Elementary and secondary education services available to learning disabled students in the Vancouver school system are described, including teaching and evaluation centers and an extended skills development center. (CL)

A group of researchers from Syracuse University's School of Education (New York) conducted 25 case studies of local school programs that had been nominated by teachers, administrators, and parents as being exemplary in integrating children with disabilities into the mainstream of education. The 12 case studies selected for this volume represent…

Research on the effectiveness of the special education class is reviewed and studies on the role of resource rooms are discussed. (CL)

A local program survey of 95 directors of gifted education examined elements of programing related to the modification of the learning environment, including instructional time, teacher-pupil ratio, additional personnel requirements, and estimates of the excess program costs. Three common models were considered: the special class, teacher…

Findings of 43 studies examining the effects of class placement on social adjustment of mentally retarded students were reviewed. Studies met the following criteria: (1) they investigated the class placement of mentally retarded students; (2) they included a dependent measure of social adjustment; and (3) they reported quantitative tests of…

Resource and special class teachers of learning disabled (LD) and behaviorally disordered elementary and secondary students rated behaviorally disordered Ss as exhibiting more of five patterns of deviant behavior than LD Ss. Secondary Ss exhibited more rule breaking than elementary Ss; and special class Ss, more anxious, fearful behavior than…

Comparison of teaching behaviors across grade level and educational setting (resource and self-contained) of 65 beginning teachers found main effects for both grade level and educational setting including that elementary teachers provided more transitions between instructional activities and that teachers in self-contained settings exhibited more…

The self-perceptions of students were compared to parallel ratings by their teachers for four groups of subjects: 69 nondisabled, 18 learning-disabled-resource room, 25 learning-disabled-resource room, and 33 learning-disabled special class students. Results varied according to which teacher and students, which setting, and which aspect of self…

Most of the principals (82 percent) considered the most effective placement to be a combination of regular class and part-time special education. Only 6.4 percent regarded full-time regular class as most effective, while 10.1 percent favored full-time special class placement. (DB)

The document reports findings of a 1988-89 survey of all school districts in New Jersey to determine the status of gifted education. Major findings included the following: a total of 122,626 New Jersey students were identified and served during the 1988-89 school year; a larger percentage (11.3%) of the total school population was served than in…

The decision to mainstream a child into the least restrictive environment opens up a variety of possibilities. The author surveys the mainstreaming options available in public schools, ranging from regular class placement to custodial care. (Part of a theme issue on mainstreaming.) (Editor/SJL)

Procedures of school placement for 38 children (ages 5 to 18 years) with spina bifida in 23 school districts in western New York State were studied 5 years after a mandated process was enacted. (Author)

The paper describes problems endemic to the evaluation of programs for gifted and talented students. The goals of gifted and talented programs are often substantially different from those covered on outcome measures available to schools. When decisions are being made about the type of programs to be provided, parallel consideration should be given…

The proceedings of a workshop for parents and educators of handicapped children focuses on least restrictive environment. Three papers introduce the workshop: "Special Education: The Development of Services" (M. Reynolds); "Least Restrictive Environment: Decision Making" (H. Sobehart); and "Communication and Conferencing Skills for Parents" (J.…

A study of the reintegration of 382 severely emotionally disturbed/behaviorally disordered students (preschool through secondary) into less restrictive programs revealed that the expected continuum of services (most to least restrictive) were reversed. The predominant placement was full integration, followed in descending order by resource and…