Kirk, ed. Gail A. Harris and Winifred D. Kirk (Council for Exceptional Children, 1993), 94.

10. Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 168; Chalfant, “Introduction”, 94. 

11. Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 167. 

12.  Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 168. 

13. Samuel A. Kirk, “From Labels to Action,” in The Foundations of Special Education: Selected Papers and Speeches of Samuel A. Kirk, ed. Gail A. Harris and Winifred D. Kirk (Council for Exceptional Children, 1993), 107-110.

14. Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 167.

15. Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 167.

16. Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 167; Doug Peterson, “University of Illinois Alumni,” University of Illinois Alumni, August 31, 2021, https://uiaa.org/2021/08/31/ingenious-the-father-of-special-education/. 

17. Samuel A. Kirk, “Special Education in the 1970s,” in The Foundations of Special Education: Selected Papers and Speeches of Samuel A. Kirk, ed. Gail A. Harris and Winifred D. Kirk (Council for Exceptional Children, 1993), 91.

18. Kirk, “From Labels to Action”, 99-101; Kirk, “Special Education”, 89. 

19. “Samuel Kirk” website. 

20. Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 167. 

21. “Samuel Kirk” website. 

22. Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 168.  

23. Hanley-Maxwell, Education, 168; Peterson, “University of Illinois Alumni”. 

Works Cited:

Chalfant, James C. “Introduction.” In The Foundations of Special Education: Selected Papers and Speeches of Samuel A. Kirk, edited by Gail A. Harris and Winifred D. Kirk. Council for Exceptional Children, 1993, pp. 94-98.

Hanley-Maxwell, Cheryl, and Lana Collet-Klingenberg. Education. Sage Publications, 2011.

Illinois Distributed Museum. “Samuel Kirk .” University of Illinois Urbana-Campaign, n.d. https://distributedmuseum.illinois.edu/exhibit/samuel_kirk/. 

Kirk, Samuel A. “From Labels to Action.” In The Foundations of Special Education: Selected Papers and Speeches of Samuel A. Kirk, edited by Gail A. Harris and Winifred D. Kirk. Council for Exceptional Children, 1993, pp. 99-114.

Kirk, Samuel A. “Special Education in the 1970s.” In The Foundations of Special Education: Selected Papers and Speeches of Samuel A. Kirk, edited by Gail A. Harris and Winifred D. Kirk. Council for Exceptional Children, 1993, pp. 85-91.

Peterson, Doug. “University of Illinois Alumni.” University of Illinois Alumni, August 31, 2021. https://uiaa.org/2021/08/31/ingenious-the-father-of-special-education/.