This study observed the extent to which teachers supported the inclusion of children with disabilities into mainstream classrooms and involved monitoring 52 mainstream preschool settings in Greece. The association between programme quality, context and teacher characteristics was also tested. Findings showed that the quality of inclusion ranged…

A clustered randomized design was used in which 28 inclusive preschool classrooms were randomly assigned to receive 2 years of training and coaching to fidelity in the LEAP (Learning Experiences and Alternative Program for Preschoolers and Their Parents) preschool model, and 28 inclusive classes were assigned to receive intervention manuals only.…

Transition practices that are used when students move from early childhood special education classes into kindergarten were studied. The study was designed to identify important practices that should be incorporated into the transition process and barriers that interfere with implementation of transition. Early childhood special education…

California state law A.B. 2666 requires local educational agencies to provide special education to all children with exceptional needs between the ages of 3 and 5 years. The law aims to reduce the potential impact of handicapping conditions; produce substantial gains in physical development, cognitive development, language and speech development,…

Forty-six supervisors and teachers were surveyed regarding their attitudes toward integration of handicapped children in a regular preschool program, the helpfulness of supportive services, and the necessary conditions for the integration of their programs. Findings showed that the majority of teachers were in favor of integration and supportive…

Professional and bureaucratic barriers to implementation of mainstreaming at the preschool level include philosophical and theoretical differences between early childhood education and special education, differences in personnel preparation, staff attitudes, issues related to current state regulations and monitoring, and provision of related…

Early childhood special education (ECSE) program leaders in Minnesota were surveyed to contrast perceptions of programs for children age birth to 3 with those for children 3 to 6. Of the 8,550 children served in such programs, survey responses reflected 64 percent. Survey results are presented for: (1) settings--home, community, and ECSE…

The final report documents a 2-year project which trained volunteers to help preschool disabled and non-disabled children work together as part of a transitioning and mainstreaming effort. The report describes project development, implementation, and dissemination. Specific objectives included the following: form an advisory council; orient staff,…

The practice of mainstreaming preschool children is critically analyzed by examining the nature of the federal policy that has resulted in mainstreaming and the status of implementing the goals and objectives that the policy seeks to address. (PN)

The A.I.M. (Avondale Integrative Model) Program of Avondale School District in Auburn Hills, Michigan, is a developmental, language-based, preschool program, combining federally funded Head Start and district-funded Pre-Primary Impaired programs. The program is designed to utilize a developmentally appropriate curriculum in order to successfully…

This paper describes the Early Childhood Social Skills Program developed at the University of Pittsburgh's Early Childhood Research Institute. The paper discusses specific social skill strategies as well as steps for implementing the peer-mediated social skill program in an integrated preschool setting. (JDD)

Three examples of successful integration efforts in England are presented. Springfield Junior School in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, originally comprised three separate institutions--an ordinary junior school, a special unit for children with severe learning difficulties, and a special unit for children with moderate learning difficulties. The three…

Excerpts are printed from the "Tenth Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of The Education of the Handicapped Act." Described are legislative goals, number of students served, emphasis on the least restrictive environment, assistance for state/local agencies in educating handicapped children, employment of the disabled, and…

This publication compiles the findings and conclusions of the 3-year first phase (1980-83) of the Unesco Sub-regional Project for Special Education in Eastern and Southern Africa. It presents the state of the art of special education and prospects for future development in Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia,…

Designed as an operating manual, the document is designed to strengthen the efforts between Monroe County Community Action Program (M.C.C.A.P.) Head Start and other services helping meet the needs of the handicapped child, to insure continuity of experiences for handicapped children moving from Head Start into the public school systems of Monroe…