Ten cerebral palsied adolescents and young adults with complex communicative needs who use augmentative and alternative communication were studied. They were classified according to their high versus low working memory capacity and according to their high versus low phonological skills into two groups of participants. These groups were compared on their performance in reading tests –an orthographic knowledge test, a word test and a pseudoword reading test- and in the spelling of words, pseudowords and pictures’ names. Statistical differences were found between high vs. low phonological skills groups, and between high and low working memory groups. High working memory capacity group scored significantly higher than low working memory group in the orthographic and word reading tests. The high phonological skills group outperformed the low phonological skills group in the word reading test and in the spelling of pseudowords and pictures’ names. From a descriptive point of view, phonological skills and working memory, factors known to be highly predictive of literacy skills in people without disabilities, also hold as important variables for the participants in our study. Implications of the results are discussed.... [more]

During the first half of the twentieth century the interest in special education was increasing in Western countries. This was a reaction to the inclusive practise of the nineteenth century school systems. Most handicapped children were kept home or sent to regular schools, which neglected their special needs. The introduction of compulsory education, in the Netherlands in 1900, stimulated the founding of special schools and the development of tests and further research on children with behavioural and learning problems. In the Netherlands Jan Waterink (1890-1966), professor at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam took a leading part in this field of research. This paper describes his career and contribution to the academic child studies and special education. His pioneering work in his Psychological Laboratory and Paedologisch Instituut in Amsterdam, aimed at integrating scientific research and caring concerning disabled and problem children. Many pedagogues and psychologists from abroad visited the institute and considered it to be a model for a clinic in their own country.... [more]

The aim of this study was to investigate what the self-efficacy and attitudes of pre-school teachers and student teachers towards inclusive education were and to elucidate the relationship between self-efficacy and the attitudes on inclusion. Therefore, the present study investigated the self-efficacy perceptions and attitudes of student teachers towards inclusive education, who received the special education course in the Department of Preschool Education at Faculty of Vocational Education in Selcuk University and pre-school education teachers who work in nursery classes and nursery schools affiliated to Konya Local Education Authority. Two scales were used in the study. These were: (1) the Opinions Relative to Inclusion Scale and (2) the Teacher Self-efficacy Perception Scale. Results indicated that: (a) attitudes of pre-school education teachers and the student teachers were undecided; (b) the two groups considered themselves efficient for being teachers in terms of the three dimensions of the self efficacy scale; (c) the attitudes’ scores of the student teachers towards inclusive education were higher than the teachers’ scores; (d) the scores of the teachers’ self efficacy were higher than the student teachers’ scores;(e) the attitudes of the teachers towards inclusive education were effected by their self efficacy perceptions in terms of teaching dimension; (f) the student teachers’ perceptions on self efficacy were not effected by their attitudes towards inclusive education; (g) the student teachers should receive more courses on education of children with special educational needs during their university education; and (h) teachers should receive more support services than they have for how to educate children with SEN from the support units in accordance with the child’s needs, type and severity of the child’s handicap conditions. Further research is needed due to the fact that there may be a difference between the student teachers’scores on their attitudes towards special education according to how many credits they have received the courses on special education and practice in schools what they have learned from the courses regarding special education.... [more]

The purpose of this study was to explore those factors impacting successful transition of American Indian students with mild to moderate disabilities to postsecondary academic settings and other lifelong learning opportunities. Thirty-five individuals from three Southwestern tribes were interviewed about personal factors during transition, and secondary, and postsecondary experiences. A second interview was conducted with 14 participants approximately two years later to follow-up on the progress of the student following transition. Many of the participants did not see themselves as active participants in the IEP process and educational placements ranged from inclusive to more traditional resource classrooms and self-contained settings. Secondary teachers and mentors offered support and encouragement to participants. Fewer participants received accommodations in postsecondary settings, and in some instances instructors lacked an understanding about ADA and ways to modify instruction. Participants highlighted the importance of family and religion in their lives throughout the transition process. Those participating in both interviews showed statistically significant positive change in self-ratings of dimensions of self advocacy and self-determination. Implications of the findings will be discussed... [more]

The aim of this study is to examine the cognitive errors as predictor of quality of life of mainstreamed elementary students. Quality of life is the degree of well-being felt by an individual. The functional deficiencies, which occur due to physical, cognitive, sensory, emotional disorders, affect the quality of life of the individuals. In this study, it is aimed to analyze the cognitive errors as the predictor of the quality of life of the mainstreamed students. The sample of the research was composed of 117 mainstreamed students (46 of the students are female and 71 of the students are male) selected by random sampling method who attend from first to fifth classes of a school under the control of Ministry of National Education in the academic year of 2007-2008 in Turkey, Samsun. The students were evaluated by the Children’s Negative Cognitive Errors Questionnaire and Quality of Life Inventory for Children. The results of multiple regression analyses indicated that cognitive errors predict quality of life of the mainstreamed elementary students. The results of the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient showed that cognitive errors were related to quality of life of the mainstreamed elementary students. Future studies are needed to replicate these results. Moreover, the relation between cognitive errors and quality of life were examined by self-report measures. In the future studies, different methods such as interview or observation could be used.... [more]

