Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are incredibly vulnerable to poor post-school outcomes. Two mandates, the Higher Education Opportunity Act and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, have emerged that may provide avenues to counter the discrepancy between the desire for career and college paths and actualization…

Children progress through a number of life transitions and each is a pivotal point of development and growth for them, their parents and family members. Through a review of the literature, the Bioecological Model will be used to frame childhood transitions as highly social, contextualised and political. This paper will assert that governments,…

Increasingly, educators have been charged with delivering academic and other instruction to groups of students who are culturally unlike themselves. What teachers know regarding the attitudes toward cultural diversity can be a powerful determinant of the academic, social, and behavioral opportunities and outcomes for students from culturally and…

National rates of juvenile incarceration show that about 33% of the population in correctional confinement has disabilities such as behavioral disorders or specific learning disabilities. All students identified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) as having a disability are entitled to special education and…

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related fields comprise the top 30 occupations expected to grow the fastest by 2026. This increase in job opportunities, coupled with the evolution of technology, is creating higher demands for diversity in the labor market. Currently all students require innovative training and support from a…

We describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive preschool to third grade prevention program for the goals of sustaining services at a large scale. The Midwest Child-Parent Center (CPC) Expansion is a multilevel collaborative school reform model designed to improve school achievement and parental involvement from ages…

This report summarizes results from a survey administered in Spring 2011 to all AISD parent support specialists, who were asked to report on various activities and events involving families at their school.

In this brief, Christine Patton and Justina Wang, from Harvard Family Research Project, look at ways of helping to make the transition into kindergarten a positive experience that will serve as a foundation to help children reach their full potential throughout their school years. The brief highlights promising practices in six states--New Jersey,…

To investigate issues in transition to kindergarten for children with special needs, we explored several sources of information (peer-reviewed literature, government websites, parent surveys, and interviews with professionals). We found that administrative issues like lack of integration and the evaluation of services available to children and…

Examines ways to help boys and afternoon attenders to experience as positive a start to nursery education as girls and morning attenders. Highlights adults' key role in helping children develop personal and social skills and the need for home/school partnership. Discusses the implications of gender for play and classroom organization. (nine…

The transition to primary school is one of the greatest challenges of early childhood. Handled well, it can set children into virtuous cycle of learning. But how can transitions be made more effective? Based on a background paper for UNESCO's Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2007, this paper assesses the literature and draws lessons…

The Additional Support for Learning Act is a key piece of legislation in Scotland's efforts to achieve a more inclusive society and to give all young people access to the learning opportunities they need in order to meet their potential. The Act also has a key role to play in the day-to-day preventative action that schools can take to be inclusive…

This working paper considers ways to tackle the critical issue of early drop-out and under-achievement of children at school. It draws on evidence of the benefits of early childhood programmes to children's learning and success in school. It particularly examines how well-designed early childhood programmes can effectively address poverty and…

The Additional Support for Learning Act is a key piece of legislation in Scotland's efforts to achieve a more inclusive society and to give all young people the access to the learning opportunities they need in order to meet their potential. The Act also has a key role to play in the day-to-day preventative action that schools can take to be…

As the focus on school improvement at a state education agency moves from mostly a compliance approach to playing a greater role in capacity building, the agency's leadership needs to rethink student and learning supports. That is the focus of this report. Given that almost half of the chief state school officers have assumed their position in the…