Mathematics education and learning disabilities in Spain

In the first part of this article, we describe the basic objectives of the math curriculum in Spain as well as the basic contents, teacher resources, and obstacles perceived in mathematics instruction. Second, we briefly describe the concept of learning disabilities (LD) as they are currently defined in Spain. As stated in the recent educational reform, a student with LD is any student with special educational needs. The emphasis is placed on the educational resources that these students need in order to achieve the curricular objectives that correspond to their age group or grade. Third, we comment specifically on the educational services model and the evaluation and instructional procedures for students with math learning disabilities. Finally, we describe some lines of research that have appeared in the last few years in Spain that have led to the development of new evaluation and intervention procedures for students with LD in computation and problem solving.     

Transforming administration to support science in the schoolhouse for students with disabilities

I examine the role that administrators play in facilitating the development, adoption, use, and evaluation of scientifically based interventions within the school culture to support the educational outcomes of students with learning disabilities (LD). Two ways of transforming the administrative role to support science in the schoolhouse are presented; one considers the importance of including language in future legislation that acknowledges the role of administrators in school reform, and the other focuses on establishing a national research agenda addressing issues of leadership and special education. I argue that these 2 venues should serve to identify and to stimulate the use of evidence-based administrative practices that ultimately increase educational outcomes for students with LD, improve teacher instruction, and transform the leadership mission.     

Restructuring Reform: choice and change in special education

Steve Rayner, Lecturer in Special Education in the School of Education at The University of Birmingham and formerly head of a residential school for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties, argues for a proactive response to educational reform in the management of special education. The action of choice and change is perceived as not only necessary for institutional survival but also as an opportunity for educational renewal and a revised definition of special educational need.     

特校教师的培养策略浅探

中等特师的改革与发展面临诸多问题，其中最为主要的是师资培养问题，改革中等特师的教育体制．优化教育结构，加强课程建设，完善特教教师的培训及聘任制度，这是提高特校教师素质的有效策略；如此，方能促进特殊教育事业的健康发展。     

South Korean Perspective on Learning Disabilities

In the context of the educational system and the nature of special education in South Korea, I describe policy, practice, and research about children with learning disabilities (LD). Recently, the study of LD has attracted professionals from multiple disciplines including general and special education, medicine, psychology, and social work. In Korea, the field of LD has developed rapidly over a brief period, but there are many problems to be solved in the near future. In particular, the field of LD in Korea lacks: (a) consensus about a conceptual definition, (b) a clear set of criteria for identifying students with LD, (c) lack of assessment instruments for identifying LD, and (d) general low understanding or misunderstanding of students with LD among teachers and parents.     

High school diversification against educational equality: a critical analysis of neoliberal education reform in South Korea

Recent reforms of high school education in Korea have focused on transforming the uniform and standardized system into a deregulated and diversified system that has an emphasis on school choice and competition. Situating the high school diversification policy in the context of the recent controversy of the neoliberal educational reform, this study argues that school diversification in Korea is deeply impaired and unfulfilled, such as in situations in which the school differentiation and elite high school credentials struggle are reinforced by the peculiar nature of the Korean educational market, namely the hakbul-based society and the development of private educational markets. It suggests that special attention should be drawn to integrate the reform efforts for high school diversification into the ways in which the policy is being configured and delivered within the pursuit of educational equality and social justice.     

Perceptions of School and Aspirations of Rural Students with Learning Disabilities and Their Nondisabled Peers

This study examined the school perceptions and educational aspirations of 6,599 rural high school students, a sample that included 428 students with learning disabilities (LD). Regardless of disability status, rural high school students who had negative perceptions of school had less well‐defined postsecondary educational plans and less often aspired to complete college or pursue an advanced degree. Compared to nondisabled youth, rural students with LD were more likely to have negative perceptions of school and lower postsecondary aspirations. However, students with LD who had positive perceptions of school more often planned to pursue postsecondary education and aspired to complete college or an advanced degree. Implications for research and interventions pertaining to the educational attainment of students with LD are discussed.     

