The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the frequency with which teachers use embedded learning opportunities across activities and objectives in inclusive preschool settings. Six student teachers participated and twelve children from three to five years old with and without disabilities participated in the study. Two trained data collectors tallied the frequency of embedded learning opportunities implemented by six student teachers during the daily program activities. Results suggested that the six student teachers frequently used embedded learning opportunities most often during daily routines, including transition, toileting, table activities, and circle time rather than during arrival, departure, free play, and snack activities. The teachers were more likely to use embedded learning opportunities to address certain objectives such as following directions. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.... [more]

The current educational environment presents legislative, ethical, and moral imperatives stating that all children shall have an equal and equitable opportunity to learn. It would appear impractical, if not impossible for these goals to be attained if contemporary school leaders lack the experience or knowledge necessary to understand the needs and demands of students with unique learning needs and the special programs designed to serve these needs. Training programs and/or professional development activities should be providing presentation and knowledge development specifically in the area of special programs and special populations. At this juncture the question arises as to what the immediate stakeholders believe is necessary for building level leaders to know, understand, and be able to do regarding this student population. The subsequent study and analyses resolved to respond to these questions in order to better address the unique needs of student with disabilities and the programs designed to provide for those needs.... [more]

A search was conducted to determine how the term severe disability or severe handicap was defined in the research literature in three data-bases commonly used by special education and related professionals: education (ERIC), medicine (Medline), and psychology (PsycINFO). Articles were analyzed on three dimensions: disability category(ies), characteristic(s), and service need(s). Analysis included 307 studies dating from 1988 to 2003. Results indicate disparity in how terms are used both within and across disciplines. Implications are given for improving definitional use to make research findings meaningful, functional, and replicable. ... [more]

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether a similar line of reasoning holds true for special educators. Though critical teacher shortages in the area of special education remain an ongoing problem in the United States (Billingsley & McLeskey, 2004; McLeskey, Tyler and Saunders Flippin, 2004), little work has been done on the teaching conditions that differentially influence special educators’ vs. general teachers’ commitment to the profession. This paper seeks to examine the crisis of the revolving door in special education through the lens of marginality. While the initial inspection of statistical data on teacher attrition in the United States might alert us to a potential systemic dysfunction, in order to understand the origin and nature of the phenomena, detailed work involving teacher narratives is indicate... [more]

Pre-service teacher education is concerned with producing graduates who move into the field able, in terms of both skills and attitudes, to implement research-based conclusions that may not always coincide with the attitudes of previously trained teachers. We sought to assess attitudes and attitude change regarding contemporary issues in education (i.e., grade retention, inclusive education, learning strategies instruction, cooperative learning, and classroom management), among students (N = 124) enrolled in a second-year educational psychology course. Comparison of pre- and post-course Likert ratings indicated that these pre-service teachers modified their attitudes regarding grade retention, inclusive education, and classroom management but not with regard to learning strategies instruction and cooperative learning. It would appear that pre-service teacher attitudes, in some cases, are amenable to change in a relatively brief time... [more]

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that could contribute to differences in attitudes of public school teachers toward the inclusion of students with special needs in general education classes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). For inclusion to be successful, teachers (special and general education teachers) have to have a positive attitude toward the inclusion of students with special needs. The attitudes of nine hundred teachers were compared based on two criteria: teacher type (special or general education teacher) and grade level (kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school). The Scale of Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC) was used to assess attitudes. The static has four subscales: Factor 1: Advantages and Disadvantages to the inclusion of students with special needs in the regular classrooms, Factor 2: Professional Issues about the self-perceived ability to teach students with special needs, Factor 3: Philosophical Issues which provide the underlying basis for the inclusion of students with special needs, and Factor 4: Logistical Concerns in terms of the willingness to make accommodations for students with special needs. The findings of this study confirm previous research in the U.S. that general education teachers continue to be more resistive toward inclusion than special education teachers. The results indicate that special education teachers have significantly greater positive attitudes toward inclusion than general education teachers, and elementary teachers were the most willing to accommodate students with special needs in the general educational setting. Recommendations for teacher training in the UAE and for future research are made based on the study findings... [more]

