This article provides an overview of special education in Germany, focusing on its historical development, basic structure and administration, regional differences in special education provision, the decline of the special school system, and the increasing reorientation of special education toward the ordinary schools. (MDM)

Teaching conformity through coercion limits students' willingness to take risks and make decisions regarding their learning. In contrast, a Foxfire classroom environment that meets psychological needs empowers students to make choices about their learning, eliminates fear of failure, allows students to establish their own standards of achievement,…

A national survey of state directors of special education (40 responses) found great variety in state policy concerning inclusion of students with disabilities, acceleration in inclusion activities, a commitment to providing inservice and technical assistance, emerging teacher certification guidelines specific to inclusion, and minimal empirical…

Trends in Mexico concerning integrating children with special needs into general classrooms and a new model of service delivery providing greater site-based approaches to educating students with learning disabilities are discussed. Assignments and materials may be modified, and both resource rooms and specialists are available to the general…

Premises and misconceptions about developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) are discussed, along with how the premises and practices of DAP diverge and overlap with recommended practices for early childhood special education. Instructional strategies that have been effective for teaching young children with disabilities and that follow DAP…

Maintains that corporal punishment should be banned from every school as a means of classroom discipline, and presents teachers and administrators with workable alternatives to disciplining children. (BB)

Discusses ingredients inherent in democratic, ethical, and moral character and practices and the ways in which early childhood caregivers and teachers can institute democratic practices in their classrooms with young children. Considers the uses of discipline in democratic child care and education. (BB)

This article reviews the rationales and premises of the Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) approach and early childhood special education (ECSE), highlighting areas of overlap. DAP's insufficiencies for planning, implementing, and evaluating ECSE programs are noted. A selective literature review clarifies issues separating the two areas,…

Educational practices with students in both regular and special education that have stood the tests of time, research, and application are described. They include peer tutoring; direct instruction; cooperative learning; self-instructional training; curriculum-based measurement; instructional alignment; and learning strategies. (DB)

Results from an exploratory evaluation of the Indiana Principals' Leadership Academy (IPLA) over its first four years are reported. Interviews with 30 principals (20 IPLA graduates and 10 current participants) and review of IPLA documents reflect favorable responses to the program by principals and its strengths and weaknesses. (SLD)

The impact of retention in kindergarten on academic achievement and behavior was studied for 53 retained children and 53 matched promoted peers. The academic advantages indicated in the second year of kindergarten were not maintained past kindergarten. Results do not support retention as an effective policy for young children. (SLD)

Compares theories of knowledge and strategies for cultural transmission in Pohnpei (Micronesia) and U.S. models of education. Extensive interviews and observations demonstrate the awareness of the people of Pohnpei of the potential of U.S. education to transform their traditional chiefdom hierarchy and the content and nature of traditional…

Focuses on ways that the present colonial or postcolonial status of societies in Tonga influences the relationship between traditional and Western forms of schooling. The impact of having been a former colonized people incorporated into a colonizing nation is most apparent in the study of Hawaiian preschool education. (SLD)

This article extends the ideas of social support systems to giftedness and disadvantagement, and presents examples of two intervention programs for talented, economically disadvantaged children--the Epstein Fine Arts Fund, and SMART (Science and Mathematics Advocacy and Recruitment for Teaching), both in Chicago, Illinois. A research agenda is…

This study found that the Individualized Education Program (IEP) annual goals of 21 students (ages 11-15) with mild mental retardation, whether in categorical or cross-categorical programs, were almost solely academic, with few behavior, social, vocational, or life skills. Students were also receiving instruction in content areas not stated on…