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We conducted a survey of 125 parents and 95 teachers currently involved in programs integrating children with disabilities into regular preschool and kindergarten classes. In contrast to the predominance of earlier research on mainstreaming and social integration which has focused mainly on children with disabilities, the focus of this study was on outcomes of this arrangement for typically developing children. Results indicated that both parents and teachers of typically developing children perceived important benefits accruing to these children as a result of their involvement in the integrated program. The data further indicated that common concerns about potential drawbacks to integration, such as reduction in teacher attention to typically developing children, were not generally perceived as problems in these programs. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for broadening the rationale for integrated programs to include more focused consideration of the potential benefits of mainstreaming for all children.

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The debate concerning the legitimacy of MIS as a field of research has endured over the last decade. The absence of theories and lack of a cumulative research tradition have been areas of particular concern. The research reported in this article provides evidence on these important issues. The study systematically analyzed MIS articles in seven core journals over the period . The resulting database, consisting of 792 articles, was analyzed for themes and topics, and on the basis of type of article (empirical/non-empirical). The findings indicate that MIS research efforts have refocused in some areas, while much remains to be done in others. This study provides the opportunity to pause and reflect on the last twenty years of research in MIS and to take stock so that the research of the coming twenty years will extend and build upon the existing foundations.

Four studies examined the effectiveness of user-adaptive computer-aided instruction that explicitly models the cognitive processes of composing for developmental writers, and is integrated with classroom composition instruction. The four school-year studies were designed to build on each other, each informing design improvements to a writing tutor named Reading and Writing in a Supportive Environment (R-WISE) as well as informing subsequent research designs. The first year study ( N = 852) compared traditional classroom controls with R-WISE treatment classrooms. The second year study ( N = 1,151) compared students using R-WISE with students using a word processor. The third year study ( N = 1,277) measured the effect of the teacher's instructional style, and the level of student control over the R-WISE software, on student performance. The fourth year study ( N = 617) replicated previous studies. The treatment groups for the four studies each posted significant gains over controls on most holistic and analytical measures of writing quality. The results of testing multiple design factors of R-WISE demonstrated the efficacy of long-term evaluation and enhancement of user-adaptive writing software in a field-based context.