The majority of physical education teacher education (PETE) programs include some form of adapted physical education (APE) training for preservice teachers; yet PETE candidates report feeling underprepared to teach individuals with disabilities. The number of students with disabilities included in general education continues to grow, in accordance…

The purpose of this historical study was to investigate the inclusion of students with special needs in school-based, agricultural education as reported by The Agricultural Education Magazine and the Journal of Agricultural Education over a time period of six decades. The impact of landmark legislation, such as the Vocational Education Act of…

Educators should look beyond quantitative measures of intelligence and consider learning styles and abilities. The attitudes of teachers and the knowledgeability of administrators are both essential elements for the successful integration of handicapped learners into regular classrooms. (Author/GC)

African American male students are disproportionately represented in special education. The purpose of the current study is to examine the disproportionality of African American male students who are referred to special education programs and are identified special education services, specifically in the areas of Emotional Disturbance (ED),…

The aim of this essay is to advance understandings of current efforts to democratize disciplined approaches to educational innovation and improvement in the US and other countries, with a specific focus on the macro-level policy contexts of improvement research in education. In the US, earlier analyses examined these policy contexts from a…

Response to intervention (RTI) can be considered an everyday practice in many parts of the United States, whereas, in Finland, only recently has a new framework for support in learning taken shape. Choosing Finland as the comparative partner for this policy paper is justified as its educational system has been widely referenced on the basis of…

Curriculum is an essential element in Individualized Education Program (IEP) development, which has often been left to special education teachers unequipped for the task. A lack of district-wide curriculum foundations leads to haphazard decision-making. Teachers have often relied on their own content biases, speculations, and standardized tests…

The Study of Monitoring and Improvement Practices under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) examined how states monitored the implementation of IDEA by local special education and early intervention services programs. State monitoring and improvement practices in 2004-05 and 2006-07 were the focus of the study. Prior to the…

This paper explores the premise that children with mental and/or physical disabilities should be included in regular education programs whenever possible. Instructional strategies for successful inclusion are discussed and the need for parental and community involvement emphasized. The paper reviews the theory of inclusion; features of the…

The authors use elements of social capital theory to explore the rapidly changing landscape of deaf education in America. They suggest that the formation of relationships, and networks of relationships, between deaf students and adults has a value that often goes undetected or underappreciated in deaf education. The authors point out that social…

Within the literature on special education administration in rural areas three topics emerge: difficulties associated with bringing special education programs to rural areas; need for research pertaining to special education in rural areas; and a concern with cooperative arrangements as a means of providing special education programs in rural…

Raising academic standards and eliminating achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students are America's prime national educational goals. Current federal and state policies, however, largely ignore the fact that the childhood poverty rate in the United States is 21%, the highest in the industrialized world, and that poverty…

Questionnaires were mailed to 80 administrative units in the western United States, of which 85% responded, to examine administrative arrangements for administering special education programs in rural areas and to determine whether a relationship existed between administrative arrangement, cooperative size, and compliance with the mandates of P.L.…

A questionnaire was developed in order to discover the aspects of P.L. 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975) that prove both most and least problematic for rural special education cooperatives. A cooperative was defined as any interdistrict administrative arrangement that provides specific services to member school…

Intended for all those working with handicapped children, the manual provides guidelines for the understanding and implementation of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Chapter 1 contains an introduction to the highlights of the law and a statement of what is required of the educational community for compliance. The next…