Norway's educational policy is determined by the Ministry of Church and Education, although advisory councils extend to all levels including the regional. Recent legislation passed by the Storting, the country's national assembly, characterizes educational trends. The Preschool Act calls for the expansion of facilities to provide for day care and…

Curriculum materials presented in this Spanish-English guide, one of five developed as part of the vocational strategies project, are intended to provide vocational services to mildly handicapped special needs students mainstreamed into regular high schools. Material is sequentially arranged, emphasizing those skills which a student needs to know…

Excerpts and summaries of project reports presented at a 1-day seminar for educational researchers and vocational educators are included in this booklet. Project reports covered are (1) The Hardin County Research Project for Expanding the Present Vocational Experience Curriculum, which describes the occupational work orientation and exploration…

The Early Childhood Initiative (ECI), supported by the Fund for New York City Public Education, operates in four New York City schools, reinventing the early childhood classroom by combining special education and general education team teaching and a heterogeneous mix of students with developmentally appropriate instruction, authentic assessment,…

This study examined the meaning of inclusion to different stakeholder groups and implications for the identification of effective educational practices for students with disabilities. Twenty individuals involved in inclusive education in urban and suburban settings were interviewed, including regular education teachers, special education teachers,…

This book examines schools' legal responsibility for providing equal educational opportunities for children with disabilities under the 1997 reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). First, an introduction to the American legal system and federal policy on disability is provided. Next, the six principles of special education…

This learning pack explains the rights guaranteed to students with learning difficulties in the Charter for Learning, which was written by and for students in the United Kingdom. The learning pack, which is intended for learning-disabled students and the staff who work with them, begins with an overview of the content of the Charter for Learning…

This book is designed to help classroom teachers identify and plan for gifted children from special populations. It examines ways in which teachers can help these students reach their potential. The first section of the book, "Background for Changing the Present Educational Paradigm," includes chapters that discuss reasons for the failure to…

This thesis reports on a 1996 survey of Wisconsin art educators (N=161) concerning attitudes, college preservice background, availability of graduate level course work, and perceptions of working with students with exceptional education needs (EEN). An introductory chapter provides an overview of developments leading to passage of Public Law…

When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997, it authorized an evaluation to track progress at the state and local levels on the legislative goals of IDEA. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) commissioned a national longitudinal study, the Study of State and Local…

Examined special education effectiveness for students with mild disabilities in six California grade schools. Found that no single feature, structure, or organization of school environment consistently indicated a school's relative standing or its relative effectiveness based on student performance. Findings posed implications for educational…

As students with disabilities are included in regular classrooms, special educators' roles shift from classroom teacher to specialist, support, consultative, and itinerant roles. The paper examines the shift, noting implications for teacher education and inservice development that encourage preparation of all teachers with a common core of…

Provides guidelines for teachers in inclusive classrooms to help children with disabilities learn language and communication skills during everyday activities and routines. Key elements described include collaboration among team members, collecting naturalistic assessment data, developing activity-based objects, preparing an activity matrix, and…

Reviews the four articles in this special theme issue. Relates the articles to a broadened understanding of the concept of integration and its implications for education in the next century. (FMW)

A special-education paradigm looks at students as individuals, substantially involves parents, documents individual student's needs and achievement, and operates under judicial oversight. Regular education is premised upon group learning and instruction, political rather than legal accountability, and a local or statewide power source. (84…