This article explores the social context surrounding Lloyd Dunn's 1968 paper on educational reform for children with mild disabilities, noting the subsequent adoption of resource specialist services in place of special day classes, changes in numbers of students with mild mental retardation and their behavioral characteristics, and the current…

The growing practice of arranging foster placement of abused children with relatives provides an opportunity to redefine relationships between extended families and the child welfare system and to develop five areas of the social work curriculum: human behavior and social environment, social welfare policy and services, social work practice,…

Assessed life-skills knowledge levels among older foster adolescents in foster family homes, group homes/institutions, and apartments. Results suggest a need to improve life-skills preparation in group home/institutional settings, to target minority males for life-skills enhancement in all placement settings, and to utilize apartment placements to…

Compared the application of intensive family preservation services (IFPS) to reunify children in out-of-home care placement with their biological families, with the same service used for preventing the need for such placements. Suggests that the relative usage of specific services and service goals confirmed the continuation of the original model.…

Reports on a study of the role of pupil age in scholastic performance among 4,123 Maltese primary-age students. Finds a strong and consistent age effect in Maltese, English, and mathematics achievement in three grade levels. Also finds that girls consistently outperformed boys in the three subjects. (CFR)

The background and rationale for the 2 tests are described and results of a norming and validation study involving 804 Mexican-American college freshmen in 5 border community colleges are reported. The results provide evidence that the DTES and VAT are reliable and effective for Mexican-American students, having overcome inadequacies of other…

This study presents cross-tabulations of educational placement variables by demographic characteristics for subgroups of the deaf and hard-of-hearing population (n=40,518). Variables include type of school, amount of academic integration with hearing students, number of hearing-impaired students, degree of hearing loss, age, ethnic and racial…

First-year data from a longitudinal investigation of over 1,100 children receiving different types of gifted services or regular instruction indicated significant differences in achievement levels, self-concepts, and teacher ratings of students selected for different services, with achievement fostered by special school and class options and…

The paper addresses placement of students with severe disabilities in regular or special classes within home schools, describes Vermont's Homecoming Model Project, and identifies best educational practices. The roles of state-level support and school leadership are stressed. Instructional strategies including data-based methods, partner learning…

Describes the comprehensive set of minicourses and services provided by John Wood Community College to prepare handicapped individuals for vocational training and employment. Explains the program's recruitment, intake/assessment, developmental, training, job placement, and follow-up components. (DMM)

Interviews with 14 social work students with disabilities and 12 practicum directors gathered information about field education expectations, special and general considerations for placement, agency response to request for placement, school response to agencies, student response to placement, factors promoting student acceptance in the field, and…

Patrick O'Hearn School in Boston (Massachusetts) has been a model integration elementary school, integrating children with disabilities with regular education students since 1989. Elements of the program include 2 teachers in each classroom of 20 students, a visually impaired principal, a family center, and a planned home visitation program. (JB)

Presents results of a survey of high school history teachers which shows that advanced placement teachers are more likely to have a master's degree. Reports that such teachers are more academically demanding than general enrollment history teachers. Emphasizes the importance of adequate history preparation in teacher accreditation programs. (DK)

Ability grouping can impact students' self-esteem and cause segregation. Suggestions for using ability grouping beneficially include reassessing grouping assignments frequently, varying instructional levels and pace, assigning groups based on demonstrated needs and abilities, grouping students for only one or two subjects, and using ability groups…

A process for readying students to change from special education to regular mathematics classrooms was implemented and validated in a study involving 42 students with mild disabilities in experimental and control groups. Preparation appeared to enhance achievement while in special education, but not in the regular class. (SLD)