To be effective in changing career/vocational education practices for handicapped students, inservice education should be targeted to school teams, involve participatory planning processes, acquire administrative support, use trainers as information givers and consultants, and capitalize on existing services. Successful approaches in New York…

This booklet presents summary information on 44 programs in Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania nominated as demonstrating unique or exemplary practices in special education. Citations include program name, brief description, information on the target population, process for evaluation or analysis and renewal, adoption requirements, funding…

The report describes a sample of effective vocational assessment practices for handicapped students implemented in California. An introduction presents the challenges and difficulties of complying with federal and state legislation that mandate nondiscriminatory vocational assessment and the least restrictive placement. Alternatives to…

The newsletter reports results from the National Special Education Curricula Survey completed by state department officials, college and university staff, and personnel from schools, community agencies, and special projects across the country. Respondents identified 230 exemplary special education curricula. Those curricula are listed…

The manual suggests steps, procedures, best practices, and key concepts to create and maintain successful interagency collaboration in the delivery of services to preschool handicapped children. Considered are the concept of collaboration, the rationale for its development, and a means of assessing a community to determine the needs and potential…

Intended to assist community groups in implementing similar projects, this illustrated booklet describes "Arts for Transition" which is a structured, sequenced program designed to use recreational arts groups and activities as a vehicle for developing the social and independent living skills of disabled youth in transition from the world…

The fact sheet is designed to help counselors, teachers, administrators, and disabled students with issues concerning career planning and placement in postsecondary academic and technical schools. The value of early counseling and the importance of encouraging healthy risk-taking are underlined. Model programs at University of California…

The consultant interested in helping teachers adopt curriculum-based assessment techniques should consider the process of innovation along with aspects of school culture. The consultant should examine four stages in developing a model program: creating a need, supporting change, implementing a guided practice, sequence, and allowing for…

Norfolk (Virginia) has developed an interagency structure, the Norfolk Youth Network, among its child serving agencies in order to more effectively meet multiple problems of area youth. A needs assessment in 1988 revealed a high incidence of youth problems, multiple agencies working simultaneously with the same clients, and inefficient placements.…

Findings from a national study of early intervention programs and toy libraries for handicapped children in Australia are summarized. After an introduction to theoretical concerns, chapter 2 reviews the rationale for early intervention and describes research on components of exemplary programs and on evaluation of the effectiveness of early…

The paper presents a framework intended to help in the adoption of new early childhood special education model programs. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) is explained to describe how individuals undergo the change process. The diagnostic component of CBAM is described in terms of three dimensions: (1) stages of concern (the feelings of…

The Tennessee Early Intervention Network for Children with Handicaps (TEINCH) examined problems in the transition from early childhood to elementary school programs. Surveys of administrators from public schools and preschools revealed helpful strategies (such as encouraging both preschool and school personnel to attend the child's individual…

Presented are guidelines for designing and incorporating cooperative group learning strategies into teacher preparation courses. Guidelines include determining appropriate content, selecting a cooperative format, forming cooperative groups, teaching cooperative skills, providing feedback, and evaluating learning. The student satisfaction results…

Qualitative research methods were used to examine practices at an elementary school providing inclusive schooling for students with and without disabilities. Findings indicated that systems change occurred slowly, intentionally, and with a collaborative process of decision making which stressed development of policies, conditions, and supports…

This theme issue provides four articles that address family involvement in the transition of youth with disabilities from school to work. The first article, "Family Involvement" by Marge Goldberg and Shauna McDonald, offers evidence of the importance of family involvement at this stage of the individual's life, reports on families' experiences,…