In educating children with disabilities, training for independence should begin early, and the "technology" may be very simple. This paper lists activities designed to increase gross, fine motor, cognitive, and eye-hand coordination skills needed for independent living. It encourages caregivers to engage young children in active learning…

Adaptive skills are the perceptual, emotional, and behavioral tendencies that are learned at a young age. They can be a major block to competence by affecting one's functioning at the two higher skill levels of functional and work content skills. Because students and faculty relate to each other as members of a family, they can help each other…

The basic premise of the personnel evaluation technique described in this paper is that continuing improvement in performance should be the prime commitment of all professionals. Namely, both the evaluator and the one evaluated should initiate, develop, and pursue a plan of action together, as described in this paper. Also included is a sample…

The current state of knowledge about and experiences with community participation in worldwide developmental programs are examined in this journal issue. Specific topics addressed in part I include (1) reasons advanced in favor of community participation; (2) issues related to the implementation of primary health care programs and areas for…

This issue contains five articles about assessment in adult literacy programs. The first article, "Living Literacy: Rethinking Adult Learner Assessment" (Susan L. Lytle), focuses on developing alternative forms of assessment such as literacy portfolios to identify changes in four dimensions of adult literacy over the course of literacy…

This brief discusses the transition of high school students with disabilities to adult life. Federal law provisions that require a transition plan for all students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) are reviewed and a checklist is provided that outlines positive transition planning practices that can be used for self-evaluation and…

Two articles explore possibilities for collaboration between American and Asian researchers addressing disabilities in a worldwide context. The first article, by Mike Miles, is titled "Using Action-Oriented Disability Studies in Pakistan." It focuses on how information can be disseminated in informal, nontraditional (non-Western) ways.…

These six issues contain the following articles: "The Bright Side of the U.S. Teacher Shortage" (Thomas Nixon); "Sharing Power in the Classroom" (Patricia Richard-Amato); "Content for Conversation Partners" (Kathleen Olson); "English Language Teaching in Indonesia" (Bachrudin Musthafa); "Working to Make…