Using a set of qualitative measures, 12 regular children in kindergarten and 12 regular children in grade 3 were asked to express their attitudes toward 3 same-age peers with special needs (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or learning disabilities). Results indicated that the kindergarten children were more accepting than were the grade 3…

Recommendations for ameliorating homework-communication problems were obtained from 8 parents, 13 special education teachers, and 11 classroom teachers. Participants were parents or teachers of students with mild disabilities in grades 5 through 12. The students were being mainstreamed into academic classes in which homework was assigned. (SW)

Guidelines are offered for making mainstreaming placement decisions for students with emotional or behavioral disorders. Characteristics of effective teachers of mainstreamed students are listed, and a classroom observation form and student/teacher match form are presented for use by the special education teacher in determining optimal mainstream…

This paper examines the extent to which special needs children are integrated in Manitoba; what the main concerns of the classroom teacher, the special educator, and the child are; and relevant teacher training activities. The possibility of a comprehensive service delivery system is seen as threatened by impending cut-backs in provincial funding.…

This article suggests specific strategies to prevent rejection and isolation and encourage interactions when students with disabilities are integrated into general education classes. Teachers are encouraged to foster proximity, teach peer support and friendship skills, foster respect for individual differences, and provide a positive model. (DB)

This comparison of a nationally representative sample of 269 adolescents with severe emotional disturbances and 49 nonhandicapped students focuses on subjects' personal characteristics (family structure, medication status), educational characteristics (placements, extent of mainstreaming, related services, years in special education), and…

Comparison of primary grade students (n=67) with mild mental retardation in Croatia (Yugoslavia) receiving either a special program designed by special and regular educators, regular class services but no special educational help, occasional special educational help, or special services in a special school found that students in the first group…

Ethnographic research methodology is reviewed as an emerging methodology in special education, with application made particularly to understanding regular classrooms into which students with learning handicaps may be integrated. Suggested descriptive questions for an ethnographic interview are given, for use in research investigations and in…

Interviews with parents of over 80 handicapped children revealed common themes: coping; support services through a team approach; parent's advocacy role; searching for the best educational environment; characteristics of a good teacher; stress factors in family life; and parent aspirations for the child's future. Contains 28 references. (SV)

Examines the socialization process of physically challenged children mainstreamed in an elementary school program. Concludes that an open and flexible classroom environment encourages individual independence, adaptation, and acceptance. (FMW)

The University of Hawaii Department of Special Education conducted the Preschool Preparation and Transition Project, a federally funded demonstration program, to support families and their children with special needs in the transition from infant programs to least restrictive preschool placements. The program addressed this goal through three…

A national survey of teachers serving students with serious emotional disturbances, with 191 respondents, sought to identify the nature of education programs for such students. Program types cited most frequently were mainstreaming and use of an environmental classroom structure. School demographics and teacher characteristics were also examined.…

Oral paraphrase is presented as an informal and versatile strategy for assessing and enhancing listening comprehension in mainstreamed students with language/learning disabilities. Approaches to assessing the listening comprehension demands of individual classrooms and using various dimensions of paraphrasing to enhance language comprehension and…

The drive for full inclusion has proven disastrous for certain learning-disabled students who may require alternative instructional environments, different teaching strategies, and special materials. Students with learning disabilities would succeed in regular classrooms if more special-education learning strategies, such as collaborative…

Eight articles are presented on preschool physical education (PE), focusing on the foundation of early childhood PE, developing skills through outdoor play, class structure, a practical approach, whole PE, including preschoolers with disabilities, expanding the role of teacher preparation, and a preschool annotated bibliography. (SM)