This article focuses on the potential of free tools, particularly inquiry tools for influencing participation in twenty-first-century learning in science, as well as influencing the development of communities around tools. Two examples are presented: one on the development of an open source tool for structured inquiry learning that can bridge the…

This study analysed the role of knowledge management (KM) tools used to cultivate a community of practice (CP) in its knowledge creation (KC), transfer, learning processes. The goal of such observations was to determine requirements that KM tools should address for the specific CP formed by Deaf and non-Deaf members of the CP. The CP studied is a…

The aim of this research is to study the effectiveness of general education funding system from the perspective of equal and equal educational opportunities for all in Georgia. Following the objective, the research aimed to respond three main research questions: 1. is the school financing formula effective and efficient enough to be administrated…

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) "Special Education at a Glance," which includes a copy of the "Guide to Planning and Assessing School-Based Special Education Programs," provides in a single document, information about the special education population at each Montgomery County public school, including enrollment,…

This report has been provided to the Legislature on an annual basis since 2000 when the legislature amended the language of G.L. c. 71B to align Massachusetts special education terminology with the federal "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" ("IDEA"). The Department is required to submit an annual report on compliance…

The Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP) is the assessment tool that Virginia uses to measure the progress of students with significant cognitive disabilities on the state's Aligned Standards of Learning (ASOL). The VAAP was developed in order to comply with No Child Left Behind's (2001) requirement of educational accountability for all…

Since passage of federal legislation in 1975, students with disabilities have had the right to receive educational supports and services in general education classrooms. This practice is known as inclusive education. Most research about inclusive education has focused on the development and implementation of effective classroom practices. This…

Although increasing numbers of schools say they are adopting inclusive models of service delivery, many students with significant disabilities continue to experience segregation and isolation in school settings. This article, written from a parent's perspective, highlights a series of questions that school leadership, educators, and families can…

There are two parts to socialization, informal and formal. In the United States, informal lessons of socialization come from a child's primary caretaker(s). Imagine a child growing up in this informal setting only to see the world from one perspective through that unique experience. Later the child goes into a formal school setting, to realize…

Cultural competency training has been present in academic medicine for many years but interest has resurfaced when the Institute of Medicine released a report on health care disparity and called for curriculum improvement in medical education to eliminate the disparity in health care in the United States. This new interest, reinforced by medical…

The purpose of this brief study was to explore whether the traditional pull-out method, the coteaching method, or the combined method produced higher performances for students with disabilities over a three-year academic period at the elementary and middle school level. The results of the non-experimental quantitative study using student CRCT…

How best to provide special education services to middle school students with learning disabilities (LD) has long been a contentious topic of debate among educators, researchers, politicians, and parents. With the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA, 2001) and the reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA,…

The public special education system of the Republic of Azerbaijan is built on the Soviet science of "defectology." In this system, most government-provided educational services segregate children with disabilities in special schools and home environments, separate from children without disabilities and from society at large. From 2005 to…

Special education master's degrees are proliferating, most probably in response to the requirement for all special education teachers to be highly qualified. The aim of the study is to evaluate the 10-year Master's Degree "Educating in Diversity" (MDED) at the University of La Laguna (ULL) and to examine the extent to which the…

Australian policy initiatives and state curriculum reform efforts affirm a commitment to address student disengagement through the development of inclusive school environments, curriculum, and pedagogy. This paper, drawing on critical social theory, describes three Australian projects that support the cultivation of teachers' beliefs, knowledge…