The focus of responsibility for education of the severely and profoundly retarded

The current concern for the extension of a free public education to the severely and profoundly retarded has precipitated a general assumption among many persons that the public schools will play a major role in providing educational services for this population. In view of the past failures of programs for the mildly (EMR) and moderately (TMR) retarded in the public schools, the authors advocate a new concept in delivery systems and teacher training that more appropriately reflects the needs of the severely and profoundly retarded.     

Identification of gifted students

School curricula are changing, most notably in the field of special education. One area which is increasingly receiving more emphasis is gifted education. The gifted student, who has too long been overlooked, is now eligible for placement in special education classes designed to further the development of his unique abilities. The role of the school psychologist in identification of the gifted student is discussed.     

Regular class teachers' perceptions of transition programs for EMR students and their impact on the students

This study was designed to obtain the perceptions of regular class teachers who taught children who had been in EMR programs, but had been decertified (D) and returned to regular classes in response to court cases and recent legislation. A cohort of regular class (RC) students were selected for comparative purposes. It was found that D students were placed into low ability classes; yet, teachers perceived D subjects to be significantly lower than RC students in both academic achievement and social acceptance. Only a small proportion of teachers indicated that the enrollment of D students had much impact on the regular class instructional program. However, the teachers were rather critical of the services received under the auspices of a transitional program, indicating in large part that the services were either not apparent or ineffective.     

Self-concept and self-esteem reexamined

Three “self” constructs are differentiated: the “self,” that is, the “real” self; the “self-concept,” which is the information or cognitions an individual has about his “self;” and “self-esteem,” which is the judgment and feelings about the “self.” An individual's self-concept can be characterized by its realism or unrealism, its completeness or incompleteness, or by the complexity of the concepts used to describe the self. Self-esteem, but not self-concept, can be described as being positive or negative. Developmental considerations and implications are discussed.