Describes four models that have been shown to be effective in including students with disabilities in regular school programs: consultation, team teaching, aide services, and limited pullout service. Advantages and challenges of inclusion at the middle-school level are addressed. (DB)

Describes, through the experiences and development of a young Ethiopian boy with congenital blindness, some of the cultural differences between Ethiopians living in Israel and Israelis, the complexity of cultural transition, and the importance of respecting and learning from different child-rearing practices and values. (Author/CR)

Excerpts from an interview with an Asian-American woman about her views on aspects of her life illustrate key issues related to the cultural implications of having a visual impairment. Suggestions for professionals who work with Asian-American or Pacific-Islander clients are also presented. (Author/CR)

Discusses delivery systems in distance education and suggests that too much time is spent on choosing a delivery system rather than analyzing distance education as a whole. Presents a distance-education hierarchy that includes hardware systems, software systems, telecommunications systems, instructional systems, educational systems, societal…

Describes an innovative program at the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School which integrates literacy skill development with auditory and speech services for students who are deaf. The program uses visual phonics; connects sign language, spoken English, and printed English; has listening/literacy centers and an assistive devices center; and…

Recounts concerns and issues raised in a series of focus-group meetings with six middle school teachers. Concerns focused on perceptions of the self-contained and inclusion models of special-education service delivery, instructional adaptations and modifications in inclusive classrooms, needed resources, the importance of community, collaboration,…

This review of educational practices for students with hearing impairments summarizes federal efforts to address these students' needs, offers current statistics on this population, and reviews communication options and current challenges in the areas of new technologies, approaches, and options. Promising practices and recommendations are…

Discusses how a parent advisory process was used to write professional-education competencies and develop teaching strategies for a military medical school. Includes recommendations for involving parents of young children with special needs in successful advisory activities. (Author/CR)

Discusses original recommendations on the preparation of early interventionists and reviews numerous societal, policy/legislative, and service delivery changes that have occurred over the past 10 years in early-childhood special education. Progress in the development of licensure/certification guidelines is highlighted, and the need for further…

This response to Mahoney et al. (EC 623 392) agrees that there is currently less emphasis on parent education in the early-intervention literature but suggests that the current emphasis on family-centered services can be integrated with parent education while supporting family empowerment. (DB)

Favored explanations for the achievement gap between black and white students reflect experts' positions on the ideological spectrum, while overlooking fundamental problems with the educational delivery system. The situation of black students is not hopeless, thanks to new research that abandons whites' academic performance as the norm and…

This article describes how to maximize clinician participation in outcome management systems: articulate the value of the outcomes management system, involve clinical staff in its design, make it relevant to treatment goals, assure clinicians it will not be used punitively, show how it will improve treatment, and obtain staff feedback. (Contains…

This article describes the development of a provider-based outcome measurement system, describing core components and processes, what to measure, who should be involved in the development and measurement process, and what data collection technologies can be used or adopted. Problems in developing model outcome measurement services are presented.…

Between 1984-1989, following establishment of the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, a reform-oriented, noncollective professional project emerged that marooned 30 percent of the nursing work force in an obsolescent occupational group. UKCC eroded nursing's labor-market position with the National Health…

Draws on interviews and site visits in 36 states, a literature review, and other data to contrast first-generation and second-generation school-linked comprehensive partnerships. Discusses characteristics of each partnership and concludes that school-linked services can be transformational tools, especially when tied to family and community…