NOTES ON ONGOING RESEARCH IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

ABSTRACT

With the support of Unicef and Unesco, the Romanian Ministry of Education has since 1993 been operating a programme to promote the educational and social integration of children and young people with special needs. In a comparatively short time the programme has grown from a pair of pilot projects to comprise a number of interactive elements which include a Joint European Project within the EU's TEMPUS programme, as well as provision for networking, and for describing, monitoring and generalizing experience of good practice. In this process a ‘philosophy’ of integration has developed which is appropriate to Romanian realities and which offers the possibility of an integration project to everyone concerned with special needs. The paper stresses the importance of the voluntary organizations and their new cooperative relationship with the institutions, and of the role of the universities in professional training. The paper ends with a discussion of the barriers and supports to integration, together with some conclusions about the significance and future of the programme.     

如何理解我国特殊教育中的人道主义

特殊教育需要人道主义的关怀和支持。但如果过分强调“养”而忽视“教”，仅强调人道主义的投入而忽视对残疾人潜能的发掘和利用，这既不符合我国的现实国情，也不符合残疾人的社会化需要。我国特殊教育的出路只能是在对残疾人进行品德、知识教育的同时，培养他们某种职业技能，使他们尽可能自强自立，既能够享受正常人的生活，又能够奉献于社会，从而体现出自己的人格和社会价值。这才是我国特殊教育中人道主义的具体体现。     

当今中国特殊教育组织形式之分析

“九五”期间中国特殊教育发展的新格局是根据当今中国之国情及未来发展之要求而提出的。近年来，随着国家残疾儿童义务教育的推广，特殊教育的内容发生了很大的变化，传统的特殊教育组织形式（特殊教育学校）已不能适应发展了的特殊教育内容，新的特殊教育组织形式（普通学校附属特教班、特殊儿童在普通学校随班就读）应运而生并极大地推动了中国特殊教育的发展，它的出现有其深厚的理论与哲学基础和很大的实践意义，是历史的必然和时代的选择。内容与形式的原理又要求在发展特教班和随班就读的时候既要发展其数量又要关注其质量。     

论特殊教育的生态评估

特殊教育的生态评估是人类行为与环境之间互动关系在概念上日渐改变的结果。本文就生态评态的重要性、生态评估的概念及特征、生态评估的理论依据，以及生态评估的常用方法进行阐述。同时特别强调生态评估的重点是事先肯定学生都有能力而且可能在不久伪将来就会实际参与生活中的各项活动。     

EDUCATIONAL TRENDS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION

Educational trends with implications for special education are discussed. An emphasis is placed not only on some of the practices now being questioned, but also on the alternatives that are being proposed as replacements. The team approach, classification systems, normative testing, and learning theory are discussed in relation to recent trends. Mention is also made of the “precision teaching” movement.     

UNDERSTANDING DISPROPORTIONATE REPRESENTATION IN SPECIAL EDUCATION BY EXAMINING GROUP DIFFERENCES IN BEHAVIOR RATINGS

The aim of the current study was to examine mean‐group differences on behavior rating scales and variables that may predict such differences. Sixty‐five teachers completed the Clinical Assessment of Behavior–Teacher Form (CAB‐T) for a sample of 982 students. Four outcome variables from the CAB‐T were assessed. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze variance components across three levels; examine mean‐group differences across outcome variables for student gender, race/ethnicity, and free or reduced‐price lunch status; and examine whether teacher variables predicted teacher‐specific differences in ratings. Results revealed that a significant amount of variance was attributable to teacher‐ and school‐level variables. Several mean‐group differences emerged, and some teacher‐specific differences in ratings across groups were predicted by teacher self‐efficacy for behavior management and teacher age, but not for teacher race/ethnicity, gender, or years of experience.     

INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION IN CANADA: THE CONTRADICTIONS OF SPECIAL PROGRAMMES

This paper examines one particular response of the Canadian government to the issue of multi‐ethnicity in higher education: the constraints placed on people of Indian origin with regard to attendance at universities until the 1950's, and traces the historical development of special programmes within universities for Indian students. It suggests that while special programmes for Indian students may be a positive step in terms of Indian control of Indian education and the development of an infrastructure for both self‐government and economic development, such programmes are nevertheless problematic. In particular, special programmes tend to reinforce negative and potentially racist stereotypes about Indian culture. They suggest that Indian people trained in special programmes are only capable of dealing with other Indian people. The degrees granted by special programmes are devalued by employers. State efforts to increase the level of education amongst Indian people are aimed at creating a new set of agents of social control.     

THE WARNOCK REPORT ON SPECIAL EDUCATION

The following paper is adapted from the Association's formal response to the DES consultative document on the Warnock Report. The Working Party responsible for the Response's formulation submitted the document to the journal since it was felt that the issues raised were of wide interest and importance.     

ENTERPRISE AWARENESS IN TEACHER EDUCATION (EATE)

This paper sets out the rationale underpinning the setting up, delivery and evaluation of a major initiative in initial teacher education. The purpose of Enterprise Awareness in Teacher Education (EATE) is to incorporate enterprise, economic and industrial issues into all initial courses for trainee teachers. This is facilitated through an extensive programme of staff development. The article then goes on to record the processes and thinking behind one level of the evaluation of the initiative which has been incorporated into individual developments in institutions from the outset