A special issue of the "British Journal of Sociology of Education" has been devoted to an examination of Disability and Inclusive Education. The authors of the papers in this issue have all made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge and understanding in these fields of study. Overall, they have provided a comprehensive, valuable…

The author points out the need to consider the situational factors involved in serving children with mild to moderate learning difficulties and cautions that a within-the-child model based on psychological/cognitive deficits does not pay enough attention to the child's environment. (CL)

The MAD (Making Appropriate Decisions) model for providing educational services to gifted children in the regular classroom is described. The model provides for a planning process which takes into account a definition of giftedness, consideration of common needs, and specific considerations for individual students. (DB)

The paper is a product of the 3-year project, "Functional Mainstreaming for Success," designed to develop a model for instructional mainstreaming of handicapped children (3-6 years old) in community settings. The paper reviews the literature defining "mainstreaming," notes that mainstreaming is not the wholesale return of exceptional students from…

The paper questions whether the school consultation model which provides services to learning disabled students has a sound theoretical base. Included are an examination of 10 different models of consultation and their relationship to theory and a review of studies on facilitating the mainstreaming of learning disabled and other low achieving…

The review of the "Rainbow Connection Instructional Guide" stresses the guide's purpose in assisting the development of model transitional services for preschool handicapped students moving into less restrictive educational environments. Noted is the guide's attention to preparation of parents, roles of training and collaboration, and…

Four commissioned papers on approaches to implement the least restrictive environment (LRE) provision of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, are presented. The authors were asked to develop criteria applicable to the local level and appropriate to a variety of contexts. Papers are presented from the following authors:…

The article calls attention to the fact that one of the ironies of P.L. 94-142 is the constraining effect of the regulations developed to implement the law. A combination resource room and self- contained class are described as one alternative to strict adherence to the Deno Cascade model. (Author)

Drawing on H.R. Davis' A VICTORY model of factors associated with organizational change, the article argues that accepted models of educational evaluation will be most useful with programs for mainstreaming handicapped children when they are expanded to include critical factors associated with organizational acceptance and successful…

This paper questions whether genuine adoption of the inclusive education philosophy can occur within a school setting before it has been tested by the involvement of the whole school in school reform. It sees inclusion as one component of overall school restructuring. Experiences at three schools are compared. At the first school inclusive…

Overidentification of learning disabilities may be caused by applying a model of disability which does not allow for classroom accomodation. A minority model of disability with classroom modification and accommodation to differences in students who fail to meet behavior and achievement standards is proposed. (Author/DB)

The Regular Education Initiative is analyzed from a speech-language pathology perspective. The problem and controversy are explained, current research in several states on appropriate models is briefly described, and speech-language pathologists are encouraged to become involved. (DB)

Ten problem areas associated with research conducted with the Adaptive Learning Environment Model (ALEM) are delineated. Concerns about the implementation of this model in an effort to improve the interfacing of regular and special education are expressed in four areas: generalizability, level of learning, personnel and funding, and practical…

The paper distinguishes American and Canadian applications of the terms "mainstreaming" and "integration" in relation to placement of exceptional children in settings which foster interaction between them and their non-handicapped peers such as regular classes in neighborhood schools. The two terms are seen to represent…

The paper examined empirical evidence (published through 1986) concerning the effectiveness of the Adaptive Learning Environments Model (ALEM), a multifaceted program designed to integrate handicapped pupils and remedial and compensatory education students in general education. Evaluation of three evaluative studies by the program's originators…