Attitudes of Parents and Teachers toward Mainstreaming

A questionnaire measuring attitudes toward mainstreaming was completed by teachers and parents at two primary schools, one of which had initiated a mainstreaming program in Year 1 classes. Results indicated that attitudes of parents and teachers at this school were more negative than those of their counterparts at the school with no mainstreaming program. Despite this apparent relationship between contact with disabled children and a negative attitude towards mainstreaming, a significant association was found between amount of experience with disabled children and a positive attitude towards mainstreaming. Among explanations proposed for these discrepant findings is the suggestion that attitudes expressed prior to experience with mainstreaming may not be an accurate guide to views held after its implementation.     

Traveller culture and lifestyle as factors influencing children's integration into mainstream secondary schools in West Belfast

In 1997, the Department of Education for Northern Ireland made the decision to mainstream Traveller children into secondary schools including those in West Belfast. Before then, Traveller children over 11 years of age remained in a dedicated school for all Traveller children of school age living within the catchment area of West Belfast. This paper presents the findings of a small‐scale research project that examined the experiences of Traveller children attending two West Belfast secondary schools which have integrated Traveller children into mainstream education since 1997. It also discusses ramifications of mainstreaming for Traveller parents in West Belfast. The project focused particularly on the following: the attitudes of Traveller children to mainstreaming and inclusion at secondary level; the possibilities mainstreaming offers for furthering the inclusion of Travellers into the community at large; and the perceptions of Traveller parents in West Belfast to mainstreaming in secondary schools.     

Reviews of research on rural schools and their communities in British and Nordic countries: Analytical perspectives and cultural meaning

This introduction presents the case, and sets the scene, for five reviews of research on rural schools and their communities, arguing that educational research in this field is relatively rare, and decreasingly visible despite the significant population of the world's children who live in rural communities and attend rural schools. After considering various interpretations of ‘rural’, of the purpose and function of rural schooling, and of the relationship between school and community, we present three basic research questions with relevance for researchers of schools and communities, rural and urban, the world over, and raise more specific questions which are addressed in the reviews themselves and pursued in the closing chapter. Finally we introduce the research reviews and justify our selection of British and Nordic countries, where, despite geographical proximity, there are wide thematic and methodological disparities in rural schools’ research.     

Research on Social Integration: What Are The Problems?

THIS LIMITED REVIEW of research on the social integration of children with disabilities in mainstreaming programs showed that there are several factors which may explain the apparent inconsistencies within the research literature. The diverse groups of individuals involved necessitate that attention be paid to pertinent variables and that care must be taken when findings are generalized to other groups of children with disabilities. An issue of particular concern was the simplistic measuring techniques employed in some research, particularly where studies relied on a single technique such as sociometry. There is limited evidence to support the increased use of multivariate statistical procedures as a means of producing more consistent findings. While most studies reviewed did not incorporate special treatments, that is other than integrated settings, invariably such treatments produced positive outcomes. Studies involving research designs which used the social acceptance of normal children as the basis for assessing social integration frequently resulted in negative findings.     

Juggling personal life and professionalism: Ethical implications for rural school psychologists

Rural communities often contain unique features that separate them from more urban communities. Although a body of research is devoted to ethical considerations for psychologists working in rural communities as a whole, much less current research is focused on working in rural schools. This paper specifically highlights ethical considerations regarding competence, multiple relationships, and confidentiality. Given that access to services within the community may be limited, school psychologists may encounter cases that are outside of their area of competence. Furthermore, due to the interconnectedness present in many rural communities, psychologists frequently have multiple relationships with those whom they have professional contact. Confidentiality may be compromised when families and school personnel also have multiple relationships. These factors must be considered by psychologists working in rural schools, and steps must be taken at the outset of practice to ensure ethical compliance. More specific means of obtaining this compliance are discussed in this paper.     

An analysis of factors related to the attitudes of regular classroom teachers toward mainstreaming mildly handicapped children

A model of factors was developed in order to examine variables that might be associated with the attitudes of regular classroom teachers toward mainstreaming mildly handicapped children. Using multiple linear regression analyses, the following variables were found to be significant predictors of a positive attitude toward mainstreaming: team-teaching, years of teaching experience (negative correlation), course in diagnosing learning and behavior problems, availability of resource teacher, previous special education teaching experience, number of courses taken in special education, number of students in classroom (25–27), and inservice program experience related to exceptional children. An examination of these predictors suggests that they may be used to select those regular educators who are likely candidates for implementing mainstreaming programs and that school systems can inhance their mainstreaming efforts by arranging the integration settings to conform with these predictors of positive attitude.     

Parents' mainstreaming modification preferences for children with educable mental handicaps,behavior disorders,and learning disabilities

Parents of children with educable mental handicaps, behavior disorders, and learning disabilities completed a questionnaire on the types and numbers of program modifications needed to persuade them to accept full-time mainstreaming for their exceptional children. Results suggest that successful full-time mainstreaming requires parent involvement. Contingent upon recognition and implementation of their recommendations for mainstreaming, most parents are supportive of full-time integration of their mildly handicapped children in regular classrooms. Parents' specific mainstreaming recommendations are discussed along with educational reform implications.     

