Although professional standards for Australian teachers were developed several years ago, this country is yet to develop such standards for special education teachers. The lack of standards for the special education profession is associated with the absence of a consistent process of accreditation in Australia and a lack of clarity in the pathways…

In this article, I summarise the primary content included in a keynote address I delivered via videoconferencing in July 2012 at the national conference of the "Australian Association of Special Education", held jointly with the annual conference of the "Tasmanian Principals Association" in Hobart, Tasmania. The address focused…

Despite advances in our knowledge of evidence-based inclusive educational practice, much of this knowledge does not reach routine classroom practice. There remains a significant gap between our accumulated knowledge about what can work in classrooms and the extent to which evidence-based practice is used in sustainable ways. This inability to…

Supporting students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in inclusive settings presents both opportunities and significant challenges to school communities. This study, which explored the lived experience of nine students with ASD in an inclusive high school in Australia, is based on the belief that by listening to the voices of students, school…

In Volume 35, Issue 1 of the "Australasian Journal of Special Education," Carter, Stephenson and Strnadova (2011) replicated a study by Burns and Ysseldyke (2009). In Carter et al.'s study, 194 Australian special educators were asked to rate the extent to which they used eight instructional practices. These practices were applied behaviour…

Dempsey has provided a commentary on our study (Carter, Stephenson, & Strnadova, 2011) examining the reported rates of use of instructional practices by Australian special educators. Examining this commentary, it is evident that on many issues we are on the same page and agree on many of the fundamental conclusions to be drawn from the study.…

In this article, the authors review the way in which the Victorian government has responded to the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools, and consider what further efforts could be made to improve inclusive educational practices. Key measures introduced by the state education authority in relation to the…

The aim of this article is to promote discussion and professional development around the topic of learning difficulties in mathematics, particularly as these pertain to teaching and learning in the middle school years. The article has three sections. In the first section, a review of literature about learning difficulties (LD) in mathematics is…

In her Des English Memorial Lecture, the author provides some commentary on the changes that have occurred during her career in relation to the field of special education. In the 25 years that she has worked as an educator and been involved in special education in one way or another, there have been very significant and fundamental changes of…

Much of current inclusive education provision in Australian secondary schools relies on "specialist" support from outside the classroom. Students with diverse abilities are placed within the regular classroom and additional specialist services such as therapy, counselling, psychological assessment and special education teaching are required to…

Many students approach the transition to secondary school with feelings of both excitement and apprehension, but it is excitement that usually prevails. For students with Asperger's Syndrome, however, those aspects of secondary school that most students anticipate with great enthusiasm, such as being in a new and larger environment, having…

The article briefly examines public policy and practices concerning mainstreaming in the United States, Great Britain, and Australia. Ambiguity in definitions of integration are noted, and proposed definitions are offered which distinguish between full, predominant, partial, and minimal integration. (JW)