This article, based on the experiences of the authors at the 2002 AATG Summer seminar in Dusseldorf, explores the topic of integration in Germany on multiple levels: politically, financially, socially, and educationally. First, the authors discuss how the European Union and the Euro attempt to integrate Europe and Europeans, and how Germans have…

This article examines the representation of conflict, diversity, peace, and justice issues in selected mandated curriculum guidelines, grades 1-10, for three Canadian provinces. These curricula, grounded in prevailing assumptions, reflect political will and influence resource availability for teaching. Prominent among them is a neutral discourse…

This feasibility study sought to determine the need and the appropriateness of a self-contained training package which would help existing leadership programs integrate youth with disabilities into their services. The study involved a review of the literature; interviews with 19 experts and practitioners; focus group discussions to solicit student…

This manual presents the trainee's workbook and the trainer's guidelines for the fifth of six modules in a teacher inservice series developed to promote the unified effort of both regular and special education personnel in understanding and applying nationally recognized practices to implement fully inclusive education for students with diverse…

This newsletter theme issue focuses on the need to accelerate the closing of institutions for people with mental retardation. Articles are by both current and former residents of institutions and by professionals, and include: "The Realities of Institutions" (Tia Nelis); "I Cry Out So That I Won't Go Insane" (Mary F. Hayden); "Trends in…

This study explored experiences of 10 Ontario parents of adolescents with mental retardation concerning integrated versus contained elementary and secondary school placements, especially attitudes about curriculum, social acceptance, support services, educators, and advocacy. All students were currently in a contained placement but had experience…

The education literature has not adequately considered the notion of change at its most fundamental level. This paper considers notions of institutional or social change from the ontological perspective of H. R. Maturana. The pattern of organization in living systems is defined by Maturana and Varela (1980) as "autopoiesis," a coined…

This booklet presents information helpful in implementing laws intended to extend full societal participation to individuals with disabilities. Information concerning the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (IDEA) addresses the law's major provisions, provisions for medically fragile children, amendments and modifications, and case…

This fact sheet discusses the preparation of students with mental retardation for life in the community. It presents the position of the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) on the education of students with mental retardation, lists the school experiences that best prepare students for life in the community, examines how views of the role of…

The Project Ta-kos Outreach program is an inservice training model designed to increase the probability that children (ages birth to 8) at risk for or with special needs and their families can access and receive appropriate services in order to remain an integral part of the community in which they reside. The program reflects an ecological…

This newsletter focuses on what works in inclusive education. A major article is "Inclusive Education: Needs of Minnesota Families--Major Findings from a 'Together We're Better' Study." This article presents findings of a statewide survey of families of children with disabilities. Findings are categorized within four areas: (1)…

This 18-minute videotape illustrates Vermont's program of full inclusion of students with disabilities through following Andreas, an Asian-American teenager with severe disabilities who has been successfully included in regular classes in his local high school. The videotape shows him attending regular classes, working in a local animal hospital,…

Schools are an important source of personal identity and group integration. In Canada, schools are better equipped to contribute to both individual and group identities than they are to be agents of general social integration. The central goal of schools is to provide quality education, and part of this mission is being more confident and creative…

This review of effective practices in state-wide systems change was conducted as part of the PEERS (Providing Education for Everyone in Regular Schools) Project, a 5-year collaborative systems change project in California to facilitate the integration of students with severe disabilities previously at special centers into services at regular…

This information sheet summarizes requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regarding inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms and lists activities and support systems that have been found successful in fostering such inclusion. Suggestions are given in the areas of attitudes and beliefs,…