Mainstreaming modification preferences of parents of elementary-age children with learning disabilities

One hundred twenty-nine parents of children with learning disabilities responded to a questionnaire designed to solicit information on the types of modifications deemed most facilitative of parents' acceptance of full-time mainstreaming. Responses indicated that parents' participation in the mainstreaming process was an important factor in successful integration of children with learning disabilities. Parents' preferences for mainstreaming modifications differed from their current options, and they were supportive of full-time mainstreaming for their children, contingent upon implementation of their mainstreaming-related recommendations. Results are discussed relative to mainstreaming and proposed educational reforms.     

普通小学随班就读教师教学调整策略的城乡比较研究

本文采取问卷调查的方法,对农村与城市已经参加随班就读的小学教师运用的教学调整策略进行调查与比较分析。结果发现:( 1 )教师教学调整策略包含教学的针对性、计划性与弹性;( 2 )农村和城市被调查的随班就读教师在教学调整策略方面总的来说没有显著差异,但农村教师似乎比城市教师更加注意针对随班就读生进行教学调整;( 3)无论农村还是城市教师对随班就读生的教学调整都没有受到师资培训的类型、时间等因素的影响。     

Integration and Mainstreaming in Cultural Context: Canadian and American Approaches

THE OBJECTIVES of this paper are to review the cultural and historical context in which the notion of mainstreaming has developed in the United States and to contrast this with a proposed model for Canadian integration practices. Mainstreaming and integration are contended to be distinctive, reflecting different social dynamics and cultural traditions in each country. There are contrasts in both administrative and research implications of assuming a mainstreaming or integration model. Research on the instructional implications of mainstreaming in the United States most frequently concerns changes in the achievement and adaptive behaviour of exceptional groups as they become more like the mainstream. The chief administrative implication of an integration model is that significant effort should be expended on the development of positive attitudes accepting differences on the part of nonexceptional students. By contrast a mainstreaming model would place more emphasis on adaptation by the exceptional student, so‐called ‘preparation’ for mainstreaming.     

Remote Possibilities: Rural Children's Educational Aspirations

To better understand the influence of rural context on youth's life chances, this study takes up the question of rural children's educational aspirations. The experience of rural life may, as some claim, limit students' educational aspirations. Yet there are indications that rural communities simultaneously generate important social benefits that tend to be devalued by educators and researchers alike. Survey data from the 2002 Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics were analyzed to explore this debate. Findings indicate rural children are as likely to aspire to a high school or an undergraduate education as are nonrural youth. The significant difference in aspirations between rural and nonrural children is in terms of postgraduate education. Findings also suggest that rural youth come of age in familial contexts of attachment to place, with rural families being more likely than nonrural families to have turned down a job to remain in their communities. The findings here challenge assumptions that rural youth limit their aspirations because they suffer from uniquely rural handicaps. In place of deficit models of rural youth's aspirations, more sociological perspectives might allow for the distinctive way in which rurality engenders attachment to place.     

A Review of the Research: Common Core State Standards for Improving Rural Children’s School Readiness

Although a plethora of research focuses on economically at-risk preschool children in general across the United States, little can be found that investigates methods for improving rural children’s academic outcomes. This review of research is intended to provide a contextual understanding of the background and current conditions that exist for rural preschool children and their families in America, and to recommend strategies for improving adverse cognition and learning conditions, including a lack of early literacy skills, and low high school completion rates that frequently are found in this population, utilizing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as a framework. Attention will be given to demographics, academic performance and scientifically-based practices proven to impact both teaching and learning for rural preschool children, particularly those from minority households, incorporating the newly developed CCSS. A comparison will be made between rural white and African American children’s learning and cognition, highlighting significant disparities for African American students, despite the fact that they make up less than 10 % of all rural preschool children. For the scope of this study, rural communities will be defined as those with varying qualities situated outside of metropolitan areas. Results from this study reveal the conditions for rural preschool children, especially those from African American families with low-income levels. Findings indicate that providing training for teachers, administrators and families linked to rural schools; and infusing CCSS into the rural preschool curricula significantly improves school readiness, and decreases dropout rates.     

Integration and Segregation in Mainstreaming Programs for Children and Adolescents with Hearing Impairments

This article describes an investigation of 26 mainstreaming programs for students with hearing impairments from pre‐kindergarten through high school. The purpose of the study was to examine selection criteria, quality and quantity of mainstreaming time, and available support services. Students were found to be mainstreamed according to a number of criteria reported in the literature such as academic performance, hearing loss, and interpersonal skills, but also were affected by the willingness of regular education teachers to accept them into their classrooms. Academic mainstreaming was infrequent, and classroom observations showed that children with hearing impairments often appeared to be not well integrated into classroom activities. Programs varied considerably on all variables examined, including support services; in particular sign language interpreting was offered in some programs, available to a limited extent in others, but in many cases not at all. Clearer definitions of mainstreaming are a necessity and regular education teachers need to be informed of the special requirements of children with hearing impairments.     

