This review compared eight different inclusive models for elementary students with mild disabilities, primarily with learning disabilities. Model programs were described according to curricular innovations and the way school personnel and classrooms were organized. Quantified academic outcomes were also discussed. Methodological concerns prevented conclusions about the superiority of inclusive programming over pull-out programs. There were indications that inclusive programming can be effective for some, although not all, students with mild disabilities. More conclusive evidence suggests that the impact of organization and instructional changes on the achievement of nondisabled students was positive. Common elements in models reviewed included a redesigning of general education classrooms so that they more closely resembled special education: low student-to-staff ratio, intensive and prescribed basic skills instruction, performance monitoring, and the opportunity for intensive, one-to-one instruction. Results are discussed in light of implications of the inclusion movement and the future of special education.After the efforts of the past decade to formulate the P.L. 94-142 legislative mandate, and the equally, if not more, difficult task of implementing it, we may need to stop for a moment to reexamine the educational system we have created. We may need to modify and refine it. The time is right because we are now launching the second stage of the revolution-an enormous effort to create or totally reorganize a system of services for disabled people in our nation. Let us pause half-way up the slope to take a breath and gather that humor, confidence and strength for the next task. Let us pause, let us reflect, but not too long. (Will, 1984, p. 11)
The Learning in Regular Classrooms experiment has evolved in response to China's efforts to educate its large population of students with disabilities who, until the mid-1980s, were denied a free education. In the Learning in Regular Classrooms, students with disabilities (primarily sensory impairments or mild mental retardation) are educated in neighborhood schools in mainstream classrooms. Despite difficulties associated with developing effective inclusive programming, this approach has contributed to a major increase in the enrollment of students with disabilities and increased involvement of schools, teachers, and parents in China's newly developing special education system. Here we describe the development of the Learning in Regular Classroom approach and the challenges associated with educating students with disabilities in China.
Conservation outreach requires an understanding of the socio-ecological dynamics within specific environments and how they affect meaning given to efforts. Nationwide studies of human perceptions are important in typifying how people use and view the marine environment; however, these findings often ignore specific regional differences. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate whether demographics and ocean use predict environmental concerns, interest in learning, and ocean conservation in Hawaii. Drawing on data from the Ocean Topics Public Attitudes Survey (n = 422), regression analysis was used to create four models that predict participant attitudes on ocean conservation factors. Significant relationships were found between gender, Native Hawaiian ethnicity, types of ocean use, and willingness to participate in conservation activities. Key methodological approaches and findings are shared with the goal of informing better design and implementation of outreach to help understand ocean user needs in Hawaii.
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