This study compared the contextual classroom features of public school segregated classrooms and community-based integrated classrooms for 16 preschool children with disabilities, by examining the relations between classroom characteristics and child sociability. The two classroom contexts were found to be similar, with no differences in child…

Discusses cultural and individual differences in point of reference, communication behaviors, and perception as factors to address in creating camp programs that are inclusive and considerate of diversity issues. Presents activities that can raise campers' awareness of these issues and bring them together. (TD)

Discusses a study using non-participant observations, survey, and interview techniques to examine student participation in a mixed age, small, midwestern university classroom. States that once student responsibilities were identified, comparisons and contrasts were made among students who accepted the participation responsibility and those who…

Highlights a music program for students with deafness that allows them to explore music in ways that are hands-on and visual. The formation of a sign choir that integrated students with deafness and hearing students is also described as well as an interactive deaf/hearing drama group. (CR)

Components identified with social and academic integration in high school were studied with 506 students using a scale developed by E. T. Pascarella and P. T. Terenzini (1980). Principal components analysis with orthogonal rotation identified seven meaningful dimensions and supported the usefulness of the scale. (SLD)

This special theme issue includes: "Perspectives on Work" (Supiot); "Work and Usefulness to the World" (Castel); "Work and Identity in India" (Heuze-Brigant); "New Perspectives on Work as Value" (Meda); "Decline and Resurgence of Unremunerated Work" (Le Guidec); "Work and Public/Private…

A survey of 143 teachers of students with hearing impairments found that 22% of the students were from an indigenous Australian background, 81% spent more than three-quarters of their time in the regular class, and two-thirds were regarded as fully integrated into a regular classroom for the entire school day. (Contains references.) (CR)

The study interviewed 73 Australian young people with a range of disabilities who had completed their school program in 1985. Subjects expressed their ideas concerning successful transition from school to adult life including the need for a planned transition process, a job-related school curriculum, and structured procedures to facilitate…

Associations among background, commitment levels, institutional involvement, and student persistence were studied for 260 out of 323 early college dropouts. The model of attrition developed by V. Tinto (1975) was applied. Student persistence was found to vary by motivational type and student's psychosocial orientation to college. (SLD)

A model is presented for the school-to-community transition of disabled students. The model emphasizes occupation, residential adjustment, and existence of desirable social and interpersonal networks. Problems in these three areas are documented, and development of the Oregon Transition Team Model to improve patterns of service and care is…

Interactions and relationships emerging from 2 programs to promote social integration of normal children and children with mental handicaps were compared. For the 53 pairs participating, peer tutoring interactions tended to be less reciprocal than those of the Special Friends program patterned after a program of L. J. Voeltz and others (1983).…

Employment outcomes and social adjustment of 65 mildly handicapped students who exited high school in 1984 are examined. Most respondents (78 percent) were employed full time for minimum wage or better and used a family-friend network to secure employment. Most were also living at home and had positive perceptions of their social lives. (Author/PB)

Describes a self-report instrument designed to measure levels of acculturation among Mexican-American adolescents and adults in the areas of intra- and extrafamily language use, social affiliations and activities, cultural familiarity and activities, and cultural identification and pride. Inventory can be used to measure cultural resistance,…

This paper analyzes the philosophy and goal strategies of transition programs, focusing on criteria for success, needs of the disabled, training of personnel, staffing, client controls, the pre-transition school environment, the adult transition environment, and integration into adult society. Several recommendations for improved transition…

Adults (N=153) with mild mental retardation attending a transitional vocational program were evaluated based upon the multiaxial criteria of the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual." Fifty-three percent were diagnosed as meeting Axis I criteria, and 17.6 percent met criteria for an Axis II diagnosis, involving…