Internationally, the number of students with disabilities entering higher education institutions is on the rise. Research estimates that 8% to 10% of students attending higher education are registered with disability, with learning difficulties being the most commonly reported disability. Widening participation in higher education has been supported by legislative changes, inclusive education practices, the use of ICT and accessible facilities and programmes and, ultimately, an increasing belief among students with disabilities that higher education maximises their opportunities for employment and independent living. Within the Cypriot context, research on disability, access and provision in higher education is limited. This study was a part of a large-scale study (PERSEAS) funded by the EU. From the original sample, fifteen students attending private higher education institutions in Cyprus reported disability (i.e., sensory impairment, dyslexia, physical disabilities) and were selected for interviews and focus group discussions. Also, interviews were conducted with the Headmasters and teachers in ten private higher education institutions. This study yielded interesting results regarding the current state of provision (e.g., concessions for exams and assignments, infrastructure, teaching modification, counselling services) as well as issues of social inclusion, equality of opportunity and entitlement to education.... [more]

We propose an inclusion model for students with ASD referred to regular schools. The modified model based on Dunkin and Biddle (1974), consists of five interdependent elements: 1. Presage variables related to the included student; 2. Teaching context variables; 3. Content variables including the class curriculum and the adapted curriculum for the included student; 4. Process variables; 5. Product variables consisting of short-term and long-term effects on academic performance and social and behavioral skills and status. When combined together they provide the essential framework for establishing a successful inclusion as well as methodology for conducting formative and summative evaluation of the program. Practical recommendations for implementing the model are suggested, based on a two-year experience in the Israeli education system.... [more]

The aim of this study was to observe the effects of noise on the classroom behaviour of three pupils with Asperger syndrome. A multi-professional team observed the three pupils over a seven-week period and noted their reactions to different levels and types of noise. The team explored a variety of strategies for minimising the negative effects of noise, which included: (1) the provision of a place of safety to which a pupil could withdraw; (2) forewarning pupils of possible danger points in the school’s timetable when noise might occur; and (3) the use of pictorial warnings for pupils with poor comprehension of the spoken word.... [more]

This interventional study is concerned with the ability of twelve Egyptian children with Down syndrome to learn counting. Behavioural approach was used to teach these children to count number strings up to ten. The children were divided into three groups of four. The first group could not count at all, the second was able to count to three and the third could count to six. Observations were carried out before and after training to collect further information about their performance in counting, in a class context. According to the findings of the observation before training, children having difficulty in counting neither interacted properly with their teacher nor wanted to perform a counting task. Although, the children were at the earliest stages of the study, they were able to learn number strings to five or ten. They became competent in counting up to ten and the behavioural approach proved its effectiveness in teaching counting for children with Down syndrome.... [more]

The Makaton Vocabulary was developed in the 1970’s and became, and has remained, one of most pervasive and influential pedagogical approaches for children with severe learning difficulties. This article looks at attitudes towards Makaton and compares findings from two studies, carried out in a sample of special schools in the south west of England during 1986 and 1995. Overall, the results suggest that attitudes towards the use of Makaton signs have become more positive. Makaton signs are now regarded, overall, as supporting and facilitating language development, and earlier concerns about stigmatisation have declined. There is some evidence to suggest that this latter change is influenced by changes in attitudes to British Sign Language. The 1986 study predicted that new technology would have a significant impact on attitudes to language and communication systems such as Makaton, but this prediction was not supported in the 2005 study. The article highlights also how different attitudes towards Makaton can exist within the same school, and how this situation can have a significant impact on the educational experiences and opportunities of children with severe learning difficulties. The article concludes that the apparent educational movements of integration or inclusion produce different attitudes towards Makaton and how it is used. However, although Makaton signing has become seen as a tool to create educational inclusion, the extent to which the system itself has actually changed is a contentious issue.... [more]

