The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of learning style, strategy use, and personalization of mathematical word problems on the selection of appropriate operations and the execution of correct computational responses by students with learning disabilities (LD). Additionally, the secondary purpose of this study was to determine if learning style, strategy use, and personalization of mathematical word problems interacted with mathematical word problem achievement levels to effect students with learning disabilities selection of appropriate operations and execution of correct computational responses. Results of this study revealed that learning style did affect students with LD’s selection of appropriate operations and execution of correct computational responses of mathematical word problems. While other outcomes from this study revealed no statistically significant results, further investigations are merited regarding the affect learning style, strategy use, and/or personalization have on the mathematical responses of students with learning disabilities.... [more]

This article provides an overview of research addressing bullying and students with disabilities. The studies are discussed within two disability categories: visible and non-visible. Disabilities that are overt and observable were determined by the researchers to be categorized as visible. In contrast, disabilities that are less obvious and would require more time to observe and differentiate were categorized as non-visible. Results from the eleven studies published from 1989 to 2003 indicated students with disabilities, both visible and non-visible, experienced bullying more than their non-disabled general education peers and that boys were bullied more often than girls (Dawkins, 1996; O’Moore & Hillery (1989). Reported forms of bullying included name-calling, teasing, physical attacks, severe verbal bullying, verbal aggression, threats, taking belongings, imitating, and making fun of the students with disabilities. The students with disabilities also tended to be less popular, have fewer friends, and struggle with loneliness. Implications for future research are discussed.... [more]

A total of 157 general education elementary classroom teachers in the United States and 116 general education elementary classroom teachers in Sweden were sent surveys assessing how teachers in the United States and Sweden (1) view the use of stimulant medication to treat ADHD behaviors in children, (2) attribute the causes of ADHD behaviors, and (3) rate the acceptability of various interventions used to treat ADHD behaviors. Compared to Swedish teachers, U.S. teachers indicated that more children in their classrooms were diagnosed with ADHD and received stimulant medications to treat ADHD behaviors. Regarding causation, both groups believed that ADHD behaviors could have environmental and genetic causes. Teachers from both countries agreed that lacking basic academic skills could be a cause of inattention in the classroom. Although Swedish and U.S. teachers reported similar beliefs about the causation of ADHD behaviors, Swedish teachers viewed stimulant medication in a significantly more negative manner. In addition, a majority of Swedish teachers preferred an intervention package that did not include stimulant medication.... [more]

Brunei is including more learners with special needs in general schools. To gain insight into problems that might arise research needs to be undertaken on a number of related issues. This study explored the attitudes to and concerns about inclusive education of 166 randomly selected pre-service and in-service teachers at the University of Brunei Darussalam on the BA primary education, BEd and PGCE programs. A three-part pre-tested instrument was used to collect demographic, attitudinal and concerns data. The alpha reliabilities of the Likert-type scales for attitudes and concerns were 0.85 and 0.88 respectively. At the whole group level no gender differences were found. Significant difference on attitudes to inclusive education were however found on all three bivariate comparisons of the program students .The BEd special education students were more favourable to inclusive education than the other two groups. Surprisingly the groups did not differ significantly on their concerns about inclusive students. Findings have implication for teacher education.... [more]

This article reports the findings of a study designed to explore the perceptions of primary school teachers toward the inclusion of students with disabilities into general education classrooms in Victoria, Australia. Specifically, the study investigated the relationship between particular demographic factors and teachers’ attitudes toward and concerns about inclusive education. Participants included 122 teachers from primary schools around Victoria. The ATIES, Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale (Wilczenski, 1992), and the CIES, Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale (Sharma & Desai, 2002), were utilized to determine participants’ attitudes and their level of concern about the inclusion of students with disabilities into mainstream settings. Participants who reported having undertaken training in special education were found to hold more positive attitudes and to experience lowered levels of concern, about implementing inclusive education. In addition, participants with a family member with a disability, and those who possessed some knowledge of the Disability Discrimination Act (1992) exhibited more positive attitudes toward including students with disabilities, while participants with a close friend with a disability and those who felt more confident about their roles as inclusive educators, experienced fewer concerns about implementing inclusive education.... [more]

Approximately 5-6% of school-aged children have a neuro-developmental condition called Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and are at risk for a number of secondary academic, social and self-concept difficulties. Despite its prevalence, DCD is often unrecognized in the school system, and the needs of children are not addressed. In this qualitative study, interviews were conducted with 13 parents of school-aged children who met criteria for DCD. Study findings highlighted that these, often very bright, students struggled hard to produce in the classroom, with varied teacher responses. Outside the classroom, many children experienced social, self-concept, and emotional problems. Despite the support of some excellent teachers, families felt that the educational system displayed a lack of understanding and responsiveness to their child’s needs. Implications of these findings include the importance of teachers in identifying children and modifying classroom environments, and the necessity of improving the responsiveness of the educational system to their needs.... [more]

Neuromuscular diseases (NMD) are a relatively rare, but significantly impairing group of inherited or acquired conditions with onset typically during school-aged years. Due to legislative mandates, the prevalence of students with neuromuscular disorders being educated in inclusive, mainstream settings has been increasing. However, little evaluative research has been done to document the educational experiences of students with NMD or the response of special educational personnel to their unique needs. The following survey-based study was designed to obtain parental perspectives on key issues related to the perceived quality of educational services and communication with school personnel.... [more]

