It is generally accepted that Early Childhood Education and Care should adopt a holistic view on education, in which education and care are inseparable concepts. Perspectives of staff members themselves are, however, often absent in these educare debates. We conducted six video-elicited focus groups with various preschool staff members (n = 69) in…

In Australia, children with developmental delay and disability, who have an IQ less than 70, are eligible to attend a specialist school. These schools are called special schools or special developmental schools. Teachers, occupational therapists, and speech pathologists work in these schools together with integration aids. Children with…

The practice of paddling students for misbehavior remains legal in 19 states. The practice was quite prevalent in the mid-to late-20th century and was implemented in order to instill fear in students, so that they would behave properly. To public school students, this was as normal as recess. To an observer with no former frame of reference,…

The purpose of this case study was to examine if the Matching Assistive Technology to Child Augmentative Communication Evaluation Simplified (MATCH-ACES) assessment can help a special education team select an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention for a student with special needs. Additionally, this study identified the…

This case study provides an overview of current policy, practices and problems concerning inclusion in one international secondary school in Hong Kong. A total of 13 interviews were conducted with the school management team, teachers, students and parents, supplemented by 12 classroom observations and two "student-shadowing" exercises.…

The Educational Psychology Service in this study has responsibility for providing group supervision to Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs) working in schools. To date, little research has examined this type of inter-professional supervision arrangement. The current study used a questionnaire to examine ELSAs' views on the supervision…

Thirty-one middle school students (grades 4-7) were interviewed at length about their perspectives regarding academic and social inclusion of students with disabilities; the barriers they perceive to a compassionate, inclusive learning community; and what they believe helps overcome these barriers. In discussing the inclusion of students with…

Compared with many European countries, Finland has a shorter history of immigration. During the last 20?years, Finland has become a more multicultural society. Together with rising levels of immigration, teachers' concerns regarding how to manage an increasingly diverse school population have arisen. There are an increasing number of students with…

Living on fixed incomes and faced with increasing taxes, senior citizens frequently feel the squeeze of a tightening economy more than other populations. Their retirement dollars buy less as their property taxes inch upward, despite the fact that they don't have school-age children. The Hempfield and Manheim Township School Districts in…

Teaching technology is awesome! The author very rarely uses the word awesome, but there are few words in the English language that can convey the author's feelings concerning his teaching experience. Before becoming a technology teacher, the author served 27+ years in the US Navy. He graduated from Old Dominion University with a Virginia teaching…

Extensive planning by group process is important for establishing successful volunteer programs, as demonstrated by the process developed and tested in a number of demonstration programs nationwide. (SK)

The role of the volunteer in the classroom is discussed. Recruitment of volunteers is considered and roles of volunteers are outlined, including areas such as individual instruction and organization of special activities. (PHR)

Criteria for implementation of school volunteer programs include (1) effective incentives, (2) resources, and (3) political and administrative feasibility. Alternatives for state action include (1) maintaining current state policy, (2) providing leadership by endorsement and mandate, and (3) enacting legislation to provide incentives for…

Studied whether the presence of a teacher aide in the classroom has noticeable impact on student learning using data for more than 6,300 students in 79 Tennessee schools. Findings suggest that teachers' aides have little, if any, positive effects on student learning. Results also indicate that many aides are required to perform tasks for which…

Describes 20 volunteer programs that are specifically designed for older adults. Points out that senior citizens can contribute to society long after they retire. (JOW)