Proposes nine guidelines for school staff working with students who have special health care needs. The guidelines are child related, family related, and school related. Discussion of each guideline includes illustrations of issues arising from the guideline and considerations for implementing it. (SM)

Examined how special-interest groups influence policy formulation at the state level. Researchers interviewed 46 legislators and lobbyists to trace behind-the-scenes decision making, as the Texas Legislature hastily (and misguidedly) crafted an omnibus bill with a per-pupil spending change encouraging the mainstreaming of severely disabled…

This study investigated how well 273 teachers in Georgia understood the needs of hard-of-hearing children who were mainstreamed in their classrooms. The survey found deficiencies in teachers' level of awareness and knowledge regarding their students' hearing, loss across all grade levels. The study identified limitations in using the audiology…

Under the 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments, all states must now include students with disabilities in statewide and districtwide educational assessments. So far, Kentucky is the only state with a comprehensive alternative portfolio-assessment program for students unable to participate in "regular" testing…

Conflicting philosophies exist among educators and parents regarding inclusive education. This paper presents the opinions of advocates and opponents and examines research on how inclusion affects students and teachers. As schools implement inclusion, research must continue investigating its effect on all students' academic and social progress.…

Description of the development of the "Learning in Regular Classrooms" effort in China to educate students with disabilities focuses on outcomes such as a major increase in the enrollment of students with disabilities and greater involvement of educators and parents in special education and on such challenges as the development of…

A survey of 482 rural Texas superintendents examined their attitudes toward inclusion as a method of serving students with special needs. Superintendents were uncertain whether inclusion is the best method for serving special needs children and were more involved in planning for inclusion than in implementing it. Recommends actions rural…

Provides an overview of curricular and instructional adaptations, modifications, and methods that have been used to provide science instruction to students with learning disabilities. Strategies are described within the context of a textbook-based unit on the solar system. (Author/DB)

Currently, beginning physical educators are expected to teach a wide range of learners. They need information and strategies for including all learners within their classes. This paper focuses on issues related to the inclusion of students with disabilities and to gender equity and cultural sensitivity. It concludes that teachers must treat all…

Describes the comparison paradigm and the ethics paradigm relative to the inclusion debate. The paper shows how the debate is often due to arguments from individuals who hold different paradigmatic views, and argues that the first step in managing conflict is for individuals to articulate their paradigmatic underpinning. (SM)

This article analyzes national and state placement patterns for students with serious emotional disturbance between 1988 and 1991. Findings indicate that many states report substantial increases or decreases in percentage of children served in regular education classes, resource rooms, separate classes, or separate facilities. State demographic…

This qualitative study compared the instructional environments of a resource room and two regular classrooms for four intermediate grade students identified as severely learning disabled. Results suggested that regular classroom teachers need to provide students with LD with more explicit conceptual explanations of cognitive requirements of tasks…

Reviews provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and recent court decisions related to inclusion of children with disabilities in typical classrooms; considers various definitions of inclusion; outlines the positions of various proponents and opponents; identifies some problematic issues; proposes criteria for inclusion plans;…

This study compared the self-concepts of secondary students in either a segregated (institutional), congregated, or mainstream resource program setting. Results suggested academic advantages in attending resource programs and social advantages in segregated settings. Integrated deaf students had better self-perceptions of reading ability than…

Examined developmentally appropriate practices in learning centers in an integrated preschool classroom, noting how special education teachers made adaptations for their special needs children, and explored the role of parents. Found that special needs children developed their own voice in learning centers and self-regulatory behaviors through…