This paper provides an overview of China’s education system and the development of special education, given the history, current personnel preparation as well as the special challenges for special education in China. It explores why special education has lagged behind in terms of the challenges the China’s special education encounters such as its lack of special educators, and low enrollment of children with disabilities where the education system has developed so rapidly.... [more]

The Teacher for All Children (TAC) Program developed at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg is a teacher education program that provides pre-service teachers with the academic background and practical experience to be prepared to work successfully with all children. The TAC program has four distinct elements including a teacher mentor experience, use of portfolios as evaluative tools, professional behavior assessment self reflection, and the implementation of team building skills. Program evaluation has been completed through two venues. An ongoing evaluation completed by students, mentor teachers, and university faculty at the end of each spring semester, and a longitudinal examination of the program through surveys of graduates teaching in the field for three years. Formative findings indicate time spent out in real classrooms, use of reflective assignments, and collaboration between university and public school faculty were strong features. The longitudinal examination reiterated the importance of formative findings and indicates that these features resulted in teachers who report a greater sense of teacher efficacy, increased use of inclusive practices, and high levels of leadership among the graduates.... [more]

The present study focuses on the relationship between self-reported and teacher reported social skills in a sample of school children reported to be at risk for developing anti-social behavior. Twenty boys with high teacher ratings on externalizing problems (physical aggression toward others, poor control of temper, and arguing), were compared to 20 boys with low ratings. Participants were between 14 and 15 years of age. Self-control, Co-operation, Assertion and Empathy were measured with the Social Skills Rating System. The groups did not differ on self-reported Empathy, Self-control or Assertion, but did differ on Co-operation. Self-control and Co-operation, but not Assertion, yielded high positive correlations between teacher ratings and self-reports in a sample of at-risk students, but only moderate correlations were found for all three variables in a control sample. The influence of belonging to a teacher-perceived at-risk group on self-presentation of social skills will be discussed.... [more]

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of five-day sight word reads using a Dolch word list with reading racetrack and flashcard procedure. The participant was a third grade male with a specific learning disability. Data were collected on his correct and error rate using Dolch sight words. A correct was defined as reading the word without any mistakes or self-correcting immediately after an error was made. An error was defined as reading the word incorrectly, pausing longer than 2 seconds, or skipping to the next word. The data were gathered in the participant’s resource room classroom. The design employed was an ABCDE single-case design. The overall outcomes indicated a significant increase in corrects with a sharp decrease in errors. The procedure was easy to carry out and data collection was straightforward. Recommendations for future research combining Direct Instruction procedures, reading racetracks, and flashcards were made ... [more]

Autism is a chronic developmental disorder characterized by impairments in the areas of social interaction, communication, and repetitive behavior. Early detection followed by early intervention is likely to provide the best chance of long-term beneficial outcome for those children with autism. As demonstrated from research findings, it is important to use developmentally appropriate assessment tools for early detection, diagnosis, and evidence-based interventions. In a diversified society as the United States, it is extremely important to provide cultural competent services to children with autism and their families from diverse cultural backgrounds. The purpose of this paper is to examine from a Chinese cultural perspective the qualities of cultural validity in four assessment instruments designed for young children with autism.... [more]

The purpose of this study was to (a) investigate current teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion, and to (b) explore possible differences in the general and special education teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion of students with disabilities in the integrated education classroom. A total of 10 participants from a large mid-western state university participated in this study. All ten participants were in-service teachers enrolled in graduate classes. The findings of this study indicated that teachers had positive attitudes toward inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classroom. Some differences, however, were found between the attitudes of special and regular education teachers. Special educators were more supportive to full inclusion than the general educators. The integration of information concerning teachers’ beliefs/points of view about inclusion may help practitioners to design educational settings that enhance all students’ academic performance... [more]

The success of inclusive education can be influenced by how teachers in regular schools perceive students with special needs. In Brunei Darussalam where inclusive education has been implemented a little over a decade ago through a model where learning assistance teachers work alongside with regular teachers to support the learning of students with special needs, there is limited research on the views of teachers within the regular school system towards including students with special needs. This study investigates the perceptions of both learning assistance and regular teachers towards including students with special needs in the regular school environment. The Perceptions to Inclusive Education Scale (PIES) was adapted, translated into Malay and validated for use to examine the perceptions of inclusive education of Bruneian teachers. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from the use of this adapted instrument. The results of this study on teachers’ perceptions towards including students with special needs provide some evidence of the progress of inclusive education hitherto as well as delineate some areas of concerns for improving the success of inclusive education in Brunei Darussalam... [more]

There is a dearth of research on private special education schools. This exploratory study uses focus group research to look closer at the instructional experience in private special education schools and to identify perceptions of novice private special education teachers on what educational supports are needed for students to succeed and what instructional supports are needed for teachers to be effective. Transcripts of the focus group session were submitted to content analysis and revealed six themes: four themes describe teaching concerns, one theme describes the kinds of supports provided for novice teachers in the private special education schools, and one theme presents recommendations for how the teacher preparation program can be more supportive of private special education teachers... [more]

Most research of creative thinking abilities has focused on hearing children; significant factors that may contribute to the creative thinking of Deaf children are in need of further investigation. This study focuses on comparing creative thinking abilities of deaf and hearing children. Two groups of deaf (n=210) and hearing children (N=200) were chosen based on specific criteria. Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking-Figural, Form A was used. The findings of the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed that there are some similarities and differences between the deaf and hearing samples regarding creative thinking abilities. Both groups are different only in the abstraction of titles variable, and they are similar in the other five variables of creative thinking abilities... [more]

Book Review of 'Key Competencies for a Successful Life and a Well Functioning Society'... [more]