Over the past three decades, various efforts have been made to develop special education policies and services in Syria. However, to guarantee the improvement of special education services and to develop sustainable national enhancements during both the emergency and reconstruction phases of the Syrian Civil War, it is necessary to continue to…

Teacher hiring is often a dysfunctional time-consuming bureaucratic procedure, which is not always completed on time due to organisational impediments, budget cuts and slow-moving political processes. Specifically, late hiring has been reported to affect negatively teachers' as well as students' performance. This study examined the extent of late…

Despite multiple global commitments to protect the rights of people with disabilities, discriminatory attitudes and social norms continue to disadvantage children with disabilities (CWD) in various ways. This manuscript examines the conceptualisation and measurement of discriminatory attitudes and social norms towards to CWD. A systematic review…

This article considers the increased identification of special educational needs in Australia's largest education system from the perspectives of senior public servants, regional directors, principals, school counsellors, classroom teachers, support class teachers, learning support teachers, and teaching assistants (n = 30). While their…

Investigation of the social acceptance of 15 Zambian primary school children with intellectual disabilities by two groups of nondisabled children found that nondisabled boys who had experienced contact with the disabled children had more positive attitudes than boys with no contact. No exposure effects were observed among girls. Among the…

Examines attitudinal barriers toward children with disabilities in the context of legal mandates for inclusive educational settings. It defines prejudice and discrimination, draws parallels between racism and "ableism," and reviews what is known about the development of prejudice in children as well as effective interventions to reduce prejudice.…

This study examined the self-esteem of 50 mothers of children with intellectual disabilities living in central Greece and 50 similar mothers of non-disabled children. Results indicated significantly lower self-esteem for mothers of children with intellectual disabilities. The best predictor of positive maternal self-esteem in the disabled group…

Factors associated with children's attitudes towards persons with physical and intellectual disabilities were examined in a meta-analysis of 20 studies spanning the years 1990-2000. Factors included: attitudinal components, type of disability, age and gender of respondents, and role of inclusion. Children preferred target children without…

Knowledge about Down syndrome and attitudes toward the inclusion of children with Down syndrome were examined in 2,053 community members and 538 experienced teachers. Both groups displayed reasonably accurate knowledge. However, they significantly underestimated life expectancy. Around 20% of each group believed the regular classroom was the best…

This essay reviews "Special Education: A Matter of Choice" (Josephine Jenkinson), a book that discusses the major issues and changes that have occurred in special education in the various states and territories of Australia over the past 30 years. It is concluded that the book is an extremely useful guide. (CR)

This paper presents Down's syndrome as a part of the human race's rich biological inheritance rather than a condition to be pitied. The history of the discovery of the biological basis of Down's syndrome is reviewed, along with attitudes toward individuals with Down's syndrome over time and developments in medicine and education. (JDD)

A study involving 351 Kenyan families with children with disabilities found the following predicted school enrollment: parents' expectations about social acceptance, parents' bias against educating children with intellectual disabilities, parents' beliefs about segregated schooling, parents' beliefs about the appropriateness of the child's school…

This article analyses how and why cultural diversity is relevant to children with speech and language difficulties and the professionals who work with them. The relevance of various aspects of culture including the development of communication skills, language socialization, adult-child interaction, and epidemiology of speech and language…