This resource manual presents information on mediation practices in special education disagreements between the school and parents. The manual provides an overview of requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and gives definitions for alternative dispute resolution processes, such as arbitration and litigation. A chart…

This report presents the results of a review of state funding for research and public service in the Florida State University System (SUS), focusing on the policy basis for research and public service, the types of SUS research and public service programs and their sources of funding, funding approaches used by other states, expenditure patterns…

This paper proposes that mild learning disability may often be more the result of teaching which ignores individual differences in learning style than the result of psychological processing and/or central nervous system disorders that are characteristic of true learning disabilities. A brief overview of learning disability identification explains…

This paper reviews definitions and issues in selective mutism in children and summarizes results of interventions conducted and published since 1982. Definitions and diagnostic criteria of the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) (1994)" and the World Health Organization's…

This report provides an overview of the use of functional assessment in the evaluation of individuals with psychiatric disabilities. It begins by discussing the difficulties with traditional forms of assessment and the development of functional assessment, particularly in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation. The need to not rely on any single…

This theme issue of a Texas journal on gifted education focuses on future challenges and options. "A Thoughtful Look at the Concept of Talent Development" (Francoys Gagne) discusses definitions of giftedness and talent and describes a differentiated model of giftedness and talent that includes five aptitude domains: intellectual, creative,…

A discussion of second language learning strategies (LLS) first reviews research on defining, classifying, and listing LLS, then looks at studies on factors affecting learners' LLS choices, and finally examines their application in second language teaching. A definition of LLS as "specific action taken by the learner to make learning easier,…

This encyclopedia is a comprehensive explanation of the study and teaching of English and language arts at all levels of education. It includes media, technology, curriculum, learning, and assessment in composition, literature, reading, drama, and language study. Designed to be used as a major resource by administrators, teachers, and students,…

This booklet is designed to help public and private community service organizations understand the applicability of wage and hour laws to volunteers used in their activities. It considers various legal interpretations of the differences between "volunteers" and "employees," and reviews the provisions of the federal Fair Labor…

Courts have tended to find that more and more behavior can be classified as sexual harassment, and many academic feminists have also pressed for a more inclusive conception of sexual harassment. Phyllis Crocker has argued that institutions of higher education should remove distinctions between "more and less" serious forms of sexual…

This guide to educational services for individuals with traumatic brain injury emphasizes that there is no such thing as a typical brain injury and that each child's recovery is unique. It stresses the schools' responsibility to serve these children's educational, psychological, emotional, communicative, and/or health needs, and urges public…

The traditional model used by all institutions of higher education include the three broad areas of teaching, scholarship, and service as part of faculty evaluation. This paper examines the definition of scholarship in higher education, focusing on current definitions of scholarship, administrators' perceptions about scholarship, measures of…

This handbook was prepared to help faculty members at American Indian tribally controlled colleges meet the challenges of teaching a heterogeneous population of persons with learning disabilities. The handbook does not attempt to point out the specific cultural ramifications of learning disabilities, but instead focuses on information about…

This summary of assessment information for programming in early childhood special education discusses principles of assessment, specific assessment procedures, and assessment instruments. An overview section on assessment provides definitions of "assessment" and "evaluation" and discusses the importance of assessment for…

A conceptual analysis deals with the question of what is meant by the term "teaching." In other words, what are the necessary criteria of teaching? Criterion 1 is that there be someone in authority to fulfill the role of the teacher. Criterion 2 insists that someone fulfill the role of pupil. These patently obvious criteria are not…