This paper reports on a symposium of experts in child and family development and health care which met to discuss integrated systems of services. The symposium was part of the Carolina Policy Studies Program which is addressing policy implementation of Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The paper notes IDEA's…

This manual presents principles and methods of assistive technology in the context of rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. The manual contains eight chapters. The introductory chapter identifies assistive technology values and principles. The second chapter focuses on assistive technology as a problem solving process with various levels of…

This study investigated the relationship between teachers' perceived levels of empowerment in middle level education interdisciplinary teams and departmentally organized programs. Further, it attempted to determine whether significant differences existed in teachers' perceptions of each of six identified subscales of empowerment (decision-making,…

This interdisciplinary inservice training project at the University of Illinois at Chicago was designed to improve early childhood occupational and physical therapy services by developing, implementing, evaluating, and disseminating a comprehensive training model. The competency-based program was designed to address the developmental needs of…

The conference reported in this document had three aims: to initiate dialogue on furthering the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) through disability policy research; to identify the resources and infrastructures available to enhance the process; and to articulate steps that can be taken to monitor implementation of the…

The emergence of vocational curricula each with specific proficiencies has led to a new concept of the major dominated by technical rather than liberal learning. Although this has occurred at both two- and four-year institutions, applied curricula tend to disadvantage two-year students more than than their four-year counterparts because of less…

Researchers at the Coast Guard Academy have designed and tested a series of exercises for assessing the development of intellectual skills in an interdisciplinary context and providing career-related motivation for continued learning. These exercises are based on realistic situations that cadets might encounter as commissioned officers in the…

To what extent can photographic readability be formalized for use as a criterion in the evaluation of instructional materials? The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot test a readability index for evaluating photographic illustrations in instructional materials. The index uses an interdisciplinary battery of methods adapted from the…

In order to improve the quality of instruction at California State University Fullerton, this 3-year project established multi-disciplinary faculty resource teams from liberal arts, social sciences, and professional programs to design and lead one-week discussions in host classes. Teams were composed of seven members with a core group of three…

The first program session, "Exercising Fair Use Rights in the '90s and Beyond," addressed the exercise of fair use rights, focusing on intellectual property management with special emphasis on the rights and perspectives of users, librarians, and educational institutions. The second session, "Organizational Change and…

It has been reported that very little time is spent in the classroom on environmental education subjects unless the teacher has a special interest in the specific topic of study. This lack of time for environmental education coupled with the lack of adequate time allotted for mathematics and science instruction suggests that integrating the…

This paper uses the integration of the disciplines of counseling psychology and teacher education in their work in Professional Development Schools (PDS) as a model to generate recommendations for restructuring schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDE). Because the involvement of counseling psychologists in PDS has created a win/win…

A foreign language curriculum is described that was designed especially for students enrolled in a master's in business education program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The program's goals are for students: (1) to attain a high-intermediate level of proficiency in speaking, listening, and reading in the target language; and…

This textbook explores ways in which to teach young adolescents successfully and is based on the premise that curriculum and teaching methods should be designed to create a challenging environment. A developmental view of the young adolescent is presented and is connected to middle level curriculum development; information on content rationales is…

There is no better way to teach African-American children than through their dialect. Yet, American schools generally respond to the language needs of black youth inappropriately. This conference presentation focuses on appropriate educational practices that support the language and cognitive development of African-American children, and the ways…