Special educators' perceptions of parental participation in the individual education plan process

Special educators were queried about their perceptions of parent involvement in the individual education plan (IEP) process. Specific research questions focused on parents' participation level and their role in the IEP process. One hundred forty-five special education teachers, of all disability categories and from 6 states, were surveyed. Results showed a diversity of opinion over practices, processes, and attitudes regarding the IEP process, despite their purported familiarity since the inception of PL 94-142.     

International Approaches to Learning Disabilities: More Alike or More Different?

This special issue deals with the identification and remediation criteria/practices employed in several countries regarding learning disabilities (LD). An analysis of the identification criteria suggests that most countries follow early law mandates of the United States (e.g., PL 94–142) regarding the definition of the disorder and use the classical discrepancy between potential and achievement model for identification purposes (with few exceptions). Several countries reported the absence of standardized assessments and experts who can deal with the disorder, a fact that is more prominent in countries that have to deal with the education of minority/immigrant groups. Multicultural, political, linguistic, and economic factors seemed to influence both the identification practices and also the remediation services (quality and availability). By closely examining the factors deemed important for students with LD, it was obvious that most authors pointed to the importance of socio‐emotional variables. I concluded that these latter factors may be accountable, to a large extent, for the experience of students with LD at school and close attention needs to be paid to them.     

Participation of psychologists in multidisciplinary team evaluations

State implementation plans required by PL 94–142 were collected and reviewed to determine whether psychologists were mentioned as appropriate members of multidisciplinary evaluation teams. Questionnaire data from 625 directors of special education also were analyzed to determine the frequency with which psychologists actually participated on the evaluation teams. The review revealed an apparent reluctance on the part of states to specify psychologists as appropriate team members. When psychologists were mentioned, school psychologists and other types of psychologists were identified with near equal frequencies. Even though states' implementation guidelines infrequently identified psychologists for participation on multidisciplinary teams, 81% of the surveyed teams actually included a psychologist. However, psychologists' rate of participation varied among the states. Implications of the minimum state requirements and varying participation of psychologists among states are discussed.     

学校情境中的音乐疗法——从音乐治疗师的立场看P.L.94-142前后美国学校情境中音乐疗法的发展

1975年通过并于1978年正式施行的以“回归主流”为主旨的美国P.L.94-142(现为《残障者教育法案》IDEA)使美国学校情境中进行的音乐疗法发生了变化,也给面向特殊儿童的的音乐治疗师提出了新的挑战。本文通过对有关文献资料的分析,阐述了学校情境中的音乐疗法和音乐教育的相互关系,从音乐治疗师的角度,介绍了P.L.94-142实施前后的学校情境中特殊儿童音乐治疗概念和方法的变化与发展过程,在此基础上,对中国音乐疗法在特殊教育领域中的发展提出了几点建议。     

What,Where, and How? Special Education in the Climate of Full Inclusion

After the passage of PL 94-142 in 1975 guaranteeing a free, appropriate, public education to all students with disabilities, multiple reauthorizations of IDEA have refined, revised, and renewed the nation's moral and pedagogical commitment to providing well-planned, public, inclusive, and appropriate education to all students with disabilities. But conflicting views of where that education should take place, what that education should consist of, and how that education should be delivered have continued to plague the field of special education. In this article, we provide an historical perspective on the arguments over where, what and how. We open four “windows” on special education service delivery in four different settings in Pennsylvania to illustrate contemporary interpretations and contemporary public policy related to where, what, and how. In the end, we raise questions about whether current, fully inclusive special education practices fulfill the promise of PL-94-142 to provide a special and appropriate education to students with disabilities.     

从特殊儿童的教育安置谈特殊教育的发展──台湾的经验与省思

美国94—142公法是最被人称道的三大保证．它带给，人们许多启示。台湾地区的两次特殊儿童教育普查，揭示出身心障碍儿童充分就学的需要，从而反映出台湾地区特殊教育的发展方向和重点。     

Can ability-achievement regression to the mean account for MDT discretionary decisions?

The test scores of 153 referred students who received inconsistent placements according to California's discrepancy criterion, which does not take regression into account (standard score distribution procedure), were reanalyzed using a procedure that accounts for regression. Students involved in these MDT discretionary decisions were placed into one of three groups: ineligible (originally met discrepancy criterion, but not placed), resource class (originally did not meet discrepancy criterion, but placed in a less restrictive pull-out program), and special day class (originally did not meet discrepancy criterion, but placed in a more restrictive, essentially full-time special education class). All of these placements were inconsistent with the nonregressed ability-achievement discrepancy criterion the MDTs used at the time of the IEP meeting. To evaluate how many of these students could be considered to be underachieving when regression is considered, regressed discrepancy scores were computed using the students' scores on the WISC-R and one or more of the following achievement tests: WRAT, PIAT, and W-J. Regression “accounted” for a significant proportion of the inconsistent placements in all three groups: ineligible (25.0%), resource class (31.5%), and special day class (46.9%). Implications for professional practice and public policy are discussed.     