Profiles of Asian American students with LD at initial referral, assessment, and placement in special education

Alhough Asian American students are underrepresented in special education, recent studies have highlighted concerns about the cultural and linguistic appropriateness of the identification and placement process. This study examined the characteristics of Asian American elementary students with learning disabilities (LD) in a school district in the Southwest that was selected because it served the largest number of Asian American students with LD in the state. Due to the small numbers of students served, the sample included all Asian American students with LD in Grades K to 5 (N = 26). Variables of interest included students' demographic characteristics, factors associated with referral, assessment practices and student profiles, and instructional recommendations for special education services. The results suggest that the experiences of Asian American students with LD are similar to those of Mexican American students with LD reported in earlier studies. These findings also reflect the challenges faced by educators in providing appropriate educational services for language minority students.     

对我国教师教育体制改革的分析与探讨

进入新世纪以来,我国教师教育体制改革迈出了实质性的步伐。目前,要逐步实现从旧三级师范到新三级师范的过渡,提高教师教育办学层次;积极鼓励综合性大学和其他非师范类高等学校举办师范学院、教育学院或开设教师教育专业课程;将教师进修学校、教育学院并入师范专科或本科院校,建立职前、职后一体化的教师教育模式;以教师专业化发展为方向,不断完善教师教育质量保障制度。只有这样,才能有效避免改革中存在的短视行为和急功近利现象,建立顺应时代发展需要、适合各地情况的教师教育体制。     

Do they matter in education politics? The influence of political parties and teacher unions on school governance reforms in Spain

This article focusses on the evolution of the school governance model in Spain since the 1980s. In Spain and elsewhere in Europe, the state’s monopoly over education has softened and new forms of educational governance have emerged. This has resulted in the decentralization of decision-making authority to individual schools, municipalities, and regions and a significant increase in school autonomy. We explore from a political science perspective how partisan preferences and teachers unions have decisively shaped the reform trajectory. We show that leftist and center-right governments and different teachers’ unions have promoted different versions of school autonomy in line with their ideological rationales, resulting in a reconfiguration of the school governance model with each change in government.     

School membership among students with learning disabilities and nondisabled students in a semirural high school

School reform proposals have urged that schools provide students with an enhanced sense of community, especially for at-risk youth belonging, is thought to be crucial. Given their high rate of school drop out, school membership holds special relevance for students with learning disabilities (LD). Thirty-seven mainstreamed students with LD and an equal number of nondisabled (ND) high school students were compared on five dependent variables: grades, time spent on homework, Scholastic Competence, Global Self-Worth, and school membership. School membership was assessed by Goodenow's (1993) Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) scale. ND students reported higher grades and more favorable ratings of Scholastic Competence, while groups did not differ significantly on time on homework or Global Self-Worth. Also, contrary to the author's hypothesis, the groups did not differ on the PSSM. These findings are attributed to either the small size of the school in which the study was conducted or to the supportive nature of special education (i.e., resource room). Future studies are required to understand the development of school membership among students with LD. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The Self–Concept of Students with Learning Disabilities: A Meta–Analysis of Comparisons Across Different Placements

Although placement in less restrictive settings is generally believed to be associated with more positive social outcomes for students with disabilities, the empirical research has yielded equivocal findings. The purpose of this study was to synthesize the empirical research comparing the self–concept of students with learning disabilities (LD) in different educational placements. Meta–analysis revealed no overall association between self–concept and educational placement for four out of five comparisons: regular class vs. resource room, regular class vs. self–contained class, resource room vs. self–contained class, and regular class vs. special school. Students with LD receiving instruction in self–contained classrooms in regular schools exhibited lower self–concept compared to students with LD attending special schools. Follow–up analyses were conducted to explore whether the variability of effect sizes in regular class–resource room comparisons was associated with any of several potential moderator variables; the only variable for which the association approached significance was whether students in the regular classroom were provided with appropriate special education supports and services. The findings are discussed in light of documented individual variation in students’ placement preferences.     

