Explores reasons that boys are more likely than girls to be labeled as mildly mentally retarded. Holds that the master trait "boy" is associated with auxiliary traits (such as unpredictability and unmanageability) that resemble the auxiliary traits connected with mental retardation. (Author/GC)

The authors critique the Warnock Report on Special Education for its limited focus, the nature of the evidence used, and its conclusions and recommendations about classifying and identifying students in need of special education services, which the authors feel deal too exclusively with psychological and medical issues, ignoring social contexts.…

Proposes the theoretical reappropriation of the labeling perspective as a theory of transformative social valuing, considering how misappropriations of labeling deviance theory undercut the salience of its critique and legitimate segregationist and deficit models of remedial and special education. The paper asserts that if there is to be any…

In response to Coles (EC 220 146), the author notes issues concerning: who is labeled "learning disabled," why they are labeled, how they are helped, how the solutions have become the problem, what real learning is, how to use present resources to transform the system, and the contribution of a collaborative ecological approach. (DB)

Responds to previous article (Gresham and Gansle, 1992) which argued that Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition-Revised (DSM-III-R) was irrelevant for practice of school psychology and that absence of treatment validity was most serious issue among problems with DSM-III-R. Elaborates on several issues surrounding…

This paper argues that the Attention Deficit Disorder/Gifted (ADD/Gifted) label is both unfair and overused, discounts the possibility of natural developmental lags, and focuses on the child's weaknesses. A call is made for seeking a full understanding of contextual, curricular, and environmental factors outside the child before labeling students.…

As classrooms are restructured, practitioners must consider the short- and long-term effects of grouping decisions. All children need to be with children of the same interests and abilities during part of every school day. Mixed ability groups are most suitable for projects that cut across curricular areas. (LB)

Discusses factors, such as the development of discrete groups, the labeling process, and the emphasis on the care role of special education teachers, that hinder integration of students with special needs into the further education program in England and Wales. Suggests strategies to overcome these impediments. (JOW)

Considers problems with use of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Presents brief history of MBTI and brief theory of type. Examines MBTI's statistical structure, reliability, and validity. Concludes that MBTI does not conform to many basic standards expected of psychological tests. (NB)

Narrates the experiences of one journalism teacher who was criticized by a Japanese student when another student used the word "Jap" in the classroom. Questions the role of instructors in assuring that all language in a classroom is "politically correct." (HB)

Describes a Chinese school where staff assumed students would succeed notwithstanding their learning problems. Suggests prudence in use of labels for students. Questions use of standardized tests as the primary measure of students' attainment of standards, and advocates increased use of classroom-based strategies. Ponders difficult questions that…

In the discourse of educational policy and practice, applying the term "disaffected" to young people stigmatizes them, and mentoring with the goal of change reinforces the view that there is something wrong with them. Uncritical use of "disaffected" masks real problems in the transition from school to work. (SK)

This paper examines psychological and social issues for single mothers in the context of therapeutic strategies for effective intervention. Never married, previously married, and Lesbian mothers are considered in terms of sociocultural myths and sources of stigma; research findings related to these myths; and interventions targeting the…

Although the study of self-selected ethnic labels may aid scientists in their understanding of an ethnic group, the uncoordinated use of ethnic labels applied by social scientists and others can result in confusion and misinformation. A literature review yields a plethora of terms used to refer to Mexican Americans. Terms currently popular are…

By describing the paternalism inherent in the parallels between the history of Burundi and that of deaf people, a letter to a woman in Burundi with five deaf children attempts to persuade her to allow her youngest to further her education in the United States. (LMO)