Using an exploratory case study approach, the language use of five bilingual special education teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs) with disabilities was examined. Audio tapes, classroom observations, and teacher interviews yielded data on the language used by the bilingual teachers. Data revealed information on the frequency of the use of English and Spanish, patterns of language use for each language, and differences in the way English and Spanish were used in the classroom. Implications for teacher preparation programs are discussed... [more]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the physiological adaptations in cardio respiratory endurance with a personalized exercise program with arm-cranking exercise in a paraplegic person (incomplete T12 spinal cord injury). A 32 year-old man with spinal cord injury (T12) participated in the present study performing 30 minutes arm cranking ergometry three times per week, for 12 weeks. Prior, during and after the training intervention, six maximal arm cranking exercise tests were performed on a Monark ergometer with the subject seated in his own wheelchair. Cardio respiratory and metabolic values were recorded during the exercise tests, and blood lactate concentration was measured after each test. A four-minute sub-maximal workload was selected to achieve cardio respiratory steady state, in order to evaluate sub-maximal performance. The peak oxygen uptake improved from 17.7 to 23 ml/min/kg for the arm-cranking test. Peak ventilation and maximal heart rate were higher at the end of the training program. The most impressive observation was a gradual increase during the six exercise tests in peak work rate from 10 to 40 Watt, and in total test time from 433 to 1024 sec. Finally, measurements at sub-maximal performance revealed lower oxygen consumption and decreased heart rate frequencies at the end of training intervention. The findings of this study showed that an individualized training program can motivate spinal cord injured persons to start exercising, and gain advantage from improvements to sub-maximal and maximal performance... [more]

In this paper we concern ourselves with the ways in which schools in general and special education procedures in particular tend to not be successful for those of our students who are from a different culture. (While we focus on Canadian Aboriginals, we also extend our thinking to those children who come from different races, ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, etc.) We outline the stories that have brought us to this place. We then go on to suggest that the adoption of different understandings and approaches could lead to the academic success of children from a variety of different cultures and backgrounds. We conclude with some direction for change... [more]

The purpose of this study was to examine the knowledge and attitudes of physical education undergraduate students towards children with special needs. A questionnaire of seven questions was submitted to 140 physical education students. Questions concerned the knowledge about the different kinds of disability, the acceptance of children with special needs in regular classes, the willingness of PE students to work with children with special needs, the objective of special education, and the sources of information about the topic. Results showed that mental retardation was recognized by the highest percentage of students, however, mental retardation was often confused with the general issue of special needs. Disability was correlated with the need for education in special schools. The partial awareness about special needs is related to the moderate willingness of the PE students to work with children with disabilities in their classroom. Assigning children with special needs to regular classes was not yet a familiar issue, due to insufficient information from popular sources. The findings of the study suggest that the limited awareness about schools, special education and integration cannot be dealt only with university efforts. Systematic information and interaction is needed in order to improve the knowledge and attitudes towards children with special needs.... [more]

Instructionism refers to educational practices that are teacher-focused, skill-based, product-oriented, non-interactive, and highly prescribed. Constructivism refers to educational practices that are student-focused, meaning-based, process-oriented, interactive, and responsive to student interest. There is disagreement regarding which curricular orientation best serves the educational needs of children. Evaluative outcome research is contradictory and the superiority of either instructional orientation has not been clearly established. A combination of instructional methods may ultimately prove most beneficial. For example, intensely teacher-mediated lessons could be sprinkled throughout the school day, thereby minimizing teacher and student mechanization while maximizing student achievement gains. Instructionist-constructivism would promote systematic instruction within a context of individual meaning and personal interest. For example, skills such as spelling and grammar, rather than taught in isolation, could be embedded in meaningful literacy activities. Extreme and exclusionary instructional methods may be the ultimate threat to effective education... [more]

Communication skills are of great importance for children with developmental disabilities to be functional and independent in their own lives. This paper provides results of a comprehensive literature review on current researched-based intervention strategies that appear effective to increase communication skills for students who have severe disabilities. Researchers typically have combined intervention strategies and the actual effectiveness of isolated procedures is less clear. This review is aimed at investigating these isolated procedures and attempts to link research and practice in the area of communication... [more]