危机时代的教育变革——奥巴马政府的教育政策述评

在经济危机的特殊背景下,奥巴马政府推出力度更大的教育改革计划,即所谓巧借救市推教改。奥巴马的教育新政主要是想通过向各州拨付教育救济款,推行教育部长邓肯在芝加哥领导学校重建时期的改革思路,促使各州在兼顾教育机会均等的同时,大力提高美国学校的教育质量,缔造所谓学生成绩世界一流的美国教育。奥巴马政府的教育新政符合美国近十年来政治传统及经济发展的需要,但同时有一个明显的缺陷是推行缺乏法律的强制性,它并未像布什政府时期那样成为一项单独的教育法案。     

Towards the reform of science teaching in Spain: the social and personal relevance of junior secondary school science projects for a socially responsible understanding of science

This article describes aspects of more than a decade of research and implementation of cross-curriculum themes as part of the curriculum for secondary school students in Spain. The educational reform described is an attempt to develop a more socially responsible education, using what, for Spain, has been a highly novel breaking down of subject barriers as a way of preparing young adults for life as citizens. It provides other investigators in the field with a commentary on some of the theoretical and practical issues encountered in developing similar projects.     

The development of the Danish Folkeskole,towards a school for all

ABSTRACT

The development of the Danish Folkeskole (the basic school for pupils aged six to 16) followed a reform passed in 1969 by the Danish Parliament which stated that all children with special needs should be able to receive instruction in a normal school environment. The results obtained over the past 20 years are encouraging. Only 0.5 per cent of all school children attend a special school and about 12 per cent of all pupils receive special educational support in ordinary classes. This article evaluates the reform which has taken place, analyses some of the underlying factors and looks at possible future developments.     

Developmental Disabilities and the Concept of School Readiness

This paper reviews the concept of school readiness as it applies to children with disabilities. It is argued that children with disabilities are of two primary types: normative and non-normative. The majority of children in special education are in the non-normative category, whose definition is based on failures in children's early encounters with the educational system. Classification of such children as "not-ready for school" is a function of bureaucratic definition, teacher variability, and the child's ethnicity and social class. The authors have taken the position that children in both disability categories should be considered appropriate for regular general education and that the readiness concept which appears to be most appropriate for children with labeled special needs is actually not appropriate for any child.     

Special educational resources in the Swedish upper secondary schools: a total population survey

This paper analyses the special educational resources in the Swedish upper secondary schools using a total population survey that covers all upper secondary schools. Special educators and special teachers together constitute the special educational resources at each school. With two types of regression models (logistic and linear regression), the study investigates which variables at school level determine the presence and availability rate of special educational resources. The main findings are that there is a great difference between public and independent schools in the presence and accessibility of special educational resources, where many independent schools do not offer special educational support for their students. It also shows that what kind of provider (public or independent school) and the size of the school are especially important variables for predicting presence of special educational resources. When analysing the variance of availability rate of special educational resources, student variables (grades from compulsory school and parental educational level) on the school level, together with school size, are especially important.     

谈校园网构建外语学习环境的研究与实践

随着教育信患技术的发展，网络环境为校园网构建外语学习提供了支持平台。本文结合高校外语课程教学改革发展的实际情况，略论建立校园网外语学习系统的特点及应用，对外语教学工作的积极推动影响作用。     

Early School-leaving in Spain: evolution,intensity and determinants

Spain has one of the highest levels of early school leaving and educational failure of the European Union. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the anatomy of early school leaving in Spain and its characteristics. In order to do so, in the first part we discuss the measurement problems related with this concept and the evolution of drop-out rates in Spain. We argue that the published figures of early school leaving slightly underestimate the phenomenon, and discuss the impact of the increase in immigration rates on the level of educational failure and its very unequal distribution in terms of gender. In a second part, using data from the Labour Force Surveys of 2000 and 2007, we explore the factors behind educational failure by means of a logistic regression. The results of this model confirm the explanatory power of social reproduction hypotheses, but also show that there are important aspects of the patterns and recent evolution of early school leaving which cannot be explained by a single theoretical approach.