This paper is one of a series reporting on the development of a questionnaire to measure teacher views of school-related factors relative to inclusive education within a rural Canadian context. Building upon an existing survey in an urban study, a 79-item scale was developed and administered to 123 elementary- to secondary-level teachers in the Pembina Hills Regional School Division No. 7 (PHRD) in rural Alberta, Canada. Using data reduction techniques, a new, more succinct 13-item scale resulted. The new scale addresses five conceptual areas considered to be important to inclusive education from a teacher’s perspective, and within the rural Canadian educational context. This scale has been named the Teacher Perceptions of Inclusion in Rural Canada (TPIRC) scale.... [more]

In recent years parent organizations and advocacy groups have expressed serious concern over the dramatic increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism throughout the United States. Medical research, although unable to pinpoint the etiological cause for this significant change, is beginning to move forward at an exciting rate in the area of genetics. Simultaneously, educators throughout the country are attempting to appropriately service the hallmark number of children classified with autism in the least restrictive environments within the public school systems. Yet, in spite of this increase in numbers, autism continues to be recognized as a low incidence disability. This study examines and compares the data available from the Office of Special Education Programs and the New York State Education Department to determine the current status of autism relative to its recognition as a low incidence disability or high incidence disability. Future implications regarding this study suggest University programs and local educational agencies continue to address aggressively the pedagogical preparation of all educators who accept the challenges of teaching the increasing numbers of students with autism from birth through age 21.... [more]

Special education master’s degrees are proliferating probably in response to the requirement for all special teachers to be highly qualified. The aim of the study is to evaluate the ten year Master’s Degree Educating in Diversity (MDED) at the University of La Laguna (ULL, Spain), and to examine the extent to which the development of diversity competencies in graduates is related to their perceptions of the overall quality of the postgraduate program. Two hundred and eight University students and 235 part-time faculty members evaluated the basic program indicators that are defined by reference to the expanded generic European Foundation for Quality Management model (EFQM). MDED results gathered from 135 postgraduates and 707 stakeholders indicate high levels of purposeful achievement and satisfaction with the program, the faculty, and the curricular content. The role that MDED plays within postgraduate courses is discussed and some of the implications of this study for assessing master’s degrees are briefly outlined.... [more]

In spite of consistent field research to the contrary (Erikson, Clendon, Abraham, Roy, & Van de Carr, 2005); there still exists a perception that traditional literacy may not be an instructional priority for the student with severe speech and physical disabilities (SSPD). Part of this perception rests on ontological arguments concerning the nature of literacy for students with SSPD rather than research-validated definitions to guide literacy instruction (Zascavage & Keefe, 2004, 2007). In order to investigate these arguments students at a southwest university (N=243) defined literacy for the typical student and the student with (SSPD). A Pearson Chi –Square analysis determined a significant relationship between the definitions provided for the typical student and that for the individual with SSPD. The inability to define literacy for the student with SSPD cross -tabulated with the ability to define literacy for the typical student 21% of the time. It is of great concern that approximately one-fifth of the sample population could not conceive of any definition of literacy that would apply to an individual with SSPD. Opportunity for education depends upon the deconstruction of barriers created by lowered academic expectation (Keefe & Zascavage, 2004) or in the case of 58 participants, no expectation. Of equal if not greater concern was the discovery that dominant portions of Education Majors were not significantly better prepared than Non-Education Majors to answer questions about literacy when the term was applied to students with SSPD. Future investigation should examine from top down literacy definitions that serve to guide policy decisions made at nation, state, district, and local levels. A quantitative analysis of district assessment results for reading and writing correlated with the type of definition used to guide programming for students with SSPD would further investigate the premise that definition is associated with outcome. To determine if the definition of literacy is influenced by coursework and field experience, future researchers might employ a longitudinal study that followed a cohort of educators throughout their undergraduate studies, field placements, and the first three years of employment as educators.... [more]