This article presents questions related to legal issues of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 and the changes it has made with regard to local education agency (LEA) and the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. The author's answers to these questions are presented. In answering the general question--to what…

The National Research Council (NRC) report on the disproportionate representation of minority students in special and gifted education represents an opportunity to draw national attention to the challenges faced by educators as they attempt to provide high-quality educational opportunities for students from culturally and linguistically diverse…

This paper reports preliminary work in an ARC Linkage Project involving collaboration among James Cook University, Education Queensland, and Technology One (a Queensland based company). The project aims to identify and interpret factors associated with low female participation rates in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professional…

This article provides a theoretical foundation for understanding women's technical skill development (TSD) in outdoor adventure. An examination of societal and biological factors influencing women's TSD focuses on gender role socialization, sense of competence, technical conditioning, sexism, spatial ability, and risk-taking. The article suggests…

The under-representation and poor retention of women in computing courses at Victoria University is a concern that has continued to defy all attempts to resolve it. Despite a range of initiatives created to encourage participation and improve retention of females in the courses, the percentage of female enrolments has declined significantly in…

Teacher candidates must metaphorically "step out of their own skins," challenging stereotypical cultural metanarratives, to teach effectively. This study describes results of collegian mentoring 1st- through 12th-grade students representing diverse ethnic and/or socioeconomic status groups in conjunction with a sophomore-level course on…

Lifelong learning has come to be internationally recognized as a framework in the development of sustainable education. However, in spite of rhetoric and its endorsement in some nations' policy documents, lifelong learning is not operationalized and Africa continues to be plagued by social maladies such as HIV/AIDS, capacity poverty, low quality…

Overrepresentation of minorities in special education has been a problem for 25 years and was targeted by the Office of Civil Rights as an initiative in 1993. One rural southeastern state examined its special education process from referral to placement to determine if procedures significantly overidentified or underidentified a particular racial…

This report describes a research effort to analyze extant information from state and local education agencies on the incidence and consequences of children with disabilities who bring weapons to school, engage in life-threatening behavior, or commit other acts of serious misconduct. Specific research activities included a review of existing…

The age distribution and growth of the Latino population have critical implications for the present and future of social and economic policy, with particular emphasis on early care and education. Following a discussion of the demographic trends involving Latino children and families, this paper discusses the child care and early education needs of…

This module was developed to provide training at the master's degree level for prospective teachers in the areas of learning disabilities and emotional disturbance to serve students in rural and reservation areas of North Dakota. Project ERICA sought to address the overrepresentation of Native American students in North Dakota's special education…

This article reports the academic and special education status of 129 graduates of special education preschools at 19 years of age. Participants had been randomly assigned to either direct instruction or mediated learning preschool classrooms. At age 19, their achievement was approximately one standard deviation below average. Consistent with…

Some education officials with expertise in American Indian scholarship programs say a lack of available money and information continue to limit American Indian enrollment in higher education. Pamela Silas, director of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, says they help more than 100 students a…

Over the past years, a large body of scholarly literature has developed to address gender inequity in the developed world, and suggestions for reducing the gender gap are well documented in the literature. However, still lacking in research is why there is gender inequity in mathematics and science education in African schools. Girls are not…

The goal of this article is to review the experiences of some of the African-American and Latino families who participated in the Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS). The importance of this article derives from the historical and current inequities in mental health care for families of color. We describe the attempts within the…