Treating the regular class child in the mainstreaming process: Increasing social cognitive development

Regular class children who tease their mainstreamed peers can and do create problems for the implementation of mainstreaming. A solution to this problem is offered from the cognitive developmental school of thought through a discussion of recent theory and educational research in this area. It is shown that both moral judgment and interpersonal conceptions (two cognitive developmental domains) seem to be related to adequate social adjustment. Recent empirical studies have demonstrated success in raising children's level of reasoning in these areas. Direct applications of these recent findings to the mainstreaming problem are discussed.     

Teachers' Attitudes Towards Mainstreaming and Their Pupils' Perceptions of Their Classroom Learning Environment

In spite of the widespread adoption of policies on mainstreaming, and more recently on inclusive education for children and young people with special educational needs, little is actually known about the relationship between what teachers think about such policies and the type of learning environments that they provide. In this study in New Zealand, a sample of regular primary school teachers (N= 63) were categorised according to ‘high’, ‘moderate’ or ‘low’ scores on a scale which measures their views on mainstreaming policies and practices. The pupils (N= 1729) of these teachers also completed a scale measuring perceptions of their classroom learning environments. Children taught by teachers who espoused highly positive attitudes towards mainstreaming were found to have significantly higher levels of classroom satisfaction and marginally lower levels of classroom friction than children taught by teachers with less positive attitudes. Implications of these findings are discussed for further research on the role of teacher attitudes in the successful inclusion of children and young people with special needs and for policies on the implementation of effective inclusive practice. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Teacher and Parent Perspectives on Selected Social Aspects of Preschool Mainstreaming

The purpose of this two‐phase study was to compare teacher and parent perspectives on some important issues concerning preschool mainstreaming or the integration of handicapped and nonhandicapped children. A questionnaire was used to gather data from preschool teachers in two types of federally funded mainstreamed preschools and from a sample of parents whose children attended mainstreamed preschools. Analyses indicated that there were no significant differences among teacher responses based on type of mainstreaming setting. There were some significant differences, however, between teacher and parent responses to questions concerning the value of preschool mainstreaming, the social interaction of the preschoolers, and parent involvement activities. Explanations of these differences are discussed together with implications for future research.     

Mainstreaming the Hearing Impaired Student‐‐An Area of Preparation Responsibility for Teacher Training Programs: A Pilot Study

Interviewing, as an information‐gathering tool for prospective teachers of the deaf, was used to document the perspectives which deaf children, their parents, teachers and administrators bring to the mainstreaming process. Data revealed the different, and sometimes competing priorities of mainstreaming participants; these priorities are discussed in terms of their impact upon the success or failure of the mainstreaming process and the preparation responsibilities of teacher training programs.     

Unravelling the gender bind,uncovering the heterogeneity of domination

ABSTRACT

Gender norms and learned practices of student teachers can influence their performance in practice, either fixing or challenging, gendered social norms and expectations. This paper shares the findings of a multi-year mixed-methods research project that explored the understandings of gender norms and experiences of students and staff within a large teacher-training college in Tanzania. Data was collected to inform a wider gender mainstreaming initiative across the institution. Using a blend of quantitative and qualitative methods, the findings identified a strict and rigid gender binary which seemed to inform attitudes and practices of teaching and learning. Furthermore, it uncovered heterogeneous forms of gendered domination that were experienced by staff and pupils within the institution. The findings suggest that stand-alone ‘female only’ gender mainstreaming strategies may not be sufficient to achieve a gender equitable environment within the institution. Rather, it suggests that a whole-of-community approach is necessary to unravel deep-rooted biases and to tackle diverse forms of domination that affect different members of the college community in different ways. Such findings are particularly important in light of the epistemic power that is conferred on teacher-graduates and that is transferred through teaching practices to communities across Tanzania.     

Associations between urbanization and the home language environment: Evidence from a LENA study in rural and peri-urban China

In low- and middle-income countries, urbanization has spurred the expansion of peri-urban communities, or urban communities of formerly rural residents with low socioeconomic status. The growth of these communities offers researchers an opportunity to measure the associations between the level of urbanization and the home language environment (HLE) among otherwise similar populations. Data were collected in 2019 using Language Environment Analysis observational assessment technology from 158 peri-urban and rural households with Han Chinese children (92 males, 66 females) aged 18–24 months in China. Peri-urban children scored lower than rural children in measures of the HLE and language development. In both samples, child age, gender, maternal employment, and sibling number were positively correlated with the HLE, which was in turn correlated with language development.     

Mainstreaming: Teachers’ Attitudes when they have no choice about the matter

Attitudes toward mainstreaming of primary and post‐primary teachers, teachers in training, and non‐teachers in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, were surveyed soon after release of the Report of the Ministerial Review of Educational Services for the Disabled which recommends that schools be organized on the basis that every child has the right to be educated in a regular classroom; under these provisions mainstreaming becomes mandatory. The analysis revealed that the most favourable attitudes toward mainstreaming were those of non‐teachers, and that a positive relationship between teacher attitudes and previous experience of handicapped persons was accompanied by reluctance to accept handicapped children into their classes.