The University Experiences of Students with Learning Disabilities

To explore the university experiences of students with learning disabilities (LD), 63,802 responses to the 2014 Student Experience in the Research University Survey were analyzed. Compared to other students, those with self‐reported LD (5.96 percent) had difficulty with assignments and had more obstacles caused by nonacademic responsibilities and imposed by their skill levels. Students with self‐reported LD sensed more bias toward people with disabilities on campus, and they were less satisfied with their overall experience. Interactions between disability status and age suggested even more challenges for older students who self‐reported LD. Approximately one‐third of students who self‐reported LD received accommodations. The rate of accommodations was higher among individuals who were wealthy, who lived alone, and who were out‐of‐state students. Compared to students who self‐reported LD but reported no accommodations, those with accommodations had more contact with faculty and less difficulty with assignments.     

美国《残疾人教育法》与残疾人高等教育

本文通过解读1990年的美国《残疾人教育法》及其1997年修正案,研究其如何有助于消除高等教育领域对残疾人的歧视、保障他们受教育的权利;进而探讨该法对我国高等教育的启示,即残疾丝毫不能损害个人参与和贡献于社会的权利;仅仅置身于全纳的高等教育环境中不能消除残疾人受歧视和教育"边缘化"的现象;要改变人们的观念,保护和提高残疾人受教育的权利,需要全社会和我们的政府一道进行艰巨的改革,勇敢地面对挑战.     

Parent Choice in the Education of Students with Disabilities

This study investigated the factors influencing parents of students with disabilities in choosing either an integrated setting or a special school for the education of their children. A questionnaire mailed to members of a parent support group in Victoria, Australia, sought responses to questions about current school setting, changes of school, parent preferences for school setting, and parent satisfaction with the current setting. Parents also rated 30 factors, including specialist resources, curriculum, socialisation, normalisation aspects, school environment, and professional consultation and advice, for their importance in selecting a school. Responses were received from 193 parents. Some differences were identified between parents of students in different settings, with mainstream parents giving high ratings to normalisation and academic aspects, and special school parents emphasising special programs, teacher‐student ratios, and the child's self‐esteem. All parents rated school climate variables as highly important. The majority of parents expressed satisfaction with the current school setting. However, a trend was noted for students to move from the mainstream to special schools as secondary education approached, with the need for curriculum focusing on independent living skills playing an important part in this decision.     

Science Education and Students with Learning Disabilities

Students with learning disabilities (LD) are increasingly expected to master content in the general education curriculum, making the need for effective instructional supports more important than ever before. Science is a part of the curriculum that can be particularly challenging to students with LD because of the diverse demands it places on cognitive performance. In this summary we review a number of strategies that have been validated for learners with LD. The strategies include supports for (a) verbal learning of declarative information, (b) processing information in texts, (c) activities‐based instruction/experiential learning, (d) scientific thinking and reasoning, and (e) differentiated instruction. We also summarize the research regarding the impact of teacher behavior on achievement for students with LD in science education. The strategies reviewed yield tangible and positive effect sizes that suggest that their application to the target domain will substantially improve outcomes for students with LD in science education.     

The Use and Effectiveness of Palmtop Computers in Education

This paper reports how palmtop computers were used in an English secondary school over the course of a year. In particular, it concentrates on the perceived effectiveness of such computers in an educational setting, and on how teachers' and students' knowledge and use of "content-free" applications increased over that time. The benefits and potential problems with this new technology are discussed along with the consequences it has for classroom and school organisation.     

Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in South African Higher Education

Globally, few students with disabilities progress to higher education. This is mostly due to avoidable barriers they face as they navigate different educational structures from lower levels. Even for those few students who make it to higher education, they continue to face challenges. A qualitative study was carried out at the University of the Free State and the University of Venda. Fourteen students with disabilities took part in this research that was aimed at exploring their academic and life experiences. This article interrogates the inclusion of students with disabilities at two South African universities. This article is timely as South Africa has initiated the development of a national policy framework on disability in the post-school education and training systems. It highlights some of the areas where inclusive policies should pay attention in an effort to fully cater for the needs of students with disabilities.     

The Attitudes of Different Partners Involved in Higher Education towards Students with Disabilities

In this article we analyse the inclusion of students with disabilities in the field of university attendance, emphasising the importance of attitudes of teachers as well as the rest of the university community as a whole for inclusion to be successful. The effect of variables of gender, education and training and contact with students with disabilities on these attitudes is also detailed. A scale was applied to assess attitudes towards disabilities to 2671 participants, including students with and without disabilities, teachers and administrative and services staff from the Faculty of Education in a University in Southern Spain. The results show that in general, the university community has positive attitudes towards students with disabilities, with differences according to the group, with university teachers having the most favourable attitudes. The results are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.     

Learning Disabilities in Taiwan: A Case of Cultural Constraints on the Education of Students with Disabilities

Learning disabilities (LD) has been recognized as a category of special education in Taiwanese law since 1984, and policies ensure educational services for children and youth who have LD. The official definition and identification criteria established in Taiwan's laws closely correspond with those of the United States, but practice differs, largely influenced by the people's cultural and linguistic background. I discuss these legal and cultural features as well as other matters (e.g., growth and change in professional literature on LD). Compared to economically developed countries such as the United States, the educators in Taiwan implement identification procedures, placement, and services at a lower cost. Contents of implementation are introduced in detail. The prevalence rate of LD has been very low (<1 percent). I examine culture‐ and/or society‐specific reasons for low prevalence, such as Chinese orthography, regular teachers' compliance with referral procedures, the education‐first belief of parents, and problems with identification procedures.     

