Basic assumptions regarding the process of identifying gifted children for special preschool programs are examined in light of traditional and contemporary definitions of giftedness. Uses and limitations of various identification techniques are discussed with an emphasis on approaches which are being used currently to identify gifted preschoolers.…

Described is a procedure (Audit Dress Rehearsal) used in a special education program audit consultation service which included a practice audit designed to lower anxiety and raise awareness of concern for program success. The introduction includes sections dealing with evaluation and audit personnel, planning and implementing an audit, and stages…

The paper describes Youthdale School, a psychiatric day treatment facility in Ontario, designed to assist the continued functioning or reintegration of disturbed students (8 to 18 years old) in the community. The program operates on the premise that primary responsibility for the students' education is the parents' rather than a governmental…

Improving the mobility of older adults has been a major goal of transportation programs and policies for the elderly at both the federal and local levels. To examine reasons why eligible elderly individuals in urban areas do not use available special transport services, 140 elderly persons in the Washington, D.C. area were surveyed on the extent…

The Special Projects (Innovations) Program of the Australian Schools Commission receives less funding than other programs of the commission but has been received more enthusiastically, perhaps because it encourages and supports local initiatives. Given the small scale and local derivation of the projects funded under the program, evaluation…

The global movement to improve education by decentralizing governance and financial management and by holding school personnel accountable for outcomes aligned with standards extends even to traditionally centralized systems in Asia. The author explores research questions related to how resources are acquired, who decides how best to use resources…

This paper reviews literature related to substance abuse and persons with disabilities. The paper distinguishes between congenital disability and trauma-generated conditions and the impact on drug use. Drug use patterns are also differentiated by type and severity of disability categories including mental illness, orthopedic and physical…

The author discusses two essential ingredients of a school program for behaviorally handicapped adolescents--the work experience program and group evaluation meetings. It is noted that these components help to provide experiences and develop behaviors that are relevant to the world of work and meet the unique needs of the young adolescent…

In a survey of 247 parents of gifted students in a pull-out program designed for academically gifted students in grades four through six in Midland, Texas, parents were asked how they participated in the program and how they viewed the importance of being involved in various aspects of their child's special education. Among the results, the survey…

Substance abuse among school age youth continues to be a significant and costly problem in U.S. society. Schools are asked with increasing frequency to become involved in finding and implementing solutions. A review of the literature regarding school-based substance abuse prevention programs reveals their evolution from a basic informational…

The paper explores issues related to the provision of year-round schooling for gifted learners. Noted are individual differences among gifted learners, the trend toward providing differentiated curriculum in all content areas, and the importance of curriculum articulation. Reasons are offered to explain why many of the best gifted programs operate…

More and more legislatures are introducing program consolidation to assist districts anxious to increase flexibility and reduce fragmentation among categorical programs. To assess this strategy, findings related to efforts to achieve greater flexibility and consolidation of resources across special education, Title I, and programs for…

The Potsdam Advocate program is a program designed to aid students who feel they are victims of discrimination or sexual offenses. An analysis of this program and its literature is instructive to students and scholars in the field of organizational communication. Developed in 1991, this program provides a structure and options that students may…

Several current approaches to evaluation stress the importance of making explicit the conceptual structure of a program--displaying the hierarchically related transactions which explain the program's movement from a set of "inputs" to a set of desired outcomes. However, individualized programs present particular difficulties in…

The Burlington County (New Jersey) Special Services School District provides comprehensive services and programs to 700 severely impaired students from the ages of 3 to 21. To provide these students with a high quality education, the district has built modern, state-of-the-art facilities designed with the needs of the handicapped specifically in…