Describes the "Personal Communicator," a CD-ROM communication tool designed to enhance social interactions of deaf children and their hearing associates. Each of the program's five components is described: the chat screen, the dictionary, the writer's notebook, the conversation recorder, and the sign language playroom. Examples of the program's…

Reviews research in the area of worries and concerns of young people and the relevance to programs of personal development and social education. Identifies and prioritizes general areas of adolescent concern and discusses the possible influence of culture, gender, age, and type of school. (MJP)

A modified version of the Societal, Attitudinal, Familial, and Environmental Acculturative Stress Scale (SAFE) was administered to 71 Latino and Euramerican children aged 8-10 from southern California. Despite being U.S.-born, Latino children experienced significantly more acculturative stress than their Euramerican peers, thereby helping to…

Studies one generation of West Berlin (West Germany) students and their transition from elementary to secondary schools in an attempt to identify possible mechanisms of social discrimination. Analyzes variables such as sex, socioeconomic status, and nationality and their relationship to scholastic achievement. Contends that discrimination persists…

Analyzed states' spending for hospitals and suicide rates in 1960, 1970, 1980, and 1984. Found spending was not directly related to suicide rates until 1984 when it accounted for 5 percent increase in variance. Considered effects of divorce rates, and change, density, economic level, and racial composition of population. Discusses implications of…

A series of four consultative meetings between the Local Education Authority of Derbyshire, England and voluntary organizations representing various disabilities is described. Major issues which emerged during discussions included resources, the role of special schools in integration, the 1981 Education Act and Multi-professional Assessment, and…

This case study of Wakayama Prefecture focuses on the postwar Japanese government's efforts to facilitate administration of rural areas via "town-making." School consolidation is among the means used to fabricate a new sense of social cohesion from a patchwork of depopulated and aging villages. The goal is to promote a national modern…

Thirty-seven leading educators participated in a Delphi technique survey regarding future directions in education of students with disabilities, focusing on inclusion and integration, labeling and classification, personnel preparation, instruction and services, and research. Respondents predicted that increasing inclusion will occur, and teachers…

This study follows up a study examining use of self-monitoring to remediate social skills of a young man with Down syndrome in supported competitive employment. The study demonstrates the efficacy of the follow-along component of supported employment and the use of a criterion-referenced assessment and treatment package to retrain technical job…

This survey found that regular education teachers (n=312) felt that friendships between students with and without disabilities are possible, should be facilitated by adults, and are beneficial to all students. The survey also identified educational settings in which friendship, functional life skill, and academic skill development were most likely…

This study of teacher behavior and peer interactions in preschools found that peer interaction of children with disabilities was associated with resource teacher focus on groups that included children with disabilities and/or resource teachers' no response and was inversely associated with classroom teachers' focus on children with disabilities…

Extends previous findings on long-term effects of school desegregation by employing data from the first-ever nationally representative survey of blacks, the National Survey of Black Americans, a probability household survey of 2,107 black adults. Findings support the generally beneficial long-term effects. (SLD)

Development and validation of the Assessment of Social Competence (ASC), designed for individuals at all levels of functioning, are described. Results from samples of 140 children/youth and 161 adults with mental retardation and other disabilities indicate ASC is a comprehensive, criterion-referenced tool for both descriptive and intervention…

Analysis of the experience of a student with severe mental retardation who experienced full inclusion in her neighborhood elementary school revealed that the student's opportunities for social participation and friendship improved, several adaptive skills were developed, the classroom teacher played a critical role in orchestrating the level of…

This study examined factors of personal competency and community participation in discriminating between 336 people with mental retardation living in small group homes and small foster homes. Personal competencies were least important in distinguishing on the basis of setting. Primary differences emerged in extent of community participation,…