A conference titled "Preparing Special Education Teachers in Mild/Moderate Disabilities: Programs, Models, and Exemplary Field Experiences" was organized by College of Education at Kuwait University between April 11-13, 2010. This conference was intended to lead to a better teacher preparation program in the region in the area of mild…

The paper reviews the literature on special education placement for mildly handicapped students from a sociological perspective. Using J. Rosenbaum's framework for understanding the sociological implications of selection systems, which has been applied to curriculum and ability tracking, this paper extends the framework to another selection…

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 paper provides guidelines on inservice educational needs of regular education teachers in the area of identifying and referring handicapped children. Educators need to look at solutions for the hard-to-teach child other than referral to special education, such as using specialists to assist regular teachers, clarifying the roles of regular and…

The two articles have the following titles and authors: "Establishing 'Home-School' Relationships with an Institution--A Team Approach" by R. Baum and D. Perner, and "Can Mainstreaming Cope with the System?" by I. Nadler. The first article describes a program which provides self contained classroom instruction for moderately, severely, and…

The article examines the research used to support the Regular Education Initiative, especially the literature on the efficacy of special education and studies examining the Adaptive Learning Environments Model, a mainstreaming program. The support provided by these lines of research, however, is seen to be minimal. (Author/DB)

The article reviews potential barriers to implementing the Regular Education Initiative (REI) in secondary schools and then discusses a set of factors central to developing a workable partnership, one that is compatible with the goals of the REI but that also responds to the unique parameters of secondary schools. (Author/DB)

The author suggests that, if the purpose of classification is to provide educational services, the category of learning disabilities be used to describe pupils with mild handicaps. She cites the folly of research on sytem-selected students because system-selection decisions are biased by political, practical, and financial influences. (CL)

In a consideration of limited funds for services to disabled persons, the author distinguishes the "truly handicapped" from "handicapped victims" (characterized as afflicted persons who receive few or no services) and the "mildly handicapped" (including educable retarded, learning disabled, and mildly emotionally disturbed). He proposes a model…

The proposed merger of special and regular education is analyzed relative to conditions of mild handicap and the capability of the regular education system to serve all pupils effectively. Conditions necessary for restructuring include support for research and evaluation, the study of programs as well as individuals, and multiple program models.…

The authors examine some of the underlying problems in the current organizational structure of the schools that hinder regular classroom teachers from being able to adapt their instruction to meet diverse student needs and suggest modifications needed in the traditional structure. (Author/CL)

The paper examines policy issues associated with proposals by proponents of the Regular Education Initiative to reform special education practice by creating a more integrated system of general education that better serves mildly handicapped students. Additional research and policy analysis are recommended. (Author/DB)

Basic assumptions of the Regular Education Initiative (which encourages closer coordination of regular and special education) were examined. The authors assert that students are not overidentified for special education, that student failure is not due only to teacher shortcomings, and that variability in student performance will increase not…

The paper presents the concept of policy analysis, as distinct from policy advocacy, in light of recent proposals to restructure present special and regular education practice with mildly handicapped students. A comprehensive policy analysis to clarify the objectives of the Regular Education Initiative is recommended to assess its impact.…

The article critiques the current research base concerning the influence of mainstreaming on the social emotional competence of mildly handicapped children and describes a proposed study emphasizing longitudinal analysis, assessment in multiple environments, and the use of multitrait-multimethod methodologies. (Author/DB)