This response to EC 604 968 seeks to provide a broader perspective to discussion of the least restrictive environment and contemporary practices and to link the ethics and practices of collaborative processes in special education to the issues and strategies for facilitating school reform in general. (JDD)

A national survey of 133 secondary vocational educators examined practices and perceptions toward grading students with disabilities. The majority of respondents included a competency-based grading component, believed that student effort should be used to determine grades, and had never been involved in their students' Individualized Education…

Argues that teacher in-service education programs should adopt an explicit standard for programs, value effects of in-service programs on teachers' needs for professional experiences, appreciate differences arising among schools and teachers in efforts to change educational practices, take a longitudinal perspective, and expand evaluation into the…

This article reviews the literature on grouping and argues for flexible grouping of students according to ability and achievement levels and maintains that grouping gifted students heterogeneously and providing cooperative learning leads to lowered achievement and motivation and poorer attitudes toward school for gifted students. (DB)

This paper examines the impact of the court decision in Larry P. versus Riles, which declared that intelligence tests are biased and banned the overrepresentation of African-American children in educable mentally retarded programs. The paper discusses the educational situation of these children, now served in regular programs, and examines…

Reports of 156 preservice teachers concerning their own disciplinary experiences in their families of origin were used to predict subsequent selection of punitive or nonpunitive classroom management strategies. Results suggest that authoritarian upbringing is related to selection of punitive strategies. Implications for teacher training are…

Martin Robison Delany is remembered for his nationalist and political activities and philosophy, but he deserves a place among African American educators for his emphases on applied education, economic emancipation, and the education of black women. Delany highlighted deficiencies in the education available to blacks as he stressed the practical.…

This article compares recommended practices identified by the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Similarities and differing emphases are noted in the areas of inclusion, family involvement, assessment, program planning, curriculum and intervention strategies, service…

Addresses Clark's position that media do not influence learning (EJ 294 173). The need to consider the capabilities of media as they interact with the cognitive and social processes by which knowledge is constructed is posited. This approach is examined within the context of two major media-based projects. Implications for theory, research, and…

Argues that designing aids and tools to perfect the mind is one of the primary goals of educational research. It discusses the need for appropriate theories to design instructional materials and methods and explains why school practices have not changed to reflect advances in the understanding of learning and development. (GLR)

Asserts that many educators do not hold curriculum studies in high regard. Reviews the "Handbook of Research on Curriculum," published by the American Educational Research Association. Concludes that the volume will serve the interests of researchers but not other constituents within the curriculum community. (CFR)

The background of practice and ideology that led to the national curriculum and national assessment in England and Wales is traced, along with the development of national assessment policy. The breakdown, which has resulted in teachers who refuse to conduct the prescribed testing, is described. (SLD)

A survey of 123 special educators found that respondents did not feel adequately trained to work with individuals with profoundly handicapping conditions. For a variety of reasons, some teachers did not implement instructional techniques such as integration strategies, technological applications, and Piagetian procedures and such curricular areas…

The U.S. research on cognition that has set a framework for educational practice is discussed; attention is given to trends in the design of instructional innovation. Research considered includes analyses of textbook structure, content, and problem exercises, teacher explanations, and structured classroom interactions. (SLD)

Whether software-based mediated instruction reduces the incidence of misconceptions and errors by children learning the LOGO computer language was studied with 24 fourth and 46 second graders. Mediated instruction reduced errors and misconceptions compared to those detected in prior studies. The roles of working memory and true misunderstandings…