Use of iPads as Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities

Over the past decades, technology has been considered an essential tool for providing equal accessibility and opportunities for students with disabilities. As technology has evolved, a new type of technology, mobile devices, emerged in the late 2000s. Specifically, iPads have quickly gained attention and popularity in special education settings. The potential benefits of the use of iPads as assistive technology (AT) for supporting students with disabilities has been demonstrated among professionals. This paper is a brief summary of previous literature on the use of iPads as AT for functional skills of individuals with disabilities. In addition, the paper addresses the beneficial features of iPads as AT and introduces example AT apps, as well as online resources for those apps.     

“学困生”转化中运用教育机智的方法途径

教育机智是通过教师在教育实践中认知事物的敏感性以及对学生的主动关心来实现的。一方面，教育机智激活教育的能力．从而更好地感知学生的需求．开发他们的各种潜力；另一方面，教育机智要求教育防止可能…现的一成不变的判断、成见和不当归因等倾向。这就意味着．只有当教育以一种关心和     

开放大学素质教育原则初探

根据作者在开放大学进行教学、教学管理和从事教育科研的实践，结合开放大学“人才培养模式改革和开放教育试点”项目研究，对开放大学素质教育的原则进行了初步探讨，强调了优化素质教育环境的重要性。     

Students’ Use of Multimedia Activities in an Open University Introductory Science Course

Surveys of students studying an introductory science course at a distance indicated that they had very favourable attitudes to CD‐ROM multimedia activities that are an integral part of the course teaching package. The research reported here focused on how students actually studied as they worked through the activities. Most students worked on the activities at the place indicated in the course materials and they generally studied them in one session. The majority made notes and were satisfied with their value, though only a small number used on‐screen facilities for making their notes. The instructions for navigating through the sequences left only a small number of students unsure of how to proceed. A small number of students also reported being unable to answer the questions in the activities. The Approaches to Studying Inventory (Richardson, 1990) was included in the survey, and it was found that students who adopt a predominantly ‘meaning orientation’ to studying had significantly more favourable attitudes to the multimedia activities than those who adopt a predominantly ‘reproducing orientation’. The latter students had a significantly higher preference for printed material rather than multimedia activities. The limitations of the surveys are identified and suggestions are made for future evaluation and research into students’ experiences in using multimedia activities, and for setting it in a broader framework of students’ patterns of study and learning     

浅谈高校图书馆为远程开放教育读者的服务

随着知识经济时代的到来,终身学习观念已经形成,远程开放教育呈发展趋势,高校图书馆要从改变服务理念着手,提高远程开放教育读者的信息素质,整合各种资源,运用更好的读者服务模式,为远程开放教育做好支持服务。     

针对学习障碍学生的各种特殊教育观

针对学习障碍学生的特殊教育,从最初鉴别学生学习过程中的缺陷并进行矫正,到现在针对学生学习需要而进行的阶梯教育模式,经历了其自身发展的过程。     

Reviving the Turtle: Exploring the Use of Logo with Students with Mild Disabilities

In this case study, a group of nine 4th grade children were introduced to the Logo programming language during three 90-minute sessions over a four-week period. They attended a private university-based laboratory school serving students with various learning disabilities. This project demonstrated that a classic version of Logo captured the students’ interest. It was a viable source of interactive challenge and problem-solving experience that provided students with a great deal of pride, intrinsic reward, enjoyment, and sense of ownership of learning. The process of overcoming obstacles while programming with Logo may be especially beneficial for students with mild disabilities.     

Educational Support for Saudi Students with Learning Disabilities in Higher Education

Disability laws in Saudi Arabia mandate that higher education institutions provide support for special needs learners in order to ensure educational opportunities equivalent to opportunities for their nondisabled peers. These institutions experience challenges, however, in providing the necessary support to undergraduate and postgraduate students with learning disabilities (LDs). We conducted an exploratory study to assess educational support requirements and affordances for undergraduate and postgraduate students with LDs attending institutions of higher education in Saudi Arabia. We completed semistructured interviews with 22 special needs learners diagnosed with a LD (16 undergraduate and six postgraduate). The findings suggest that additional support services are needed for undergraduate and postgraduate students with LDs attending Saudi institutions of higher education.     

我国残疾人高等教育院校教师队伍建设探讨

对我国当前残疾人高等教育教师队伍结构和研究现状进行分析,并以系统论作为研究视角,提出了残疾人高等教育院校教师队伍建设要坚持高等教育的质量目标,同时应具备共性结构要素和特性结构要素两个标准的思路.为了提升残疾高等教育教师队伍的整体素质,必须对目前我国残疾人高等教育教师队伍结构的缺失有针对性的优化,从而建立符合时代要求与当代残疾人高等教育规律的优秀教师队伍,实现提高我国残疾人高等教育的水平.     

导学主任在开放教育学生管理中的作用

现代远程开放教育倡导"以学习者为中心",改变了教师在教学活动中的主导地位,使教师由"教学"转变为"导学",学生的管理工作也发生了很大的变化,管理教师的角色也因此由传统教学模式中的班主任成为导学主任,其任务也从"教育"、"管理"转换为"指导"、"引导"、"辅导"和"服务"。