The report describes a model competency-based, graduate level, administrator education project designed to produce career education leaders at all educational levels whose expertise is based on competencies earned rather than on hours spent in a classroom. The first chapter of the report identifies four means of securing competency (prior…

This is a final progress report on a two-year project that developed a basic and clerical skills training system for women from AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) households that included the establishment of a company employing former trainees. The following were important components: comprehensive education; a day-care facility;…

This resource guide deals with open education at the secondary level. It concentrates on open education schools and programs in the Boston area, as its intended audience is Massachusetts Educators. The "open" concept in education is discussed, and a scale designed to measure the extent to which a given program embodies the open school…

The Single Concept Introductory Mathematics Project (SCIMP) offered an individualized, self-paced, media-oriented approach to remedial algebra at the community college level. Seventy-one behavioral objectives were identified and videotapes and worksheets prepared for each; mini-tests were given after each lesson and a final exam administered at…

Forty randomly selected, nonvolunteer, low achieving ninth graders selected from four classes in an inner city junior high school, were assigned the role of tutor to elementary school children in order to determine if this practice was promising as a method of compensatory education. In three of the four classrooms, the tutors and nontutors…

Transition is movement or change without interruption. It should be a smooth flow from one place or condition to another. While the transition plan for a student receiving special education services is designed to prepare him or her for life after high school, transition can start when a child enters preschool. The second of six distinct stages of…

Evaluation is a process that helps parents and schools determine whether a child has a disability. Under IDEA a "child with a disability" is one who qualifies for special education and related services. A child cannot receive special education without an evaluation. Evaluation is completed in all areas of suspected disability. The…

This paper focuses on "technologies for voice" that are related to the self-determination of youth with developmental disabilities. The authors describe a self-determination model that values family-focused, community-referenced pedagogies employing "new media" to give voice to youth and their families. In line with the adage that a picture is…

Today's special education teachers are expected to be able to give all students access to the general education curriculum (McLaughlin & Thurlow, 2003). This responsibility can be particularly challenging given the wide range of ages, ability levels, and needs of the students they teach (Huefner, 2000). This paper describes results of a thorough…

This article presents the fourth part in the 12 installment series that presents the experiences of a fictitious couple, Amita and Samir, as they learn to adapt to the reality of having a premature baby with special needs. It describes the services provided by various community resources to children and youth with special healthcare needs and…

When accurately assigned and administered appropriately, testing accommodations help ameliorate the effects of personal characteristics that limit access to critical information and prevent a person from demonstrating his or her true abilities in the tested domain. Inaccurate assignment or misuse of accommodations may counteract the benefits of…

The overrepresentation of students with racial, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity (RCELD) in special education has been well documented for over 30 years. This phenomenon is known as "disproportionality." In an effort to address the disproportionate issue, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction funded a collaborative…

This report describes research on the portfolio process that the Oceanside (California) Unified School District uses to identify and plan instruction for students in the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program. The report is based on interviews conducted with educators in two elementary schools that participated in the GATE curriculum,…

This issue of the "Quarterly Resource" focuses on Head Start's role in complying with federal regulation concerning Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for young children with disabilities. The report spells out the responsibilities of the local education agency and of the Head Start program. It discusses membership on the…

This handbook provides a guide for teachers on including children with special needs in the regular classroom. Different aspects of inclusion and its process are elaborated by way of 26 tips which concern: (1) acceptance; (2) belonging; (3) cooperation; (4) diversity; (5) the process of inclusion; (6) friendship; (7) students' gifts and talents;…