A survey of 418 (61%) General College students (academically underprepared) demonstrated how differences on career decision-making self-efficacy, social and academic integration, and academic persistence differ according to individual and family characteristics. (SK)

Two interventions (environmental modification and adult prompting) were evaluated for promoting conversations between three preschoolers with and six without disabilities. Three conditions were used: classroom baseline, theme boxes, and system of least prompts. Use of the system of least prompts produced increases in rates of conversation, turns…

Examines fundamental conceptual, methodological, and outcome issues with respect to the social integration of preschool-age children with mild developmental delays in inclusive early-childhood settings. A model of factors that influence social integration and their interrelationships is presented as a means of organizing future integration…

This article first describes various augmentative communication systems including sign language, picture symbols, and voice output communication devices. It then explains ways to embed augmentative communication within four types of early childhood classroom activities: (1) special or planned activities, (2) meal time, (3) circle time, and (4)…

Relates current attempts in the province of Quebec (Canada) to eliminate religious school boards in favor of linguistically-based boards. Claims that the processes employed by the Quebec government to do so subvert the Canadian constitution. Argues for retaining the old religious boards and rejecting linguistic- or ethnic-based educational…

Analysis of 202 questionnaires completed by childcare center personnel found 90 percent of respondents agreed with the concept of integration of young children with special needs and 76 percent thought integration was beneficial for typically developing children. Curriculum adaptations, classroom integration, and identification of developmental…

Forty-eight children (ages 5 to 13) with autism or related pervasive developmental disability were paired with normally developing peers for informal play periods. Compared to a control group, the experimental children demonstrated improved social behavior which sometimes generalized to interactions with other children and the larger school…

A reversal design was used in two elementary classrooms to examine effects of cooperative learning groups (CLG) in reading instruction for three students with autism and their general education peers. Results demonstrated increased reading gains, academic engagement, and peer interaction during CLG conditions. Results also documented the…

Comparison of the social interactions of nine children with visual impairments and a comparison group of nine children with full sight found that children with visual impairments were capable of interacting with others, but there were differences in the frequency of social initiations and the targets of these initiations. Results support…

This study compared peer interactions in 12 play groups of 6 preschool children each, containing either typically developing children, children with developmental delays, or both typical and delayed children. Results indicated higher levels of peer interactions in mainstreamed settings but a lack of full acceptance of children with delays by…

This essay argues that ideas circulated by Blatt and Dybwad, two scholars who exposed the plight of people labeled "retarded," can be illustrated in certain inclusive education practices and reinforced and refined in various critical narratives about mental retardation, particularly in autobiographical accounts of people with…

It has been argued that social isolation is the mechanism linking neighborhood disadvantage to residents' reduced life chances. Analysis of Chicago data on inner-city African American families (each containing a mother and adolescent child) found that families in poorer neighborhoods belonged to social networks with fewer resources but,…

This longitudinal study compares academic and social integration and intent to persist of two cohorts of freshmen (total n=132) at the American InterContinental University (England), of whom 70 successfully completed a one-term freshman orientation course and 62 did not take the course. Preliminary results suggest that the course promotes…

A study involving two kindergarten teachers found that reciprocal peer coaching produced an increase in use of suggestions, prompts, questions, and related talk to facilitate students' social interaction with classmates and fostered the use of spontaneous adaptations in the academic materials, skills, or social interaction of student pairs.…

This article describes the design and outcomes of a project to promote the reintegration of pupils with emotional and behavioral difficulties at transfer to secondary school. It reports on a series of successful placements and discusses the factors that have helped sustain the inclusion of the pupils. (Contains four references.) (Author/CR)