Discusses the purposes and implications of the individualized education program (IEP) for handicapped children. (Author/MP)

Best practices for at-risk students include inclusive schools, collaborative teaching, case management, staff development, incentives, support services, parental involvement, and interagency collaboration. (SK)

The article defines the term, "transition," discusses the types of transitions that occur during early childhood special education, explores the rationale for studying and planning such transitions, and identifies transition issues and procedures. Tables offer data on critical events in rearing a handicapped family member, commercially available…

Educators are encouraged to build advocacy for gifted education through the program itself by demonstrating the high quality products of participating students, and through continued commitment to public relations. Factors common to programs that have survived the economic downturn in New England are identified, including sustained advocacy…

This paper argues that behaviorism has utility in the design and implementation of early childhood special education services. It explores criticisms of behaviorism, describes critical features of the behavioral approach, and provides examples of the influence and application of the behavioral perspective in early childhood special education.…

Peggy Farber's stories (in the March 1998 "Kappan") about a few individuals at Boston Renaissance Charter School have a place in evaluating the program. However, the real story cannot be drawn from a few isolated, highly selective anecdotes. A balanced evaluation would have framed the discussion around the schools' progress with…

The paper recommends that young children with disabilities be placed in preschool classes with normally developing children whenever possible. Significant benefits are cited in the areas of social, emotional, and communication development when children with handicapping conditions are educated in settings with their nonhandicapped peers. Four…

This article discusses the importance of conducting an initial needs assessment as part of gifted program development. The paper describes data collection concerning the general student body, gifted population, school district personnel, school and school district, physical setting, economic factors, community, and national and state gifted…

Addresses issues in special education of incarcerated youth with disabilities including: (1) prevalence rates of disabilities among juvenile-delinquent populations; (2) problems in providing special-education services to incarcerated youth; (3) developments in case law concerning delivery of special education to this population; and (4)…

The authors address planning issues and suggest methods of interagency cooperation, integration of generalizable skills in individualized educational planning/programming, developing goals and objectives, and using student assessment and evaluation information. (CT)

This interview with Carolyn Callahan, an expert in gifted education, examines the process of program evaluation and other topics. It discusses how often evaluations should be done, differences between evaluating a relatively new program and a well-established program, inappropriate evaluation practices, program features parents should look for,…

Ways in which the resources of a university's special education, communication arts, and library services can be combined with those of special education consortiums or parent organizations to provide exceptional children and their parents and teachers with high-quality cable educational television programs that meet their varied needs are…

This reprinted 1979 article presents arguments for why differentiated programming is necessary for gifted, creative, and talented students. A 1988 update describes progress in establishing broader based programs for the gifted, advances in teacher training, recognition of the need for counseling to improve social and emotional development, and…

Devising appropriate service delivery for gifted individuals is never an easy task and is especially challenging in rural areas. Characteristics of rural schools may be both barriers and benefits to gifted education. Limited numbers may mean that programming options for gifted students are unfeasible, but small schools and classes make…

Clear and comprehensive criteria for developing and evaluating gifted programs are needed. These criteria would define selection of program students and program characteristics. Programs should involve all potentially able students and should be innovative, intellectually stimulating, comprehensive, enthusiastic, and divergent. (MSE)