This article, by Jackie Lambe, lecturer in education, and Robert Bones, lecturer in psychology, both from the University of Ulster, provides a useful review of the current state of policy, practice and teacher education relating to pupils with special educational needs in Northern Ireland. The authors use this review to launch their account of…

Inclusion began in the United States and Europe as a special education initiative on behalf of students with disabilities as early as the 1980s. Now, more than two decades later, schools in these countries are changing as educators, parents, politicians and communities try to prepare for the new challenges and promises of the twenty-first century.…

This study compared general educators' (175) perceptions regarding the envisioned inclusion of a pupil with either dyslexia or mild mental retardation. Educators filled out three questionnaires, Teacher Efficacy Scale, Teachers Response to Inclusion and a School Climate Scale. Fifty-three percent filled out the surveys based on having a pupil with…

The contribution of teaching assistants, learning support assistants or classroom assistants is becoming increasingly important in inclusive and specialist classrooms. In this article, Marjatta Takala, professor in special education at the University of Helsinki, describes her research into the work of 14 classroom assistants working in a mix of…

There have been many research projects studying the use of peer intervention strategies to develop the social, communication and interaction skills of children with autism, yet few of these studies focus in detail on the impact of such strategies on the mainstream peers. In this article, Val Jones, an advisory teacher for autism spectrum…

Including children with autism in regular classrooms has become prevalent; yet some evidence suggests such placements could increase the risk of isolation and rejection. In this study, we used social network methods to explore the involvement of children with autism in typical classrooms. Participants were 398 children (196 boys) in regular 2nd…

The government's policy of inclusive education has received widespread support from educationalists and parents alike. The government argues that barriers to inclusion can be broken down with continuing professional development courses for teachers and by more effective multi-agency partnerships. It seems not to have considered how children's own…

This paper analyzes the definition of "learning in a regular classroom" (LRC), makes a comparison between LRC and inclusive education, and subsequently conducts an exploration into the nature of LRC. The conclusion is that LRC is a pragmatic model of inclusion that has evolved out of a compromise between the Western concept of inclusion…

In this article, Catherine Adams, clinical senior lecturer in speech and language therapy at the University of Manchester, and Julian Lloyd, senior lecturer in psychology at Newman College, Birmingham, describe the implementation and effects of an intensive programme of speech and language therapy for children who have pragmatic language…

As P-12 education changes to meet the needs of children and federal and state regulations, teacher education must change to prepare candidates with knowledge and skills expected of today's educators. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and No Child Left Behind Act increased opportunities for students with disabilities to be educated…

Reintegrating students with emotional and behavioral disorders from alternative school settings to the mainstream school environment presents significant challenges. Students are frequently unsuccessful when they return to home districts. Most researchers address the problem in a variable-centric manner, and explore specific student, teacher,…

The purpose of this paper is to provide brief descriptions and links to a number of reputed websites on various topics and issues of special education. The web sites are organized in the following categories: (1) Teaching in Inclusive Classroom, (2) Policies, Procedures, & Process of Special education, (3) Students with High Incidence…

The purpose of this study was to analyse Japanese physical education teachers' beliefs on teaching students with disabilities in integrated classes. The participants were five physical education teachers in Japan. Situated in planned behaviour theory developed by Icek Ajzen in 1985, the research method was descriptive-qualitative case study as…

Students with learning and behavioral disorders often lack the requisite academic skills and behavioral self-control to remain engaged during passive seatwork activities. Because independent seatwork composes a large portion of the instructional time in general education classrooms and teachers expect students to demonstrate self-control in these…

This informational flyer discusses the provision of educational services within general education classrooms to students with severe disabilities, including deaf-blindness. The legal basis for inclusion is reviewed, a rationale for full inclusion is offered, a working definition of full inclusion is provided, best practices and benefits of full…