Relates personal experiences to the challenges of the inclusive classroom. Details recommendations for inclusive classrooms, including the following: value each child's uniqueness; individualize expectations and goals; adapt the classroom environment to support children's needs; tailor staff responsibilities to support children's needs; and…

Analyzed one-year gains of children with severe disabilities, children with mild/moderate disabilities, and typically-developing children, in segregated or integrated preschools. Found that segregated programs had smaller adult/child ratios and shorter operating hours than integrated programs. Children with severe disabilities in segregated…

A study examined one English local education authority's approach for developing greater links between a special school and mainstream schools, with the intention of enabling pupils with complex needs to be supported in mainstream classrooms. Results from interviews with 25 teachers indicate the need for effective classroom support. (Contains…

Explores attitudes of mainstream teachers toward the inclusion of children with special needs in the ordinary school. Reveals that teachers who have been implementing inclusive programs, having active experience with inclusion, possess more positive attitudes. Shows the importance of professional development in forming positive attitudes. (CMK)

Despite increasing policy commitment by government to the inclusion of children with special educational needs in mainstream services, significant numbers of disabled children continue to be placed in residential schools. This article reports on the policies and practice of education and social service authorities in England, patterns of…

Explores the concept of the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) in the 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments and examines how its recently released federal regulations direct the statute's implementation. The goal is to clarify the direction of the new regulations, and to examine their prospects for supporting the provision…

Describes an experimental program that includes adjunct support designed to promote access to postsecondary education for more English-as-a-Second-Language students. (Author/VWL)

Discusses learner diversity in physical education, drawing parallels among attempts to integrate children with disabilities, less skilled learners, and disinterested learners; examining ethical versus comparative inclusion paradigms (highlighting Paul and Wards' 1996 research); and suggesting how physical educators might better serve all students'…

This article discusses preliminary research results that indicate placement of children (n=216) with emotional/behavioral difficulties into a Nurture Group has a positive effect on a significant proportion of pupils. There is also evidence that the parents of children in Nurture Groups benefit from the positive progress made by their children.…

Recounts the experience of a parent of a special needs child attending an early child care center that embraces inclusion. Describes: (1) the search for a center; (2) her child's experience at school; (3) making inclusion possible; and (4) integration of all the parts. Asserts that all the children in the center benefit from inclusion. (SD)

Australian elementary teachers (n=571) in whose classrooms children with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities were included were surveyed. Sources of stress included their perceived competence, their concern that the education of the majority of students not be affected, and the behavior of the child with disabilities. (SK)

Many school systems are moving toward an inclusion model for teaching special learners in which all students are included in general classrooms. The basic premise is that all students should first be placed in the general classroom. Students receive as many necessary supplementary aids and services as possible in the general classroom, and then,…

As a field, special education presents an excellent case study of the paradox of differentiation and integration, wherein we seek solutions through increased specialization but, in so doing, we redefine a problem in terms of discrete parts at the expense of the whole. As Thomas Skrtic pointed out more than a decade ago, a large and ever-widening…

Collaboration as a cornerstone of effective school inclusion is an idea that has high theoretical currency among many scholars in the areas of special education and educational leadership. The challenge for educational practitioners is to find ways to implement high-quality special education programs collaboratively amid the public call for school…

Providing appropriate programs for young children with disabilities is a priority of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (IDEA), recently reauthorized as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004. The IDEIA requires that programs be provided in natural or least restrictive environments, and…