This paper uses qualitative research data and examples from a high school drama class to examine how achieving full learning membership for students with severe disabilities requires teachers, in collaborative and consultative relationships, to provide all students with crucial supports by flexibly working within three inclusion parameters…

A 1984 sample of teachers, teachers-in-training, and nonteachers in Victoria, Australia, were compared to a 1990 sample in terms of attitudes toward integration of students with disabilities. Results indicated that after six years of experience with an integration policy, teachers' attitudes were more positive. (Author/JDD)

This study compared the perceptions of 20 normal peers of the nonspeech characteristics of 8 dysarthric (with cerebral palsy) and 8 normal-speaking children (ages 6-11). Results indicated that the normal speakers were judged much more positively than the dysarthric speakers. Implications for the mainstreaming of children with dysarthric speech are…

Compares the performance of four mainstreamed learning-disabled students on oral and written tests in social studies. Finds superior test performance during oral testing replicated across all four students. Suggests procedures for implementing oral testing by classroom teachers. (RS)

Presents helpful suggestions for counseling handicapped children. Includes brief review of the literature, then presents rationale for basing counseling model on environmental-experiential approach to developing personal and social growth. Provides three sets of directions for establishing and maintaining environment and two sets of instructions…

Thirty hearing college students were interviewed to assess their perceptions of deaf students as classmates and influences of these perceptions on campus integration efforts. Hearing students felt that deaf students had similar academic competencies but were less competent socially. Full integration, especially social integration, did not occur.…

This survey of 206 parents, 217 regular educators, and 124 special educators examined the status of integration of special needs students into public schools of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada). Respondents generally felt that integration is of benefit to special needs students and regular students, with a gradient of perceived benefits…

The Spokane (Washington) Public School District behavior-impaired program is dedicated to providing a safe, nurturing learning environment where defined boundaries, clear expectations, and consistency foster mutual respect, social appropriateness, and trust. The program's success requires faculty and administrator support of mainstreaming…

Hank Levin's educational vision is to accelerate learning of disadvantaged children and bring at-risk students into academic mainstream by end of their elementary school years. Levin believes that, if educators exposed all children to richest experiences and also connected with children's own experiences, their culture, and their community,…

Discusses factors, such as the development of discrete groups, the labeling process, and the emphasis on the care role of special education teachers, that hinder integration of students with special needs into the further education program in England and Wales. Suggests strategies to overcome these impediments. (JOW)

A discriminant analysis of characteristics of students with behavioral disorders in three progressively more intensive placements indicated that age at time of diagnosis was the strongest discriminating variable contributing to placement outcomes. Younger, brighter students tended to be mainstreamed, and older students with more externalizing…

Characteristics of individualized education programs (IEPs) of 46 mainstreamed students with multiple disabilities from 9 states were analyzed, revealing that IEPs are vague and inconsistent, list goals for staff rather than for students, and are discipline-referenced. The study recommends that IEPs include individualized learning outcomes,…

This article presents the results of a survey of elementary teachers (n=22) who used cluster grouping of gifted students within regular classrooms. Findings indicated general acceptance of clustering and that gifted students benefited from this provision. (DB)

A two-dimensional framework consisting of knowledge forms and intellectual operations was used to analyze curriculum materials, teacher-mediated instruction, and student use of information on essay and traditional criterion-referenced measures in two sixth-grade general science classes. Results suggest low-achieving students may need more exposure…

This article discusses the use of sign language to facilitate language development of children with developmental disabilities mainstreamed into the early childhood setting. It discusses the benefits of using sign language, presents a rationale for its use, and provides instructional guidelines and resources. (JDD)