Disabled students' entry to the (compulsory) education system in New Zealand is often conditional upon the presence of untrained teacher aides, who are frequently regarded as the "solution to inclusion". This widespread practice has occurred within a research and policy void, despite the growing body of international research literature…

This article suggests effective approaches to teaching English language learners in ways that can be of benefit to all students in mainstream middle and high school English classes. The five approaches described herein that mainstream ESL teachers can do to make assessments more accurate and reliable, as well as to address heterogeneity, are: (1)…

The development of an inclusive community is underpinned by values that support an appreciation of diversity. This paper is based on a larger research project, "student leadership in a primary classroom", which developed different ways for students to interact with each other. The focus not only promoted full student participation in…

This paper presents a four-dimensional, dynamic model of pupils' subjective quality of school life. The model is based on the author's and colleagues' studies of experiences and perspectives of pupils in regular schools who have been assessed as having "special educational needs". The conceptualisation of quality of school life proposed…

The increase of inclusive education in the United States has heightened the need for disability awareness among individuals without disabilities. Fostering awareness and openness to different ability levels in the classroom is a skill many educators need to develop. The purpose of this article is to describe how adapted physical educators, as well…

Enabling pupils with special educational needs to participate more fully in the assessment, planning and evaluation of their own learning has become a principle enshrined within the legislation of many countries in recent years. Educational policy in both England and the Republic of Ireland has recognised the desirability of increased pupil…

More than ever, students with disabilities are being included in general physical education classes, recess, and extracurricular sports. To ensure successful experiences in these settings, it is important for the teacher to provide an environment of acceptance and for the students without disabilities to have a positive attitude towards students…

Many English teachers feel underprepared to teach students with disabilities. While teachers may want to do whatever they can to make all their students successful, some may feel that they don't have as much time as they would like to prepare high-quality differentiated instruction, to fully accommodate every student, or even to know what…

This paper describes a small-scale research project undertaken in July 2007, which focused on a group of students with a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) currently attending a mainstream secondary school. Three focus groups were held with students in Years 9 and 11 and with their parents in order to explore current practice on…

Two teachers describe their efforts to promote positive attitudes toward deaf and hearing impaired students through inservice training based on surveys of hearing students in kindergarten, grades one through five, and hearing teachers. (CL)

Results of interviews with 15 first-year students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf concerning their high school mainstreaming experience suggested that social mainstreaming may be more difficult to achieve than academic mainstreaming. (Author/DB)

To make integration of severely handicapped students successful, efforts should be carried out jointly by regular and special educators and include programs for both regular and special education students. Suggestions are provided for developing and implementing curricular interventions, structured interaction activities, and social skill…

This article describes the mainstreaming of 11 students (ages 16-19) with severe learning difficulties (who had previously attended a special school) into a comprehensive community school in the United Kingdom. It reports on the response of nondisabled students, the influence of school ethos and staff attitudes, and the need to prepare both…

The article describes a successful consultative approach based on the use of heterogeneous cooperative learning groups with special students in the regular secondary classroom. Significant improvement in classroom behaviors, social attitudes, and math achievement was noted. (CL)

A teacher of deaf students discusses ways in which she used simulation activities to increase the students' understanding of children with additional handicaps. A second article provides an annotated list of 45 mainstreaming resources for the teacher and the nonhandicapped child, as well as of children's books about handicaps. (CL)