Inclusive programs increasingly have become available for students with severe disabilities, enabling them to receive special education services and supports in general education classes alongside their non-disabled peers. Forty students in two groups were assessed across two years of inclusive versus self-contained educational programming, comparing outcomes on measures of child development and social competence with the Scales of Independent Behavior (SIB) and the Assessment of Social Competence (ASC). Participants were assessed on the SIB and ASC, matched into pairs on chronological age and SIB total scores at first testing, and reassessed after two additional years of either inclusive or self-contained schooling. The inclusive student group made statistically significant gains on the developmental measure and realized higher social competence scores in comparison to the self-contained group at follow-up. Examination of gains on these measures irrespective of group affiliation indicated that participants made small, but significant, gains in two of four skill clusters assessed by the SIB and three of eleven dimensions of the ASC. These results challenge a common assumption that selfcontained settings in comparison to inclusive settings will result in superior gains on students' IEP-related skill domains. They also support previous research showing social competence gains as a function of inclusion. Results are discussed in terms of expected change over time for students with severe disabilities, the implications of variations from the group results that occurred for individual students, and future research needed on the outcomes of quality inclusive schooling for students with severe disabilities.
International student exchange programs are widely promoted in higher education as a means of developing desirable intercultural skills and understanding among students. This multimethod study employed data from student surveys, tertiary institution case studies, and interviews with key stakeholders to identify factors that inhibited or promoted the uptake of international exchange programs among New Zealand students. These factors include the development of early understanding of the benefits of studying abroad; ongoing support to students; social, cultural, and linguistic capabilities; and how effectively overseas study was integrated into student degree programs. Implications of these findings for exchange programs in general are discussed in the context of future strategic development of expanded, more diverse opportunities for study overseas.
Behavioural interventions effectively reduce challenging behaviour, particularly when preceded by a functional analysis. Teaching replacement skills was most effective, especially if used in combination with systems change and/or traditional antecedent and consequence manipulation. Positive changes as well as enduring limitations to both research design and standards of clinical practice in comparison to 18 years ago are discussed.
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