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)

Reviews literature on the benefits to emotionally disturbed children of mainstreaming versus special class placement. Findings are inconclusive. (SJL)

The four-part special section contains information on educational programs and services for the deaf. Part A presents data on United States schools and classes, Canadian schools and classes, financial data on residential schools in the United States, and continuing education programs for deaf adults. (SBH)

Looking at the emotional and academic needs of the chronically disruptive student, the author proposes a temporary alternative class, emphasizing self-esteem development and individualized instruction, as the best programmatic solution. (SJL)

A study investigated the academic and social development of 25 Canadian gifted students (ages 12-14) in a congregated class at a Catholic high school. Results found the students enjoyed being educated with their gifted peers and valued the competition. The effects of the class on the students' self-esteem are also discussed. (Author/CR)

This study compared perceptions of staff in self-contained programs and mainstreamed programs for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in a district committed to inclusion, interagency coordination, and staff training. Well-established self-contained programs were perceived as superior to relatively new mainstream programs in…

A study investigated predictors of teachers' attitudes (Finland=147, Hong Kong=214, United States=160) toward gifted education. Attitudes depended on whether or not they believed that their school had gifted children, all children are gifted, gifted children should help others, parents have the major responsibility, and special classes best meet…

Thirty-five studies on the efficacy of special class versus regular class placement for mildly handicapped students were reviewed for the power of their statistical tests. Twenty-one studies had adequate power to detect a large effect size but the power to detect a medium effect size was no better than chance. (Author/DB)

Comparison of the efficacy of integrating 41 elementary school students with moderate mental retardation into either regular classes, a special class with a community-based program, or a special class with a traditional developmental program found that, after 2 years, no single program was superior to the other 2. (Author/DB)

This study examined the attitudes of 34 Greek elementary special education students toward their teachers, lessons, parents, schools, and feelings of difference. Comparisons with studies of British and New Zealand children indicate that the Greek students were generally satisfied with their educational experience, and the Greek special education…

This article discusses various kinds of curriculum provision for gifted students, including pull-out extension and enrichment programs, special schools and special classes, and special programs integrated within classes. The use of the terms "enrichment" and "extension" is also examined. (Author/JDD)

Eight public school adolescent students with mild mental retardation and severely disruptive classroom behaviors participated in a cooperative behavior management intervention in which student teams were rewarded for appropriate classroom behavior. Rewarding both teams and individuals was most successful in decreasing inappropriate behavior in all…

An augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention was designed to increase vocabulary acquisition in five mild to moderately handicapped children (ages seven to nine) in a self-contained class. The intervention resulted in high rates of vocabulary and sentence selection for all the children, an improvement which persisted after…

Five single-subject studies indicated that adolescents with learning disabilities can successfully implement self-monitoring procedures in special and regular education settings and correspondingly improve their on-task behavior, without regard to classmates' percentage of on-task behavior and with fading of reinforcement and self-monitoring.…

This study of 100 children with mild and moderate disabilities and 24 normal children found no main effect differences between integrated and segregated groups in a special education preschool program. Aptitude-by-treatment analyses revealed that higher performing students gained more from integrated classes, whereas lower performing students…