Schools in the United States and schools across majority of countries around the world today face two critical issues: "Inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms" and a contributing factor to success of this inclusion, teachers prepared to use best practices. "Best practices" in education are approaches to teaching,…

This report discusses the findings of a review of 35 articles on the perceptions of students with disabilities regarding student placement. Results of the review indicate students with special education needs vastly prefer general education classroom placement to any form of separateness. Students generally report reluctance about leaving the…

Using data from the Department of Education's 1997 Annual Report to Congress, this article examines changes that have occurred in the number of U.S. students who are identified with disabilities since inclusion began in earnest in the late 1980s, as well as the movement toward educating these students in more inclusive settings. (CR)

This study compared Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for 108 elementary grade students with mild disabilities in either resource or inclusive settings. IEPs for resource students had more service minutes, more long-range goals, used more information sources, indicated better correspondence between IEP components and student ability level,…

Describes four models that have been shown to be effective in including students with disabilities in regular school programs: consultation, team teaching, aide services, and limited pullout service. Advantages and challenges of inclusion at the middle-school level are addressed. (DB)

As an echo of the worldwide movement of inclusive education and because of the conviction of inclusive ideas, special education in Taiwan is moving toward a goal of inclusion, though not necessarily full inclusion. While its terminology is as yet undesignated, principles and strategies are significantly reflected in the Special Education Act and…

This paper discusses the outcomes of a longitudinal study that investigated whether significant change has occurred in the number of Louisiana students in general education, resource, and separation placements from 1990 to 1999; whether significant differences in placement by age category have continued; and which school systems show a tendency…

A study investigated the relationship between placement in inclusive (n=36) and pullout (n=22) special education programs and academic and behavior outcomes for students with disabilities. Eighth-graders in inclusive classrooms earned higher grades, achieved higher or comparable standardized test scores, committed no more behavioral infractions,…

A study explored six Canadian regular class elementary teachers' attitudes toward inclusion of students with disabilities into their classrooms. Participants experienced difficulty in articulating their roles in integration and viewed resource teachers as being responsible for included students. Segregated placement was seen as superior to…

This report contains data on students with disabilities (ages 3-21) in South Carolina public schools during the 1996-97 school year. The data indicate that special education students (ages 5-21) represent 12.9 percent of the student enrollment in South Carolina. The included data charts depict the following information: (1) children with…

This study surveyed educators in 30 school districts in Eastern Kentucky to examine the extent to which a grassroots movement toward inclusive schooling is developing, as well as teacher attitudes toward the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990. Of the 3,393 questionnaires distributed, 651 were returned from 65 (of 178) schools. Generally…

This paper discusses the findings of a study that examined the perceptions of 270 elementary school principals about a new Alabama certification model which abolishes categorical certification areas in special education and creates a generic "Collaborative Teacher" certification. Results indicate the most frequent special education…

This report discusses the outcomes of an intrinsic case study of the implementation of inclusion in a North Louisiana parish and the placement of special needs students within this parish. The case study was undertaken in an attempt to better understand the meaning and effect of the experience of teaching in an inclusive setting and of the…

This report discusses the outcomes of a New Jersey program designed to implement a responsible model for including students with disabilities into general education sixth, seventh, and eight grade classrooms. A major element of the "Toward Inclusive Education" (TIE) project included an intensive 2-week inservice program provided during…

This paper reports the results of a study of 1,300 special education students attending 81 elementary, middle, and high schools in Massachusetts that examined the patterns of variation in services delivered to students with disabilities in relation to student characteristics. Results of the study indicate that the majority of these students spent…