Visual-spatial ability is important for mathematics learning but also for future STEM participation. Some studies report children with dyslexia have superior visual-spatial skills and other studies report a deficit. We sought to further explore the relationship between children formally identified as having dyslexia and visual-spatial ability.…

A 2011 report by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) confirmed a widespread cheating scandal among teachers, principals, and administrators in the Atlanta Public School system (APS) from 2009-2011. To date, it is the largest cheating scandal of its kind in the United States. The vast public investigation of this scandal provides an…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine what trends exist in the identification and description of participants with disabilities used in school-based physical education research. A total of 60 research articles published in the "Journal of Teaching in Physical Education" from 2010-2014 which included school-aged individuals…

Since the enactment of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (IDEA's forerunner) in 1975, an important requirement has been Child Find activities. According to Shapiro and Derrington (2004), Child Find is broadly defined as the entire range of activities, including public awareness, identification, referral, eligibility determination, and…

Response to intervention (RTI) emerged from the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, but the roots of RTI are found embedded within the history of the field of learning disabilities (LD) as well as other sources of influence. In what follows, we provide a brief history of LD and highlight the connection between…

This paper discusses a way of thinking about disability which has emerged out of the UK Disabled People's Movement over the last three decades in opposition to the preceding medical model of disability which viewed disability as synonymous with problem. Disabled people are increasingly challenging the notion that their embodiment is inherently…

While the overall student population in Massachusetts has dropped slightly in the last 10 years, the number of English language learners (ELLs) has increased by more than 50 percent. In April 2012, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE) contracted with researchers at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC),…

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a general education initiative that takes place prior to evaluation for placement in special education. Essentially, the first two tiers of RtI require general education teachers to use research-based instruction with all students and then to evaluate the effectiveness of that instruction. Given that the use of…

This article explores the contribution of sociological scholarship to understanding and analysing the notions of "special educational needs" and "disability" and the ways in which the two notions have been reconfigured and theorised as "public issues" rather than "personal troubles". Barton's contribution is signified both in terms of his…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a need exists for faculty training to improve accommodation for students with disabilities enrolled in electronically delivered courses at a statewide university system. An online survey was used to determine if instructors had students who had been identified as needing accommodation in their online…

Dwayne is a Grade 6 student who came to Canada from Jamaica at the age of seven. Upon arrival in a new school Dwayne had to adapt to a new culture. In addition, Dwayne was identified as having severe behavioural problems and learning difficulties, and it was recommended within the first month of school that the boy be medicated in order for him to…

An e-mail survey of special education directors was conducted to ascertain practices related to implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) processes in North Carolina schools. The data indicate that special education directors have information about RTI as a method of identifying students with disabilities, but there is little consensus on…

A review of theories and practices of contemporary special education in the Soviet Union focuses on the current state and tendencies in development of basic theoretical concepts, methods of screening, and organizational structure of special education and compares these with American theoretical considerations and practical approaches. (Author/CB)

Issues that are central to special education and appear destined to remain so are discussed, including professional divisions among special educators and between special and regular educators, the population to be served, individualization, and placement. (JDD)

The article criticizes current special education practices, noting that the concept of individual differences has led ultimately to the practice of labeling children with special needs. The "medical model" has put children in special classes, where they tend to perpetuate and reinforce both the labels and behaviors implied by those labels.…