Summarizes presentations at an international symposium on "Autonomy and Foreign Language Learning." Topics include the good language learner; experiments in learner autonomy; individualized learning in Italian universities; adult language learning; learner autonomy in the classroom; cultural variation in learning styles; use of…

Links the literature on learned helplessness with best practices in teaching children who are deaf-blind. Defines "learned helplessness" and "mastery motivation;" considers identification of learned helplessness; and offers suggestions such as rewarding independent rather than dependent behaviors and integrating orientation, mobility, and…

Suggests foreign students in Australia may not be getting preparation needed to integrate successfully into university study. Research is reviewed that indicates these students not only need help preparing for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) but also with learning at an Australian university. Academic preparation courses…

This article analyzes educational policy for students with mild mental retardation in terms of four important outcomes: (1) successful employment; (2) development of independence; (3) the acquisition of life skills; and (4) successful involvement within the school and community. Inhibitors of successful outcomes are identified, and federal and…

The use of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) has been hailed as a solution to the problem of access to native speakers for language learners. This project was devised to investigate whether regular and structured use of email, here via a bulletin board, might enhance learners' study of French, with regard to developing learner autonomy and…

Two of Susan Moller Okin's articles are discussed: "Reason and feeling in thinking about justice", "Ethics" 99(2), 1989: 229-49 and "Mistresses of their own destiny: group rights, gender, and realistic rights of exit", "Ethics" 112(2), 2002: 205-30. Her argument on the foundation necessary for Rawls's…

Background: Association between parenting dimensions and externalizing behaviors in children was examined. Method: Data on children from the middle class families of Patiala (N = 240) were collected from schools and families. Parents completed questionnaires on parenting dimensions and externalizing behaviors of children. Results: Analysis of…

This report presents outcome information concerning programs of the Colorado Division for Developmental Disabilities. Preliminary information outlines the legislative goals and the program evaluation process, which involves a longitudinal evaluation of service outcomes for a sample of adults receiving services, using the COPAR (Colorado Progress…

This monograph presents the final report of the Swedish component of TeleCommunity, a nine-nation European project exploring the potential of videotelephones. This particular study focused on the use of videotelephones to increase levels of independence, social integration, and participation in social life among adults with moderate mental…

This manual offers practical guidelines validated by research for applying instructional strategies to adults with mental retardation who are learning community-based tasks. It provides a sequenced strategy for: (1) selecting person-centered instructional goals; (2) developing quality task analyses of community-based, chained tasks; (3) selecting…

Distance education's use of the instructional systems design model has been challenged by critics who suggest that the learner is passive and learning is superficial. A suggestion is that distance education should be structured so that learners assume a more active role in the development and use of autonomous and self-directed learning…

This paper describes a study of the connections between beliefs about mathematics, autonomy, and knowledge structures in mathematics. Assumptions underlying the study were (1) that students' beliefs and knowledge are constructs of the individual and play a dynamic role in the learning and doing of mathematics; and (2) that autonomy theoretically…

The roles of teachers in traditional second language classrooms are examined and measured against current conceptual trends within the discipline of foreign language learning and teaching. These trends, especially those in interpersonal communication and learner autonomy, require a new understanding of the classroom role of the language teacher.…

The monograph emerged from experience with an independent learning program at the English Centre of the University of Hong Kong. Students enrolled in classroom-based English spend part of their study time improving their English in ways they have chosen themselves, with the support of self-access learning facilities and counselors. They were asked…

This document reports on a survey of 309 Virginians with disabilities, of all ages, concerning first, the satisfaction with and need for services, and second, the current status of efforts to increase independence, community integration, and productivity among Virginians with developmental disabilities. Individual chapters address: the survey…