During the past 10 years in Australia teacher aides have been employed in mainstream schools as support personnel in special education intervention programmes, and their numbers are increasing. At the same time workplace reform in relation to inclusive education is impacting on their employment and deployment in schools to support students with…

The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center was charged by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs from October 2001 through September 2006 to develop, implement, and evaluate an approach to technical assistance (TA) that would result in sustainable systems change in state early intervention and…

This "research in practice" analyses the experience of operating discussion/action groups with dyslexic students in higher education in three British universities which reflects a shift from the practice of developing "support groups" to a more developmental, proactive stance. It does so in the current UK legislative context…

Since the handover of the sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China in 1997, there have been a series of change, development, and related issues in special education programs for learners with disabilities in Hong Kong. In this paper, we try to describe the background and recent trends, issues, and implications that…

How has special education policy evolved over the years, and where should it go in the near future? One of the best known and most respected leaders in special education policy, Jim Gallagher, takes a candid and critical look at these questions in this informative book. Students, administrators, and policymakers will fully understand how four…

This article discusses weaknesses in standard approaches to consultancy that have developed out of conflicts between special and regular educators, including a narrow focus on problem solving and an implication of superiority on the part of special educators. Cooperative professional development teams consisting of both special and regular…

Tips are provided for implementing successful inclusion programs for students with disabilities, including providing continuing, consistent support with structured staff-development activities; eliciting parental collaboration in all aspects of the inclusion effort; enhancing peer involvement, and facilitating classroom diversity by making…

This paper explores the extent to which existing accessibility metaphors can help to develop our conceptualizations of accessible e-­learning practice in higher education and outlines a proposal for a new rainbow bridge metaphor for accessible e­-learning practice. The need for a metaphor that reflects in more depth what we are beginning to…

These recommendations concerning the integration of students with and without disabilities in public schools begin with an operational definition of integration and a list of general parameters guiding successful integration. Recommendations are then offered in several areas, including: (1) training, which should be systematic, comprehensive,…

This article develops two perspectives on the Regular Education Initiative, the first drawing on two decades of research and practice to document and discuss understandings about school improvement. The second draws on the current movement to restructure schools. A reformist partnership between classroom teachers and special education is proposed.…

This paper describes how the University of Massachusetts (Boston) developed partnership programs to improve achievement of students with significant disabilities just beginning to participate in a standards-based general curriculum. Fundamental to the effort was development of a 12-credit graduate certificate program focused on adapting the…

This report analyzes and documents the ways that existing educational service systems have successfully modified their roles in order to improve school-to-adult-life transition services for students with disabilities. The report is based on findings from development of a model cooperative transition services system, which revealed that new roles…

Discusses ways for school districts to implement successful inclusion using various staff development methods that can be tailored to individual needs. The paper explores issues unique to inclusion that demand individualized approaches, offers a model for developing staff development activities, and presents an example of one district's successful…

The first section of this essay reviews forces that led to the Regular Education Initiative (REI). Findings from research on effective instruction, innovation and staff development are synthesized. A conceptual framework is offered to explain factors necessary to create meaningful, sustained changes in classroom practices as required by the REI.…

This study explored the relationship between costs and benefits of supported (inclusionary) education practices as implemented in 10 schools in 9 Oregon school districts. Specifically, results are presented from a series of interviews conducted with special education directors and principals. Interviews explored administrators' perceptions…