This paper focusses on the organisational responses of secondary schools to newly arrived migrant students. In Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium), as in many other European regions, newly arrived students are placed in segregated classes that aim to prepare them for integration in mainstream education. Deriving from, on the one hand,…

The neuropsychiatric paradigm has substantial impact on schools. The increase in the number of pupils being diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an expression of the medicalisation of deviance. There is also an increase in educational classes specially designed to meet the needs of children with ADHD. This is contrary…

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)

This review of studies comparing children with behavioral disorders in different educational settings found that pupils in self-contained programs displayed greater improvement in academic achievement than did similar pupils in regular classes. However, the reverse pattern applied to changes in self-concept. Follow-up data indicated enormous…

A meta-analysis of 40 studies investigated the self-concept of students with learning disabilities (LD) in different educational placements. No association between self-concept and placement was found for four of five comparisons. However, students with LD in self-contained classrooms in regular schools exhibited lower self-concept compared to…

This paper compares segregated, integrated, and community-based environments for instructing students with severe, multiple handicaps. Advantages and disadvantages are reviewed, recommendations for selection of suitable instructional environments are offered, and essential criteria for the evaluation of instruction in the various environments are…

Comparison of two matched groups of seven students with severe disabilities (placed in either general education classrooms or special education classes) found that students in the general education placement interacted more frequently with nondisabled peers, provided and received more social support, and had larger networks of peers without…

This document presents the texts of 11 major presentations and conference highlights from a February 2001 conference on the social, academic, and behavioral needs of students with challenging behavior in inclusive and alternative settings as required under the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The presentations…

This research report discusses findings from descriptive studies that investigated the context and outcomes of educational programs for students with disabilities who were expected to receive standard high-school diplomas. The nine high schools included three in urban areas, three in suburban areas, and three in rural areas. Principals, special…

A drug and alcohol survey was administered to 283 secondary school students in a large suburban school district in the eastern United States. The survey covered demographic information, life events, coping strategies, and prevalence of substance abuse, asking students about initial and current use of a wide range of substances including alcohol,…

Since the Education for All Handicapped Children Act now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 was first passed, states have been required to make available to students with disabilities a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). The LRE standard that each school district…

This report discusses the findings of a study that gathered descriptive information in the areas of salient student characteristics (e.g., gender, ethnicity, poverty, disability classification), level of participation in general education classes, current level of functioning, student outcomes (e.g., grade point average, performance on state or…