This paper discusses issues relevant to gifted children's readiness for school. It raises a number of questions that challenge thinking about what is meant by school readiness. Gifted children can often be ready for school entrance before the age traditionally considered appropriate. Their complex developmental profiles challenge accepted notions…

Transition to school is particularly complex for children with special needs. A major difficulty faced by educational systems in trying to address these needs is the multitude of problems with which such children present. Based on population-level data collected with the Early Development Instrument in Canada, Australia, and Mexico,…

The transition to school is a time of change and expectation for children, families, and communities. It is also a time when a range of factors--both within and outside the family--influence educational experiences and outcomes. This paper reports the experiences and expectations of 24 Australian families as their children with special needs…

The developmental model of transition Pianta and colleagues outlined emphasizes the interconnected relationships among the child, teacher, family, peers, and community that are developed across time (Pianta & Kraft-Sayre, 2003). This study focused on the use of transition practices as perceived by parents and teachers. Parents (8 groups) and 23…

The transition from kindergarten to Grade 1 is marked by a sudden decrease in children's play time (Brostrom, 2005; Hartmann & Rollett, 1994). This study sought to examine 69 Montreal-area Grade 1 children's beliefs about out of school play, as well as their parents' (N = 56) perceptions of their play. Findings indicate that parents value play for…

International research established over a decade ago that students who are enrolled in special education curricula are victimized and perpetrate more bullying than their general education peers. However, few empirical studies have examined bullying rates among American schoolchildren who receive special education services. In the current study, a…

Parental involvement is essential in the context of inclusive schooling; however, few studies have looked at how parents of children with disabilities become involved in their child's school experience. This study explored the practices adopted by parents of children with dysphasia when their children were integrated into inclusive classes in…

This research utilized a blend of quantitative and qualitative research designs to explore the perceptions held by early interventionists regarding family-centred care, cultural diversity, and cultural sensitivity. The Executive Directors (N = 11) of early intervention programs in Nova Scotia completed the Cultural Diversity in Early Intervention…

This paper reports the final development of a scale to measure pre-service teachers' perceptions in three constructs of inclusive education, namely, sentiments or comfort levels when engaging with people with disabilities; acceptance of learners with different needs; and concerns about implementing inclusion. The Sentiments, Attitudes, and…

In 2005, the Ontario Ministry of Education introduced Responsiveness to Intervention (RTI) to the Ontario school system. RTI is a tiered approach involving increasing levels of support for students who are at risk for later learning difficulties. However, the introduction of this different support structure was not accompanied by a substantial…

This study evaluates how well information and communication technology (ICT) related needs of students with various disabilities are met at school, at home, and in e-learning contexts. Results are based on the POSITIVES Scale, a 26 item objective measure of how well the ICT related needs of these students are met. The sample consists of 131…

This study explored parents' views of the educational experience of children with Individual Education Plans. The research goal was to determine how parents are meaningfully involved and engaged in the development and monitoring of education programs for their children. The primary data source for the study was 31 interviews with parents, analysed…

The objectives of this study were threefold: (a) to determine whether the United Arab Emirates (UAE) general and special education teachers were making any specific testing modifications for students with disabilities; (b) to survey UAE general and special education teachers' perceptions of testing modifications in terms of their usefulness,…

The impact of persistent aggression on youths' social and psychological well being is well documented. What is less well understood is the shaping effect of cultural differences on how such conflict is experienced and responded to. In this study, we asked youth to write a story about a conflict they experienced and describe their associated…

This article describes a study that documents the attempts of administrators of a new school to introduce and sustain inclusive leadership and program arrangements over the course of the first 3 years of the school's life. The data illustrate that while they were able to succeed on a number of levels, they also encountered a number of challenges.…