Policy initiatives to widen participation in education in Britain are counterproductive, widen the gulf between traditional and nontraditional education, and promote social exclusion. A fundamental rethinking of the educational system is required, shifting from structures that replicate a centralized system toward a focus on the needs of…

The decade of the 1980s is reviewed for its impact on disability services in Australia. Beginning with the International Year of Disabled Persons, focus during the decade was on integration of disabled persons into the classroom and community. Governmental policy initiatives at the national and state level are contributing to ongoing change. (DB)

Annie Sullivan Enterprises, Inc. (Chapel Hill, North Carolina), a community resource network for the integration of children and youth with developmental disabilities and mental health problems, is described. A brokerage model is espoused for accessing and delivering services. Recommendations based on seven years of successful operation are…

Parents of 82 children with disabilities and 132 children without disabilities, ages 2 through 5, completed questionnaires that assessed frequency of child participation in age-appropriate community activities and the parental experience of introducing the child to community settings. Overall, parents of children with disabilities reported…

The President of the American Association on Mental Retardation offers a newly realistic approach to mental retardation, requiring honest assessment of the impact of mental retardation, full rights for people with mental retardation, public policies to enhance integration, and awareness of sources of peril to the lives and freedom of people with…

Proposes Raul Yzaguirre, President of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), as a national leader for the Hispanic community. Addresses the need for unity among Hispanics and among minority groups. Summarizes Yzaguirre's career history and presents some criticism of the NCLR. Highlights issues such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, with…

A telephone survey was conducted of eight rehabilitation organizations pursuing changeover from facility-based to community-integrated services (i.e., supported employment). This paper provides information on the experience of these organizations related to their reinvestment and agency changeover to supported employment and offers…

This address first outlines identity issues faced by Canadians who are hard of hearing in communicating with and/or belonging to larger groups that are either deaf or hearing. It then looks at particular difficulties experienced by hard of hearing individuals in the areas of education, employment, and health care. (DB)

This critical literature review shows that studies of quality of life (QOL) for persons with disabilities follow a sharp dichotomy between subjective and objective approaches, whereas the phenomenon of QOL calls for a holistic approach. QOL is examined in terms of dynamic integration of the individual into the society. (Author/JDD)

Presents research review on Chicana/o ethnic identity, focusing on the National Chicano Survey, and on Chicana/o children, adolescents, and young adults. Suggests that the struggles youth face are not just related to experiences with membership in an ethnic group but as a member of a racialized group. Discusses areas of Chicana/o existence that…

Operation Heracles sought to promote the social and occupational advancement of workers with disabilities in sheltered workshops and occupational therapy centers in the Lower Rhine region. Preparation of workers for mainstream workplaces involved skills reviews, retraining, placement, and follow-up, with family participation. (SK)

Evaluation of a Michigan program to integrate persons with developmental disabilities into the community evaluated variables including involvement of allies in planning futures, number of people with disabilities residing in each home, proportion of earned income, level of disability, and level of mobility. Earned income was the variable that most…

Focuses on three assumptions: employment is central to social integration; the demand for goods and labor is becoming more individualized; and the state continues to play a major role on work and employment. Outlines frameworks for the future of labor and work in France. (JOW)

Reviews anecdotal and field experience in Europe and Central Asia in meeting the challenges of social cohesion and draws some comparisons between the social cohesion of education systems in the European and Central Asian regions and that of the United States. Outlines ways in which public education has contributed to social cohesion in the West.…

Provides reflections on the Association of College Unions International's goal regarding community-building. Discusses ideas of community, the role that college unions play as community builders, and some challenges the profession faces if it is to realize the association's goal. (EV)