Comic Strip Conversations have been used to improve the social skills of students on the autism spectrum. Research on the effectiveness of this strategy was extended to three lower elementary-aged male students diagnosed as exhibiting high-functioning autism. One elementary special education teacher and her 2 paraprofessionals used Comic Strip…

This article discusses an evolving understanding of the relationship of assistive technology (AT) to student achievement. Clarifying the compensatory nature of AT and its role in creating a "floor of opportunity" for students with disabilities, the authors then emphasize the importance of AT for access to and productivity within both the life…

The meaning of the category and concept of mental retardation is explored through the words of a fictional character, and the accounts of real people who have been injured and stigmatized by the label. Examples of the extremes to which people have gone to avoid or escape the term mental retardation are provided. The classification of retardation…

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…

This article surveys three strands of development in the further education of young people in England since the Second World War: its institutional evolution, some aspects of the experience of its students and staff, and the political and economic imperatives that have given it shape and direction. The account draws upon a wide range of primary…

Using previously unanalysed data from a lost study--the "Adjustment of Young Workers to Work Situations" and "Adult Roles" (1962-1964)--and data from a subsequent restudy, this paper contributes to debates on vocational education by examining three themes. First, the methodological issues raised by undertaking a restudy are discussed. Second, the…

The crucial quarter century is from 1945 to the designation of the polytechnics at the end of the 1960s. Technology after the Second World War was "in the news", and recommendations for higher technological education in and outside the universities came from individuals, organisations, governments and reports in the 1950s. A White Paper on…

This paper examines the beginnings of courses of teacher training for teachers in technical and further education in England. First the development of the technical education sector and its distinctive part-time nature is traced, alongside the activities of the three associations representing the colleges and their staffs. The views of these on…

This paper revisits the crucial period following the Arab oil boycott of 1973, when the welfare state in the UK finally collapsed along with the heavy industrial base upon which it rested. Unlike the post-war welfare-state "settlement", the new post-welfare market state was imposed by Margaret Thatcher's governments. It was marked for vocational…

This article seeks to add to current policy and debate on apprenticeships and youth transitions more widely by reflecting back upon the historical experience of the apprenticeship model. The research comprises in-depth interviews with 30 people who undertook apprenticeships in a range of trades in Great Britain in the period 1944-1982. The…

The paper examines the influence of behaviourism on vocational education and training in Britain in the period between the Second World War and the mid-1970s. By the 1970s, behaviourism provided deeply-rooted underlying curricular and pedagogic principles that were widely accepted by VET professionals in the UK. Insofar as behaviourist ideas were…

This paper summarizes the results of a review of the empirical literature (1990-2005) focusing on use of assistive technology as a self-management tool for persons with intellectual disabilities. Forty investigations were identified which provided information on assistive technology to assist persons with disabilities to initiate and complete…

Quality of life and self-determination are important values in the field of intellectual disabilities however they may be difficult to facilitate with persons who have limited communication skills. In fact, many studies provide evidence that these persons have less opportunity to make choices and express their preferences. To help practitioners…

Federal laws mandate that students with cognitive disabilities receive instruction in academic skills and also support the importance of teaching self-determination. The purpose of this literature review was to synthesize intervention research examining effects of self-determination interventions on academic skills for students with cognitive…

Neither school reform nor the focus on developing accountability systems that measure and evaluate the success of schooling are new or innovative educational practices. Even before the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, many states had changed or were changing their accountability and assessment systems. Similarly, individual school…