Common sense cannot and must not serve as the basis for professional practice. It is an inadequate approach to understanding the workings of the school bureaucracy and counterproductive in efforts to foster student learning. The great challenge to teacher educators is not to miss present opportunities to upgrade teacher education. (MT)

The article argues that mainstreaming decisions regarding hearing impaired students should be based on academic, communication, personal/social, classroom, and support variables and should take into account new research on language assessment, language skills needed for the mainstream, and needed modifications. (CL)

An interdisciplinary project for secondary level mainstreamed hearing impaired students employed photography, word processing, journalism, and graphic arts to promote independent creativity. Academic skills were taught or remediated via this approach, which was motivating to the students. (CL)

A cooperative tutoring program between vocational and special education teachers can ease the integration of mildly handicapped students into vocational classes. Tutors should receive training on instructional techniques as well as feedback on their performance. Cooperation among the tutors and the special and vocational teachers can lead to…

The article describes a successful consultative approach based on the use of heterogeneous cooperative learning groups with special students in the regular secondary classroom. Significant improvement in classroom behaviors, social attitudes, and math achievement was noted. (CL)

Eighty-five mildly handicapped cerebral palsy children (6-16 years old) integrated into regular schools were assessed to identify characteristics associated with academic success and social acceptance. About 50 percent were successful in reading accuracy and comprehension, 45 percent in arithmetic, and 60 percent were socially acceptable to peers.…

Twenty students with learning difficulties transferred to regualar schools were followed to determine factors affecting outcome, management, and rate of transfer. Conclusions included the need to involve all professionals involved with the pupil and/or family and the need to increase resources in secondary schools. (CL)

A half-day structured learning program for high school students unable to function adequately in mainstream settings is described. Key ingredients include a weekly student-staff meeting, goal setting and goal checking, behavioral checklists, group counseling in the form of a Human Relations course, and academic modifications. (JW)

Madeleine Will, assistant secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, talks about the direction she plans to take toward improved understanding of disabilities and better services for handicapped students. (SK)

A middle school science teacher describes approaches for teaching mildly handicapped mainstreamed students. Suggestions are made for content (beginning with a study of the human body), methods and materials, and the importance of good discipline. (CL)

The author states a definition of mainstreaming and lists 30 underlying principles of mainstreaming, then describes 17 models ranked as most successful (e.g., the resource plan--most commonly used) by special education directors who responded to a national survey. Noted is importance of ongoing inservice education and individualized teaching. (MC)

Subjects, 139 first- through sixth-grade teachers, read a vignette of a hypothetical emotionally disturbed student and responded to an attitudinal survey. Teachers responded most negatively toward aggressive and least negatively toward withdrawn students. Teachers expressed more concern for mainstreamed students, less concern for others, and the…

Severely physically handicapped children (N=84) in deinstitutionalized and institutionalized programs were assessed on measures of locus of control and incentive orientation. Ss in institutionalized programs were found to be significantly more internally controlled and more intrinsically motivated than their counterparts in mainstreamed settings.…

Of 26,246 high school seniors surveyed, 514 identified themselves as having hearing problems. Data were compared to those of their normally hearing peers regarding demographic characteristics, academic achievement, and motivation. Black students were underrepresented among mainstreamed Ss and hearing-impaired subgroup's scores on academic…