Interviews with 16 general special education teachers from the Chicago area were conducted in order to obtain information on their views and experiences with collaboration. An open-ended questionnaire consisting of nine items was utilized during the interviews, which required the participants to give multiple sentence responses to each question.…

Freddy, a student diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder served for part of the school day in special education, was having difficulty staying on task. Teachers reported that Freddy was continuously getting up out of his seat, bothering classmates, and making verbal comments or requests without raising his hand. Observations were…

This research study focused on the special nature (i.e. different from mainstream education) of special education and the experiences of teachers with regard to the challenges they face in teaching the mentally handicapped child. Special schoolteachers have the responsibility to offer not only good, but also highly individualized and goal-directed…

With a view to developing support for university accreditation, this small-scale study assisted 18 special educational needs coordinators (SENCos) to identify significant learning at work and consider possibilities for accredited learning projects. Participants wrote and shared narratives of critical learning incidents, assessed the contribution…

This paper describes the application of a risk-based decision-making process in education and the use of risk communication with special education students and their parents. Risk-based decision making clarifies uncertainties inherent in a decision by examining the probability of a resulting harmful effect and the consequences of decisions made.…

The quality of instruction in the education of deaf and hard-of-hearing students is based on comprehensive preservice teacher education programs and instructional supervision of beginning teachers by a qualified veteran teacher. However, declining enrollments in special schools for the deaf and the fragmented placement of hearing-impaired students…

Secondary level transition team members (administrators, special educators, and related service personnel) were surveyed regarding their perceptions of involvement by students with learning disabilities in transition planning and provision of services and activities that foster student involvement. Factor analysis of the 427 responses revealed…

The main focus of this project was to prepare a handbook of science activities and to disseminate this handbook to K-8 teachers of the hearing-impaired in the State of Indiana. The handbook, titled "Doing Science Using the Learning Cycle," was developed by a select group of teachers and several consultants with expertise in curriculum…

This study evaluated a new measure of teachers' attitudes toward students with special needs included in regular education classrooms. Approximately 516 teachers (308 regular and 186 special education) from five school districts completed the Scale of Teachers' Attitudes Toward Inclusion (STATIC). Statistical analyses suggested robust psychometric…

West Virginia University provides on-the-job practicum experience to rural special education teachers who are pursuing certification while working on "out-of-field" permits. An important aspect of the competency-based practicum experience is evaluative feedback. Two methods of evaluative feedback were used with 22 practicum students who…

Recognizing the importance of early experience to job satisfaction and commitment, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of support from administration on the induction and retention of 457 beginning public school, special education teachers. Secondary analysis techniques were applied to information derived from the 1987-88 cross…

Moving children from a psychiatric treatment facility to community schools presents significant challenges for children, teachers, and families. This study examined the potential conflicts between the expectations of receiving teachers and the behaviors of elementary school students (N=17) using the Assessments for Integration into Mainstream…

Governors State University (University Park, Illinois) includes a three-credit course in collaborative consultation in its Master's degree program in multicategorical special education. A survey of 72 program graduates sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the consultation coursework. Responses from 39 of the graduates indicated that the role of…

This paper traces the history of leadership training in the field of special education as a context for a projection of future leadership personnel needs. The current situation in supply and demand for special education leadership personnel is analyzed, and it is found that the number of available personnel is dwindling while the number of job…

This study sought to update and expand the existing databases relating to the supply and demand of special education leadership personnel through a survey of 55 institutions of higher education (IHEs) having doctoral programs in special education. Results are analyzed in terms of doctoral enrollments for the 1990-91 academic year, specialty areas,…