A study investigated how the social process and context of multidisciplinary teams in two rural, southern elementary schools inhibited the unbiased discussion of African American students' psychoeducational functioning. Although ethnic bias was not documented, four themes related to the teams social context and bias in the problem-solving process…

This article critically analyzes research investigating the use of antecedent events in the functional assessment process, with an emphasis on interventions conducted in natural settings. An analysis of 17 articles found that research on antecedent-based interventions lacks a consistent conceptual framework. Suggestions for future research are…

This article summarizes findings regarding the use of technology in helping students with learning disabilities succeed in postsecondary education settings. It identifies specific technology recommendations found in the literature and issues related to using these recommendations in postsecondary transition. Recommendations for transition planning…

A study involving 1,107 teachers and student-teachers compared special educational policies in Israel and under the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian teachers tended to have a more radical view of issues concerning education and equity as they pertained to the necessity of educating all children in order to build a strong nation. (Contains…

A study examined perceptions of 136 middle school teachers of African American males' aggression, achievement, and need for special education services based on cultural movement styles. Teachers perceived students with African American movement styles as lower in achievement, higher in aggression, and more likely to need special education…

This paper first identifies four assumptions that it argues underlie special education and then suggests there are 10 ideas that undermine special education, including: (1) structured curricula impede true learning; (2) teaching discrete skills trivializes education and ignores the whole child; (3) students must be internally motivated to learn;…

A stimulated recall procedure was used to examine the instructional decision making of 19 expert special educators. Qualitative analysis indicated that a detailed and extensive knowledge base about students enabled these teachers to assess their students' academic and emotional states of mind and to address effectively the students' needs within…

This study evaluated the Circle of Friends intervention approach with 20 children with emotional and behavioral difficulties, ages 6 to 12 years, and their nondisabled classmates. The intervention appeared to have positive effects on social acceptance by classmates, but few changes were obtained on other measures of perceptions or behavior.…

This study examined the validity of letter-name fluency and nonsense word fluency (NWF) measures as indicators of early reading skill with 39 kindergarten children who were tested again in first grade. Evidence supportive of validity was found for both measures, with NWF receiving the strongest support and both fluency measures more sensitive than…

Early identification and intervention for children with disabilities can significantly improve longer term outcomes, but in developing nations like many in the Pacific Rim, such programs and practices can be expensive and must compete against other needs. We argue that early identification and intervention by schools leads not only to life…

In Pacific Rim countries parents of children with developmental disabilities have organized peer support organizations. One form of peer support is Parent to Parent based on one to one connections between two parents. The movements to create and sustain peer support in the U.S., New Zealand, China, and Korea are described. Qualitative evidence…

A survey study was conducted to a total of 323 in-service teachers (110 special education teachers and 213 general education teachers) in Shanghai regarding their self-efficacy and concerns about inclusive education. Multivariate analysis results reveal that special teachers have significantly higher self-efficacy about inclusive education than…

A significant number of individuals all over the world experience various types of developmental disabilities. Families of these individuals are likely to be impacted by these disabilities in different ways. This research examines the UAE parents' adaptation and stress to the developmental disabilities that their children have as well as examines…

Conceptual and methodological difficulties confound comparative studies of the inclusive agenda for persons with disabilities. This paper, based on the authors' previous analyses of various aspects of inclusive schooling in international contexts, introduces a model to assist in the observation and analysis of the subtle and multi-aspect phenomena…

The purpose of this multi-perspective collaborative research activity was to analyze moments of teacher learning as perceived by a group of teachers who educate students with the label of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The researchers in this project acknowledge the value of hearing teachers' perspectives on what works for them in their…