Suggests that mandatory placement of underprepared students in developmental courses may actually provide the key to opening the door to true academic, vocational, or community success, despite criticism by some that it excludes students and restricts their freedoms. Discusses ethical balances between access, student success and academic…

This reprint of an article on using grade advancement as a method for meeting the needs of some intellectually or academically gifted students is preceded by a commentary that concludes that popular sentiment and negative folklore supporting grade advancement are unfounded. Grade advancement guidelines are provided. (Contains references.) (CR)

Special education teachers (n=350) completed the Expanded Teacher Efficacy Scale and the Educational Placement Vignette (which differed regarding the child's socioeconomic status and ethnicity). Results suggest that teacher responses concerning classroom management/discipline and external influences as well as a child's socioeconomic status and…

Addresses the question of how the education system responds to the needs of immigrant students on arrival in Vancouver, Canada, focusing on reception classes. The Oakridge Reception and Orientation Centre (OROC) was created to serve various functions for such students, including ascertaining their literacy backgrounds and assigning them to…

Analysis of Florida data (n=159,129) found that new born infants with any of four risk factors for low socioeconomic status (SES) were 1.2 to 3.4 times more likely than others to have a learning disability placement by age 12 to 14. Proportion of placements attributable to low SES was 30 percent among boys and 39 percent among girls. (Contains…

This article examines inclusion and provides questions that parents can ask themselves when determining if inclusion is appropriate for their child. Guidelines are also provided to assist parents in determining the appropriateness of inclusion, evaluating the support that inclusion programs receive, and determining the provision of accommodations.…

A review of 36 studies on school-age children with mental retardation indicated children in general classes do not attain social acceptance ratings at as high a level as do their typical peers. Integrated students perform better than segregated students on measures of academic achievement and social competence. (Contains extensive references.)…

An escalated curriculum and higher standards are leaving some high-school students even further behind. Even with superior instruction, some students are not chronologically, developmentally, or academically ready to succeed in a particular grade. Principals must identify which students need an additional year of schooling and provide feasible…

This article addresses whether or not the assumptions upon which the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) is based remain valid as we approach the 21st century. Eligibility and labeling, free and appropriate public education, the individualized education program, and the least restrictive environment requirements are examined, and…

Little is known about field placement experiences of growing subgroups of students, particularly older, part-time, and field employment-based. Because of the centrality of field placements within MSW education, these student subgroups in field placements at one northeastern school were surveyed (N=779). A MANOVA analysis examined students'…

The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of parents in Sweden of children with special education needs, including whether perceptions varied with regard to the child's age, diagnosis or placement. The parents' general perception of their degree of effort to influence their child's education, as well as their perceived degree of influence,…

A placement at the National Institute of Conductive Education (NICE) in Birmingham for children with motor disorders is strongly preferred over mainstream or special schools by some parents, but it has been noted that this is usually refused following the current statementing process. Although funding constraints have been articulated, Angela…

The aim of this article is to explore pupils' preferences for particular types of grouping practices, an area neglected in earlier research focusing on the personal and social outcomes of ability grouping. The sample comprised over 5000 Year 9 pupils (aged 13-14 years) in 45 mixed secondary comprehensive schools in England. The schools represented…

A primary problem with special education placement is that it is a solution that comes too late for children who are first noticed by their kindergarten teachers as lacking prerequisite skills. It is of critical importance that these students, whose reading skills are low in comparison to their peers, be accurately identified through universal…

This study found that between 2000 and 2002, the percentage of students with visual impairments in the general student population of Texas was close to a previously quoted figure of 0.15%. In addition, the percentage of students with visual impairments who were identified as totally blind was found to be 4%?5% higher than the previous estimate of…