Instructional leadership has been studied since the inception of public education in the United States, but few studies have addressed the supervisory practices used to ensure that students who have disabilities receive an appropriate public education. We used grounded theory methods to investigate how instructional leadership for special…

This article discusses interactive information book read-aloud, an instructional approach that supports both non-readers and non-fluent readers prior to the introduction of instruction in cognitive and comprehension strategies. Key components of the approach are presented, including interaction, information books, teacher awareness of text…

The rationale for inclusion is summarized and then the conceptual orientation underlying a special class for students with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) is articulated. A program designed for a self-contained special education classroom for students (grades 5-6) with EBD is described and the positive outcomes of the program are…

This 2-year qualitative research study examined the decisions teachers (n=32) made about their teaching practices in an inclusive elementary school. Findings indicate the individual school community mutually negotiated a common definition of inclusion that was fundamentally grounded in students' active participation in classroom settings.…

This article explores the problems that occur when gifted children are misdiagnosed with additional exceptionalities. This dilemma is illustrated through a case study of a gifted child diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Guidelines are suggested for careful diagnosis and a diagnostic matrix for interpreting behavior is…

This article emphasizes the assessment and intervention of the academic side of social skills in elementary and middle schools students. It examines the role that social skills play in facilitating learning and the creation of a positive school environment. An instructional approach called the responsive classroom is highlighted. (Contains…

A retrospective exploratory analysis of data related to student mobility and literacy in one Canadian low-income, urban, elementary school found one-quarter of the student population changed over the course of an academic year. Transience rates tended to cluster in particular rooms. Mobility had little direct effect on student literacy. (Contains…

Five elementary school students who were inattentive or low achieving were studied as they participated in peer-mediated instruction. Students provided peer support to students with disabilities by adapting curricula, supervising assignments, and facilitating socialization. Serving as a peer support person positively affected the academic…

This study examined the relationship of school-level changes in the reading performance of students in general and special education to school environmental variables associated with "effective schools" reforms in 56 California schools. Results indicated inverse relationships between changes in general and special education students' performance…

Reflects on research that showed that, as reading ability of students without disabilities increased in schools engaged in "effective schools" reforms, the reading ability of students with disabilities decreased. Concerns are raised that resources previously devoted to special education programs may serve to infuse general school environments. (CR)

Discusses the difficulties in conducting a case study on the attitudes and beliefs that individuals held about mainstreaming a boy with disabilities, including changes in terminology, methodological dilemmas, and discrepancies between the definitions that participants explicitly shared and observations of their interactions with the boy. (CR)

Observation of 22 children with mild disabilities (grades 3-6) over 2 years in cooperative learning inclusive settings indicated that only 40% of the students successfully participated in cooperative groups. Differences among classroom practices (for example, selection of partners, teacher monitoring, and establishment of a cooperative ethic) were…

This research commentary offers a rationale for focusing on individual students with learning disabilities (rather than teacher beliefs and behaviors or general achievement) in elementary grade cooperative learning settings. This focus resulted in the finding that many of these students were not having successful experiences and identified…

Two studies focused on concurrent validity and instructional decision making in using alternative reading measures with elementary regular and special education students. The first study examined the relation of oral reading performance to several other reading measures; the second study investigated teacher decision making, using quantitative and…

The authors of a report on the technical adequacy of alternative reading measures reflect on issues concerning "whole language" terminology, the use of both quantitative and qualitative measures, and instructional decision making. (DB)