We acknowledge that some students with severe disabilities are not being taught in general education. We do not agree that inclusion in general education is inherently better, nor do we think it is always appropriate, and we provide some reasons that a full continuum of alternative placements is not only legally mandated but appropriate. We are…

Including students with disabilities in general education when appropriate is an important goal of special education. However, inclusion is not as important as effective instruction, which must be the first concern of education, general or special. "Full" inclusion, the claim that "all" students with disabilities are best…

Change is not synonymous with improvement. Improvement of special education requires better instruction of individuals with disabilities. Although LRE and inclusion are important issues, they are not the primary legal or practical issues in improving special education. Federal law (IDEA) requires a continuum of alternative placements, not…

Inclusion of students with disabilities when appropriate is an important goal of special education for students with special needs. Full inclusion, meaning no education for any child in a separate setting, is held to be desirable by some, and Italy is likely the nation with an education system most closely approximating full inclusion on the…

Diversity of instructional needs requires diversity in instructional groups. Teaching all children well requires that they be grouped homogeneously for instruction. Instruction must not be secondary to placement in special education. The ideology of full inclusion works against good instruction in some cases. The ultimate test of special education…

The authors, asserting that proponents of integration have often built their arguments on mistaken assumptions, proceed to discuss these assumptions with regard to emotionally disturbed/behavior disordered children and present arguments for segregation and an appropriate procedure for reintegration. (Author)

Special education faces three tasks created by pressures toward change: (1) keeping the issue of physical place in perspective, (2) choosing idea over image, and (3) avoiding fanaticism. Achievement of substantive reform calls for disaggregating special education populations, elaborating conceptual foundations, and strengthening the empirical…

This brief introductory article addresses the inclusion of students with emotional and behavior disorders in regular schools and general education classrooms, and questions whether inclusive environments are the best settings for students with these types of disabilities. The advantages and disadvantages of inclusion are reviewed. (CR)

This concluding article summarizes the findings in previous articles on the inclusion of children with emotional and behavior disorders in general education. Findings indicate that there exists a population of students with emotional or behavioral disorders for whom a general education classroom or school is not the least restrictive environment.…

Disputes eight myths about special education relating to inclusion, including automatic individualization of instruction and negative effects of attending special classes, the potentially positive effects of eliminating labeling, and the neighborhood school's general education classroom as the least restrictive environment for all children.…

This rejoinder to EC 230 272 defends the original paper (EC 210 835) and argues that the critique reflects a misunderstanding of the nature of the Regular Education Initiative, the inclusion of students with behavioral disorders in reform proposals, the seriousness of the problems of these students, and the nature of patent medicine. (JDD)

This paper reviews research on observational learning, including model characteristics and observers' responses, vicarious reinforcement as implicit punishment, vicarious effects on students with problem behavior, observers' other characteristics and vicarious effects, and aggression and vicarious processes. Regular class placement of students…

A survey of 402 teachers of students with behavior disorders gathered information on classroom conditions, perceptions of collegial and administrative support, job satisfaction, and professional judgment regarding student placement. Results indicate that teachers work in relative isolation and are moderately satisfied with their jobs. (Author/JDD)

This article sees the inclusion movement as leading to the rapid erosion of placement options for students with disabilities and notes that no single classroom can be appropriately, habilitatively restrictive for all children. It suggests that advocates of full inclusion deny realities, rights, and responsibilities involved in constructing the…

Special education is in danger of disintegration due to both justified criticisms of implementational failures and unjustified criticisms concerning its conceptualization and the separate placement of some students with disabilities. Needed reforms include constructing defensible rival philosophies and improving the preparation and support of…