台湾个别化教育计划的发展历程与实施现状研究

IEP在台湾从引进到立法,从萌芽到发展已有三十年左右的历程,在理论研究和实务操作上积累了丰富的经验。论文通过梳理台湾IEP的发展历程、实施现状,深入探讨IEP在台湾特殊教育应用中的成功经验,为大陆地区科学应用和创新发展IEP提出如下建议：坚持个别化教育理念,推进IEP本土化;循序渐进,加强IEP实施的规范性;整合资源,以IEP为教学管理工具。     

Assessment of severe emotional impairment: Practices and problems

The basic purpose of this study was to determine: (a) how school psychologists operationally define severe emotional disturbance as outlined in PL 94–142 (SED), and (b) the extent to which assessment procedures are in compliance with PL 94–142. A total of 83 school psychologists from two north central states participated in the study. Results indicated that a typical battery for assessing SED consisted of the WISC-R, WRAT, Bender-Gestalt, an incomplete sentences test, a behavior-rating scale, classroom observation, and informal interviews. A high correlation was found between the frequency with which psychologists use a type of data and the importance ascribed to that data source. Psychologists generally relied on only one or two criteria when considering severity of emotional disturbance. Special education placement often was contingent upon program availability. Implications for training and practice were presented.     

Sex bias in the diagnosis of learning disabled students

Studies of special education students consistently indicate a preponderance of males in classrooms for the learning disabled (LD). To determine whether the overrepresentation of males and underrepresentation of females constitutes sexual discrimination, an objective index involving the discrepancy between expected and actual achievement was calculated for each student. Factors such as intelligence, socioeconomic status, and reason for referral also were investigated to help explain the large disparity of boys to girls diagnosed and placed as LD. Data were collected on 235 LD students and 290 students referred for special education who were declared not impaired (NI). No evidence was found to indicate that group membership in a sexual class was related to diagnostic and placement practices. Approximately one half of the students labeled as LD did not show a reliable discrepancy between expected and actual achievement.     

Differentiating emotionally impaired from socially maladjusted students

This paper addresses the issue of whether serious emotional disturbance in children can be distinguished reliably from social maladjustment. Educational authorities at the local, state, and federal levels have expressed concern over the inclusion of socially maladjusted youths in special education programs for the seriously emotionally disturbed. For multidisciplinary teams to enforce the exclusionary clause of PL 94–142, which denies socially maladjusted students services for the seriously emotionally impaired unless it is determined that they are seriously emotionally disturbed, practitioners must be able to distinguish between these two conditions. The literature on taxonomies of childhood psychopathology was reviewed and a set of items based on research and clinical experience was developed to differentiate between these two groups. These items were submitted to eight school psychologists. Eleven items met the criterion of agreement by at least six of the eight psychologists. Implications for school psychologists are discussed.     

Getting Reading Difficulties in Perspective

THE FIELD of reading difficulties has been dominated by ideas which predate the revolution in literacy research which has occurred during the past two decades. Furthermore, reading difficulties has been locked into special education by the inclusion of the learning disability category in the US PL 94‐142. This review attempts a brief review of non‐North American ideas about reading difficulties to identify the contributions of regular and special education to this field. The implications of research on literacy acquisition are considered. The consequences of regarding reading difficulties as a ‘Matthew effect’ include the urgent need to prevent reading failure. One important attempt to do this is Reading Recovery, a program now used in Australia and the United States as well as New Zealand. The potential of a Vygotskian perspective on assessment and teaching for children experiencing reading difficulties is outlined.     

The prevalence of social maladjustment among school-age children

PL 94-142 mandates that students who are seriously emotionally disturbed be provided with a free and appropriate public education. Embedded in the federal definition of serious emotional disturbance is a clause that excludes socially maladjusted students from the diagnostic category. Although socially maladjusted children may therefore not receive special education services, their presence in the schools may have implications for society and particularly for the educational system. However, there is little data concerning the prevalence of socially maladjusted students in the schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of social maladjustment in two rural/suburban school systems in the southeastern United States. Results of the study indicate that the percentage of students reported as exhibiting characteristics of social maladjustment is sufficiently high to indicate that services beyond special education may be necessary to meet their educational and social needs.     

