The experience of one handicapped boy and his family at a Concord (New Hampshire) elementary school that practices inclusive education highlights obstacles the parents met with regard to placing their son at the local school, early successes, social and academic progress for the student, and changing attitudes. (JB)

Regular and special educators (n=192) were assigned a case study describing a student having a learning and/or behavior problem and made a placement decision. Results indicated that regular and special educators were most likely to agree with regular class placement when they were high in both personal efficacy and teaching efficacy. (Author/JDD)

Teacher ratings on the RISK scale for 2,306 kindergarten students were used to predict which children were ultimately placed in resource rooms or regular education. All five RISK factors were significantly related to future school performance. Most predictive items were child ability, current performance, and teacher investment. Overall RISK scale…

This qualitative research project examined employment opportunities for youth with disabilities in Central America. Despite economic problems, high unemployment, architectural barriers, and attitudinal barriers, the study found innovations in financing, special education and rehabilitation programing, job development, and job placement…

Questionnaires completed by families and teachers of 1,009 students with severe disabilities were analyzed in terms of 4 conceptual models of integrated student placement: a programs/facilities model, a socioeconomic model, an advocacy model, and a combined model. Teacher advocacy and Individualized Education Program characteristics were most…

Handicapism, bias against the disabled, is a major barrier to the successful education and integration of children with disabilities. Educators need to devise strategies to deal with handicapism, beginning with disability awareness programs. A variety of instructional approaches is necessary to capitalize on students' strengths and learning…

This paper describes a successful model of supported employment developed by a single small agency previously providing services as a segregated day activity center. Included is discussion of the service agency, program methodology, barriers to successful community-based employment, manner in which barriers were overcome, program outcomes, and…

Describes how career services offices can facilitate handicapped students' search for and acquirement of rewarding careers. Suggests general guidelines on proper attitudes and helpful operations, ways to make offices physically and attitudinally accessible, integration of disabled persons into mainstream services, and tailoring programs to…

This study evaluated the Consent Screening Interview, which assesses the ability of adults with developmental disabilities to give direct consent for community residential placement. Interviews conducted with 17 adults with mental retardation and a control group of 8 individuals indicated that the instrument differentiated between those subjects…

Like medieval war games of dialectical argument, today's education model is based on idea of competition, a scholastic sorting process aimed at fixing every child's place in life. So long as access to higher education rests on standardized test scores and/or high school grades in conventional subjects, higher education institutions will subject…

This article considers legal aspects of conflicts between schools wishing to exclude a child perceived as dangerous and parents, in the context of the procedural safeguards and "stay put" provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as interpreted in the Honig versus Doe court case. Methods of obtaining preliminary…

Assessed the assignment of students in an urban system to ninth-grade mathematics courses against a meritocratic definition of fairness to determine whether the process denied access to students from particular segments of society. Results with 1611 students show that entrance to the gatekeeper mathematics courses was unfairly denied for low…

This brief paper reviews six studies which examined out-of-home placement by Israeli parents of children with severe developmental disabilities. Implications for policy and practice are drawn, including the need for respite-care services, extended hours in schools, recreation programs, support services for parents, and training programs for…

Increasingly, doctoral programs are cutting enrollments to allow them to offer more financial support to doctoral students, often guaranteeing five-year stipends. The combination of fewer applicants and fewer places in doctoral programs has created competition for the best graduate students. Course offerings have also been reduced, making…

Discusses the failure of schools to prepare students with disabilities, their peers, the faculty, or the environment before placing a student with a disability in the general-education classroom. Components of a quality program for students with disabilities are described, including an appropriate curriculum and specific successful classroom…