This paper presents an overview of the current situation with integration and inclusion in Russia. It explores the challenges of special education and legislation. It provides some examples of integration and inclusion initiatives and discusses them as examples of social transformations in post-Soviet Russia. The study concludes that the world trend towards inclusive schools has impacted the post-Soviet Russia and an attempt to narrow the gap between special and regular education has been made by non-governmental organizations, individual schools, and the formal system. More decisive and synergetic effort is required from the state as well as individuals to develop and implement a well defined policy that supports inclusion and equity education for all.... [more]

Many people believe that environmental factors promote giftedness and invest in many programs to adopt gifted students providing them with challenging activities. Intellectual giftedness is founded on fluid intelligence and extends to more specific abilities through the growth and inputs from the environment. Acknowledging the roles played by the environment in the development of giftedness leads to an effective nurturing of gifted individuals. Further, giftedness requires a context that enables it to develop. However, no study has investigated the direct and indirect effects of environment and fluid intelligence on intellectual giftedness. Thus, this study investigated the contribution of environment factors to giftedness development by conducting tests of fluid intelligence using CCFT and analytical abilities using culture reduced test items covering problem solving, pattern recognition, audio-logic, audio-matrices, and artificial language, and self report questionnaire for the environmental factors. A number of 180 high-scoring students were selected using CCFT from a leading university in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling was employed using Amos V.16 to determine the direct and indirect effects of environment factors (family, peers, teachers, school, society, and resources) on the intellectual giftedness. The findings showed that the hypothesized model fitted the data, supporting the model postulates and showed significant and strong direct and indirect effects of the environment and fluid intelligence on the intellectual giftedness.... [more]

In the global arena, governments and educational professionals struggle with issues such as providing educational opportunities for all students, including identification and placement of students with disabilities. In spite of eligibility and placement issues, and a tremendous population of school aged children the Chinese have made inroads in terms of including students with disabilities in regular classrooms. In addition, The United States has made an effort to revamp education by developing models of Response to Intervention (RTI) to target and provide appropriate educational interventions to struggling learners who may or may not have a disability. RTI requires screening of every student to see what students may need extra help or remediation. RTI requires the use of scientifically validated instructional strategies and progress monitoring to ensure that each child is responding appropriately to the instruction provided. This article describes efforts made by the Chinese and the United States to provide educational opportunities for all students including those with disabilities. The authors describes both countries special education laws, definition of disabilities, present day special education practices and finally discusses the future of special education in both China and the United States.... [more]

This study evaluated the impact of a social skills curriculum on the social behaviors of students in two pre-kindergarten classrooms. Participating were 30 students in a program based at a university child study center. The average age of the participants was four years ten months. The income levels of the families varied from low social economic status to high middle economic status. Two examiners independently completed the Social Skills and Attitude Scale (SSAS) for each child. The examiners observed the children and recorded children’s pre and post intervention behaviors on a checklist. The study yielded positive evidence that the social skills instruction and activities in the Connecting with Others: Lessons for Teaching Social and Emotional Competence did make a meaningful difference. Paired sample t-tests were run on all Pre:/Post: test pairs in order to measure significant change in social skills behaviors over the course of the intervention. With the exception of Shares ideas, t-test results indicate significant change in social skills on all but one of the pretest/posttest pairs ... [more]

This study analyzed personal and fictional narratives of culturally/ethnically diverse students with and without learning disabilities. The participants were 82 fourth to seventh graders from urban and suburban schools located in a Midwest metropolitan area. Narratives were elicited in the context of naturalistic conversation and analyzed using High Point Analysis and Episodic Analysis. The significant effects of student ethnic/cultural background, learning disability and the interaction of the two factors were found on several narrative facets in both personal and fictional genres. The findings are interpreted beyond the traditional deficit-based approach, pointing out to possible influences of student ethnic/cultural background. Educational implications for assessment and narrative-based instruction for diverse narrators are discussed... [more]

The present study investigated the effects of a constant time delay (CTD) strategy within a TEACCH approach and the views of the classroom teacher surrounding the teaching process. Three male students with autism participated in the study. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect and analyze data. Although experimental control was not built into the study, the results indicated that the CTD delivered within TEACCH frame was effective in teaching four out of the five target skills in this study. The views of the classroom teacher regarding the teaching process were positive overall. The entire acquired target skills were maintained several weeks (i.e., four to six weeks) after the intervention was terminated. Moreover, participating students performed these four skills under different conditions other than the teaching conditions. Implications for practice and directions for future research with respect to effective teaching strategies for children with autism are discussed.... [more]