In this first decade of the 21st century, we mark two milestones in education history: the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 2004, and the 30th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2005. Both Brown and IDEA asserted the need for increased educational opportunities for once excluded…

Colleges and universities may no longer merely turn out graduates with degrees, thinking thereby to have fulfilled their obligation to the student. Recent economic and technological changes have narrowed certain fields of employment while opening up others. Future changes will continue to affect opportunities for employment. Because there is so…

Gives historical background of basic writing. Contends that elite language instruction has included some and excluded others. Discusses "tracking." States that formal education offers a top-down, business-oriented agenda: basic skills, vocationalism, work discipline, and citizenship. Considers basic writing a containment track below…

In the early 1960s, four special education categories (slow learners, mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed, and culturally deprived) were used to explain the failure of lower class and minority children, while the less stigmatizing category of learning disabilities explained the failures of white middle class children. Later events changed the…

Problems of definition are discussed and followed by a delineation of three major forces which induced the genesis of mainstreaming: research-based evidence and arguments, litigation challenging long-established practice, and legislative mandates (specifically, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act--P.L. 94-142). (DLS)

This paper reviews the history of the placement of mentally retarded students during the first half of this century. In 1900, it was generally assumed that custodial care of feebleminded persons was necessary to protect society. Severely retarded students were regularly excluded from public school attendance. Soon school officials began adopting…

The principal of a special school for physically and mentally handicapped students in Milwaukee reviews the history of services for handicapped persons as well as current approaches used in her school. Provisions for least restrictive environment are discussed, and the concept of appropriate and individual education programs is applied to…

This study reports enrollments in general science, biology, chemistry, and physics in public high schools, the additional science offerings, the number of teachers serving these pupils, class size, grade placement of science subjects, time allotments for recitation and laboratory, and troublesome problems related to the teaching of science. The…

This historical view of special education reform touches on civil rights of individuals with disabilities, highlighting the historical roots of arguments on the primacy of place (location) in discussion of special education policy. The paper examines the history of specialized social institutions and the emphasis on place in today's debates. (SM)

Compensatory education students and mildly handicapped special education students would be better served by a single system meeting the needs of both groups. Student classification methods, historical, political, and pedagogical reasons for separating the programs, and alternatives to the existing arrangement are discussed. (PP)

Discusses methods developed to facilitate women's entry into the library profession. Uses historical excerpts to document library school directors' efforts to place female graduates between 1887 and 1912. Includes tables identifying directors and backgrounds of women directors of the period. Describes the difficulty of establishing the profession…

This bulletin summarizes and attempts to analyze followup activities now provided by teacher-preparing institutions supported by State funds. It points out college activities that are contributing to the development of better school programs in college service areas, to the improvement of college programs for teachers-to-be, and to increased…

A policy adopted in 1921 by the Scottish Education Department called for segregating postprimary students into two groups: those who had the "mental capacity" for secondary education and those who would be required to leave school at age 15. The unpopularity of the plan, combined with social, economic, and demographic factors, led to its…

The progress of children through the grades of the public schools and the stage of advancement at which they quit school are matters of great educational and economic importance, and enlist the interest of both school officers and taxpayers. If many children fail to accomplish any part of the work of the school in the time prescribed, it may be…

The purpose of this study has been to inquire into the extent and character of retention, transfer, and withdrawal of undergraduate students in a group of representative institutions of higher education. Attention has been given to characteristics of students, their standing in high school and on placement, their reasons for going to college,…