Public law 94–142: Practicing school psychologists' perceptions of how this law affects them

A questionnaire regarding PL 94–142 and its effects upon the practice of school psychology was developed and mailed to 389 members of the National Association of School Psychologists. Information regarding professional training, years of experience, and type of service system was obtained for the purpose of various group comparisons. Age, sex, number of years of experience, and type of service system were specifically chosen for statistical analysis. Overall results suggested two relatively divergent views expressed by practitioners. The first was the stated belief that school psychology will become much more closely tied to the field of special education, while an alternative opinion was that the field will remain as diverse as the systems it serves.     

A review of states' criteria and procedures for identifying children with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether (a) states have altered their definitions and/or eligibility criteria for learning disabilities (LD) since the last review; (b) states have specified-IQ cutoffs below which a child would not be eligible for LD services; (c) the types of methods states use to quantify an ability/achievement discrepancy vary; and (d) an increase in the number of children identified as LD is related to the method or criterion used to quantify an ability/achievement discrepancy. States' guidelines and/or information obtained from state directors of special education were analyzed for all states and the District of Columbia. Results of the review revealed that 40% of states had revised their guidelines between 1988 and 1990; 76% of the states specified a method for determining an ability/achievement discrepancy and the method recommended most frequently was the standard score comparison method. No significant differences were obtained between type of discrepancy method employed by a state and its yearly increase in LD. However, a significant relationship existed between magnitude of a state's ability/achievement criterion and its yearly increase in LD from 1987-88 to 1988-89. The review also revealed an increase in the number of states that specified an IQ cutoff below which a student would not qualify for LD services.     

Survey of the states: special education knowledge requirements for school administrators.

Regular education administrators must possess a knowledge of special education to effectively implement P.L. 94-142, and to experiment with and accomplish many of the proposed objectives of the regular education initiative. To determine the existing knowledge base of school administrators in special education and special education law, we surveyed state directors of special education. This article reports the results of the survey, discusses implications, and offers suggestions for improvement.     

The impact of PL 94-142 on the practice of school psychology: A national survey

This paper presents the results of a national survey of school psychologists to determine the impact of PL 94-142 on the role of the school psychologist. Data were based on responses to 856 surveys by practicing school psychologists who were selected randomly from the NASP membership list during 1979-80. The results suggested that this legislation has had remarkably little impact on the evaluation procedures used or on the school psychologist's role. The two clear changes that have occurred may have negative implications for psychological services (e.g., an increased focus on handicapped children and increased paperwork). It was found that many school psychologists are involved in evaluation, but do not have time to be involved in the IEP process, or to provide follow-up consultation, or direct intervention for prevention and/or therapeutic purposes. This problem was exacerbated in districts that had ratios of greater than 1,000 to 1. Despite these problems, many respondents view the legislation in positive terms, and feel it has helped to enlarge the scope of practice.     

Defining emotional disturbance public policy and research

The legal definition of “emotional disturbance” proposed by the Federal Government under PL 94–142 is Bower's 1957 definition with some modifications. The modifications do serious damage to the integrity of the research and conceptual base from which the definition is drawn. The difficulties inherent in a definition of this type of handicapped are delineated. It is suggested that where policy makers and researchers join together, such relationships are best enhanced when each respects the assumptions and concepts of the other.     

Parent perspectives on student IEP involvement

As key members of the Individualised Education Program (IEP) team and strong child advocates, parents play a critical role in special education. In this study, we sought to understand a crucial, yet underexamined, aspect of special education – parent perceptions regarding student participation in IEP development. Specifically, we asked parents how schools could better support student involvement in the IEP process, including IEP meetings. Participants included 646 parents of students with disabilities aged 5–21 years currently receiving special education services across the United States. Constant comparative analysis was used to code data. Qualitative coding revealed four major themes, including: (1) promoting an active student role, (2) supportive school staff, (3) making changes to IEP meetings and (4) considerations and concerns regarding student participation. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.     

Mainstreaming: the genesis of an idea

The origins of the mainstreaming movement are explored. Problems of definition are discussed and followed by a delineation of three major forces which induced the genesis of main‐streaming. The first is research based evidence dealing with the rationale for special classes, the efficacy of special class placement, philosophical attacks on special classes, the issues of labeling and classification, and criticisms from minority groups. Litigation which challenged long established practice is considered as the second major force. Court cases dealing with the right to education, assessment procedures, appropriate educational placement, and due process are reviewed. Finally, legislative mandates are a third force considered as bringing change to special education. Specifically, the ramifications of PL 94‐142 are explored. The analysis of antecedent events is considered important for appreciating the past, understanding the present, and aiding future planning.