The purposes of elementary school career education for mildly handicapped students, and specific learning activities and materials, are discussed. Elementary level career education components are identified as the development of social skills, self-understanding, communication and computation abilities, and the exploration of a variety of careers.…

The social status of 40 mildly learning handicapped and 24 nonhandicapped students and their own perceptions of and their ideal preference for social status were investigated. (Author)

The school records of 40 boys and 20 girls placed in special education programs (for learning disabled, educable retarded, or behavior disordered) were examined to compare reasons for referral and placement. Results indicated that boys were more likely to be referred for behavior problems or behavior and academic problems. (DB)

One hundred and sixty-eight elementary students with and without handicapping conditions participated in a study to determine the social integration of students with mild to moderate disabilities who are academically mainstreamed for at least one period daily. Ss were asked to photograph what they considered illustrative of their schools. A…

Self-concept scores of 138 mildly handicapped preadolescents in resource or self-contained settings were compared to those of 46 regular class students whose teachers endorsed the need for special education. Relatively higher scores were found for special education students, suggesting beneficial social effects of partial instructional…

Two problems are discussed: 1) the difficulty of replacement of mildly handicapped children in regular education once they have been assigned to special education, 2) the tendency to over assign certain minority group children to special education. (Author/RC)

Elementary-school learning-disabled, emotionally disabled, educable mentally retarded, and nonhandicapped students (N=122) were observed during written language instruction, to document writing tasks and student responding. Extreme variability was found in the amount of time individual students spent in writing activities or in receiving written…

Two Israeli studies compared a total of 108 elementary or high school students with mild learning disabilities placed in either self-contained or regular classes. The studies found no evidence that student growth was greater in the self-contained class, although these students did tend to have a higher academic self-concept. (Author/DB)

The peer interactions and cognitive levels of play of mildly developmentally delayed preschool children were compared as they participated in mainstreamed and specialized settings. They engaged in substantially higher rates of peer-related social behaviors and constructive play when mainstreamed. Factors affecting early childhood mainstreaming…

The author considers the advantages and problems of labeling and proposes and discusses a 2-year special education contract. (Author)

Thirty-five studies on the efficacy of special class versus regular class placement for mildly handicapped students were reviewed for the power of their statistical tests. Twenty-one studies had adequate power to detect a large effect size but the power to detect a medium effect size was no better than chance. (Author/DB)

In an examination of the notion of person-environment fit as it applies to the socioempathy-social status for mildly handicapped children in mainstreamed and special class settings, 38 mildly learning handicapped (LH) and 234 nonhandicapped students were administered social status instruments. Results revealed that LH Ss in special placements were…

An obervational study of micro-educational environments and microcomputer use within these environments was conducted in special day classes, resource rooms, and mainstream classrooms (N=90). Mildly handicapped students in special education settings had less variety to their instructional experiences than did either handicapped or nonhandicapped…

While socialization is a worthwhile outcome of mainstreaming, it is not sufficient in itself to merit placing a mildly handicapped student in a regular classroom; primary attention in mainstreaming decisions must be given to the instructional setting, the learners, and instructional conditions. (Part of a theme issue on mainstreaming.) (Author/SJL)