Promises to staff usually evolve around issues of working conditions and individual autonomy, but a staff's collective commitments to students can serve as a powerful catalyst for improved professional practice. In this article, the authors present two schools--Penasquitos Elementary School in San Diego, California, and Levey Middle School in…

Students are rarely given the opportunity of being decisionmakers in class, and when they are, they may feel unsure of how to organize their own learning. However, over time they come to appreciate the benefits of a more active engagement in learning English. In this paper, I describe a procedure based on Exploratory Practice (EP) for guiding…

This study evaluated the extent to which practitioners in higher education settings employ interventions that promote independence among students with learning disabilities. A survey was developed and sent to 694 practitioners across the United States involved in service delivery to students with learning disabilities at the postsecondary level.…

This manual presents suggested measures which are designed to examine the outcomes of support and service provision on the lives of people with disabilities in Illinois. Included are 30 measures for people and 16 measures for organizations. The measures were developed after initial input from people with disabilities participating in a Community…

This review of the literature defines the concept of student empowerment, discusses the implications of student empowerment in educational settings, and outlines strategies for facilitating increased empowerment. A definition of "empowerment" as "bringing into a state of belief one's ability to act effectively," is offered and the critical…

A study conducted a nationwide evaluation of 15 residential camp programs designed for children, youth, and young adults with mild to severe disabilities. The study involved 2,184 campers (ages 7-19) with disabilities and was undertaken to further validate evaluation instrumentation, evaluate residential camp programs for children with…

A study investigated how asking students to evaluate a poem-reading task stimulated their autonomy as learners. Subjects were 51 Japanese university students of English. During one 90-minute class period, students were given a brief poem with pre-reading, reading, and post-reading tasks. The poem, entitled "40-Love," had ambiguous…

This practicum paper describes an intervention to help parents increase their sense of empowerment. Expected outcomes of the intervention were that parents would: (1) increase their knowledge of concepts related to empowerment, such as control and nurturance; (2) experience a shift from an external to an internal locus of control; (3) observe an…

In the current climate of empowerment models, critical research, and deconstructed theory, this discussion raises some questions regarding the concept of "empowerment" and its use as a rubric for course and program design in teacher education. From the review of literature several usages of the term empowerment emerge. Each one is…

Written for people with mental disabilities, this booklet focuses on ways that individuals with disabilities can protect themselves from sexual abuse and understand their individual rights pertaining to sexuality. An introduction explains discrimination and gives examples of sexual abuse. The first chapter briefly discusses sexuality and sexual…

This Interview Guide provides a framework for gathering information necessary to design individualized community-based services and supports based upon the needs and desires of persons with developmental disabilities. It is not designed to be a functional assessment or a clinical evaluation, but rather a more informal and relaxed approach to…

Children with autism cannot be taught independent and responsible behavior in the way that most "sociable" children are taught, due to their deficits in social interaction and communication. Children with autism must first build trust in order to feel secure and to be able to concentrate on learning new skills and behaviors. Environmental supports…

In order to profile the reality of change within the Hungarian postsecondary education sector and to develop a portrait of the predominant themes in the reconceptualization of Hungarian vocational instruction, interviews were conducted with eight vocational experts from Hungary who visited vocational education programs in the United States. The…

This handbook is intended to help people with disabilities gain an understanding of their options in deciding where to live and with whom to share their lives. The focus of the book is on people seeking housing options in Illinois, but the book is designed to be applicable elsewhere. Chapter 1 outlines the importance of many components of…

The 2-part student workbook for mainstreamed learning and mentally disabled high school students contains 12 units intended to provide supplementary instruction in the Contemporary Parenting Choices Curriculum in the home economics class. This unit, the fourth in the Child Care part of the workbook, focuses on understanding tasks of teenagers and…