The Richmond preschool is an innovative partnership between regular and special education. High school students taking a child care course act as aides to the preschool special education teacher and learn to apply and observe classroom-based theory and knowledge of child growth and development in a meaningful and concrete manner. (JHZ)

Summarizes research concerning culture and cultural change and reviews Anglo-American treatment of Native Americans. Demonstrates influences of cultural perceptions upon special education services and suggests a method for studying cultural perceptions to better serve the needs of Native American special education students, their families, and…

Describes how the Blackfeet Head Start Program uses professionals to train local residents as screeners and home trainers for preschool handicapped children. Notes that numbers of handicapped children and their families who receive services have increased as a result of using local home trainers and teachers as direct care providers. (JHZ)

Profiles three programs recognized for exemplary rural special education programs. Describes a program for severely handicapped birth-through-three children in an isolated mountainous Tennessee community, a multidisciplinary special education team that provides an itinerant resource room for an Alaska school district of 22,000 square miles, and…

Policy, particularly special education policy, has rarely taken into account equity, efficiency, and choice in terms of rural life. Greater attention must be paid to rural-urban differences to assure that the rural position has feasibility in the play of political power attendant with policy development. (JHZ)

Describes the principles of program evaluation and the technical assistance provided in 1986-87 to North Dakota local educational agencies for evaluating their special education programs. Emphasizes local control of the evaluation activities and includes an example of planning for a local evaluation study on least restrictive environment. (JHZ)

Compares survey responses of rural special education administrators and teachers in Alaska and compares results with previous national studies. Finds issues identified by administrators and teachers differ from those of national studies. Recommends that models designed for one rural environment not be generalized without considering uniqueness of…

Addresses the concerns of rural school administrators who have difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified (master's level) speech-language pathologists. Outlines speech-language pathology services and differences between master's and bachelor's degree training for speech-language pathologists. Suggests service delivery models that provide…

Describes a program designed to help rural school staff meet the educational needs of handicapped students and to give preservice teacher education students the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to work successfully with handicapped students in rural schools. Discusses the project's implications for the shortage of speech-language pathologists in…

Summarizes political, technical, attitudinal, and educational problems affecting delivery of special education services in the largely rural developing nation of Malaysia. Evaluates the possible use of a community-based model of rehabilitation that would rely heavily on parental involvement and volunteers and make the best use of the country's few…

Summarizes factors which make delivery of human services extremely difficult in Micronesia, noting problems of geographic distance and isolation and cultural and linguistic diversity. Presents a plan for providing services to persons with communication disorders using a speech-language pathologist and an audiologist with doctorates to supervise…

The community-based rehabilitation model has successfully trained community members in rural areas of Asia, Africa, and Latin America to deliver educational and rehabilitation services to disabled individuals and their families. Practices applicable to improving educational and rehabilitation services in the United States involve staff…

Over a 3-year period, interviews were conducted with parents, caregivers, teachers, and social workers of 29 young children with complex multiple disabilities in rural Alaska. Discrepancies were found between perceptions of parents and professionals about the nature of support and the focus of intervention policies and delivery systems. (RE)

As in a US study, the most problematic factors affecting delivery of special education programs in nonurban areas of New Zealand were recruitment and retention of qualified staff, resistance to change, and long distances between schools. Lists 19 problems in special education service delivery, suggested solutions to 12 specific problems,…

Child development happens within the social, cultural, political, environmental, and economic contexts of a particular place, but researchers and policy makers describe best practice in the field as if one size fits all. An early interventionist's experience illustrates how ruralness and community characteristics impact practice. Collaboration…