With the inclusion of Special Education Needs (SEN) students in public schools in many countries, there are increasing demands for designing professional development (PD) programs that meet the needs of in-service teachers in inclusive education settings. This paper proposes a framework for creating a PD program for in-service teachers who are…

Despite legal mandates and evidence of predictors of success in transition, there continue to be poor outcomes for students with disabilities as compared to students without disabilities. This article describes the first steps of a quality improvement project, including a needs assessment and description of the current constraints of transition…

China is expected to have a rapid growth in specialized early intervention (EI) services for young children ages birth to 6 and their families. A major barrier in the provision of EI services in China is the shortage of well-trained EI personnel. In 2013, a Home-Based Early Intervention Program (HBEIP) was started at South China Normal University…

Because of the important role secondary special educators have in the transition to adulthood of adolescents with disabilities, it behooves educators to have an understanding of human development. The lifespan perspective on human development is particularly relevant to transition planning. Individuals with a lifespan perspective believe…

Understanding the context of the demand for special education (SE) teacher education (TE) faculty is important because it can provide faculty at doctoral-granting universities with useful information for program planning. Knowing more about SE teacher preparation programs currently in place and program revisions being planned allows doctoral…

Adults with developmental disabilities are at significant risk for health problems. Effective health promotion can improve outcomes--and that's why adult day and residential agencies, schools, and other organizations need this invaluable program development guide. An urgent call to action and a start-to-finish framework for health promotion, this…

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…

Schools are experiencing difficulty in addressing the needs of the disadvantaged, handicapped, and those with limited English ability. Several preservice and inservice programs and research activities concerning the preparation of vocational and special needs personnel are described. (JD)

The article describes a sequence of procedures to design continuing education programs for special educators which were used in Project RETOOL, a program which provided continuing education to special education college faculty members in five states. (DB)

Presents a cyclical proactive model of school administration involving data collection, collaborative definition of student needs, use of student-oriented strategies in development of interventions, and outcome evaluation in terms of intrinsic student changes. Discusses drawbacks to the referral model of problem identification and special…

Reviewed are developments in the area of special education in Sri Lanka, a British colony. (IM)

The paper, originally given at a 1986 Ethnic and Multicultural Symposium, discusses special education needs in band-operated schools in Manitoba. These are local Indian reserve schools under the direction of locally elected education authorities. The paper reports on a survey of needs (indicating 31% of students suspected of needing special…

Described is a collaborative linkage and support system for delivery of training programs in special education aimed primarily at increasing capabilities of regular classroom teachers and public school administrators providing instructional alternatives for children with special needs. The program's four major objectives are outlined as…

The Problem Solving Team (PST) is a school-based group that provides consultation and follow-up assistance to insure proper placement of students in school site programs and to help decrease the number of inappropriate referrals to special education and other programs. A PST Project identified and analyzed the characteristics of successful PSTs in…

Recent federal and state laws and regulations mandate new and increased services for handicapped students served by local school districts and educational service agencies. Public Law 94-142 requires that free appropriate educational programs be provided for all handicapped children. To react appropriately to both federal and state mandates and to…