The guest editorial by W. Cruickshank criticizes as facile the assumption that the least restrictive environment for learning disabled children is a regular classroom. (GW)

Considers the potential detrimental effects on classroom teaching of programs that pull individual students out of the classroom for specialized instruction or activities. Suggests alternative means for meeting student and teacher needs within the classroom. (PGD)

A review of the educational and emotional impact of restrictive educational settings on children in the lowest quartile of achievement asserts that the variables which are important for successful student outcomes can occur in most settings. For ethical reasons the least restrictive environment is preferred. (Author/PN)

A meta-analysis was performed on 11 empirical studies of the effects of mainstreaming. Results indicated that mainstreamed disabled students consistently outperformed nonmainstreamed students with comparable special education classifications. The most success was found in programs with design features (such as continuous assessment) suggested by…

This report provides 10 guiding principles for aligning school spending with the goal of creating a system of high-performing schools: (1) It is necessary to recognize that money matters--"you get what you pay for" applies to schools; (2) Aligning school spending to the goals of high performance requires investing in those things that…

Comparison of teaching behaviors across grade level and educational setting (resource and self-contained) of 65 beginning teachers found main effects for both grade level and educational setting including that elementary teachers provided more transitions between instructional activities and that teachers in self-contained settings exhibited more…

A norm referenced model was used to evaluate the relative effectiveness of intervention efforts with 3,896 learning disabled elementary and secondary school children. Ss were tested on the Wide Range Achievement Test. Significant growth was observed in students from resource and self contained classrooms. Gains did not appear to vary with the…

Observations of teaching behaviors of 40 teachers in categorical special education classrooms (educable mentally retarded, learning disabled, emotionally handicapped) revealed no differences in the extent to which teachers of different types of students demonstrated six of seven teaching behaviors defined as effective. Questions concerning the…

Investigated how much time special education teachers spend in direct and indirect services and compares the amount of time teachers in different types of programs (cross-categorical or categorical) devote to indirect services. Looks at how time demands have changed in recent years and analyzes reasons for these changes. (RJM)

Sixteen students with learning disabilities in junior high special education classrooms were given instruction in science, with levels of teacher enthusiasm manipulated. Results suggest that more enthusiastic presentations resulted in significantly higher academic achievement and lower levels of off-task behavior. (Author/JDD)

Possible reasons for the nationwide increase in the number of children identified as learning disabled (LD) include abrogation of general education's responsibility toward difficult to educate children, increasing differences in preservice general and special education training, the increase in parent/student rights litigation, and parental…

Developed to assess congruence of intent and practice (the teacher's ideal and students' perceived real) in instruction of the gifted in the Illinois program, the Class Activities Questionnaire (CAQ) includes 25 forced choice items evaluating cognitive emphasis, classroom conditions, and student attitudes and reactions. Cognitive items were shown…

The paper summarizes a study of the educational environments of profoundly handicapped pupils enrolled in special education classes relative to the types of learning experiences, social opportunities, and services provided by three teachers in the San Diego, California, school district. The teachers were all in their first year working with the…

To determine the class size and teaching load of secondary teachers of English in New York state, the Research Committee of the State English Council mailed 1,093 questionnaires to chairmen of English Departments in the state's registered public and private secondary schools. The 694 usable replies--representing 4,410 full-time English…