This book is designed to reaffirm the value of special instruction and to provide information on current research and practice which shows productive and successful outcomes. It addresses the definition of disabilities, the assessment of disabilities, instruction, special populations, special education legislation and policy, and integration. Specific chapters include: (1) "Defining Learning Disabilities: Consonance and Dissonance" (Kenneth A. Kavale and Steven R. Forness); (2) "Attention Deficit Disorders" (Janet W. Lerner); (3) "Defining Emotional or Behavioral Disorders in School and Related Services" (Steven R. Forness and Kenneth A. Kavale); (4) "Classification for Children" (Deborah L. Speece and Beth Harry); (5) "'Whether' Thou Goest...Perspectives on Progress Monitoring" (Stanley L. Deno); (6) "Programming: Aligning Teacher Thought Processes with the Curriculum" (Kenneth W. Howell and Marcia R. Davidson); (7) "Assessment of Social Competence in Students with Learning Disabilities" (Diane Haager and Sharon Vaughn); (8) "Comorbidity of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders" (Melody Takersley and Timothy J. Landrum); (9) "Theory of Mastery and Acceleration" (Siegfried Engelmann); (10) "Advances in Research on Instruction" (Barak Rosenshine); (11) "Accommodating Student Heterogeneity in Mainstreamed Elementary Classrooms through Cooperative Learning" (Robert J. Stevens and Jill D. Salisbury); (12) "Whole Language and Process Writing: Does One Approach Fit All?" (Steve Graham and Karen R. Harris); (13) "Barriers to the Implementation of Effective Educational Practices for Young Children with Disabilities" (Judith J. Carta and Charles R. Greenwood); (14) "Forging a Research Program on Multicultural Preservice Teacher Education in Special Education: A Proposed Analytic Scheme" (Alfredo J. Artiles and Stanley C. Trent); (15) "Antisocial Girls and the Development of Disruptive Behavioral Disorders" (Elizabeth Talbott and Kevin Callahan); (16) "A Diversity of Restrictive Environments: Placement as a Problem of Social Ecology" (James M. Kauffman and Daniel P. Hallahan); (17) "The Legislation and Federalization of Special Education" (Dixie Snow Huefner); (18) "Bridging the Research-to-Practice Gap" (Douglas W. Carnine); and (19) "Educating Students with Disabilities: The Future of Special Education" (Naomi Zigmond). (Each chapter includes references.) (CR)