This article looks at the way in which the language used in relation to special education needs has changed and evolved since the 1960s, based on articles published in the British special education literature. Vocabulary, images, and attitudes are discussed in the context of political correctness and its impact on behavior. (DB)

A teacher of young children shares personal experiences and professional approaches to facilitating growth in unique children. The educator's responsibility lies not in labeling differences in children, but in responding to those unique differences in the classroom by supporting students and utilizing their strengths. (Author/SW)

The socially constructed binary of "First Nations" and "non-First Nations" (with various related names and labels) is concerned with issues of belonging, entitlement, representation, and autonomy. Although necessary to explain longstanding geopolitical, spiritual, and economic injustices, the binary obscures nuanced…

This paper urges the radical restructuring of specialized education in South Africa through discussion of two issues: (1) exclusionary and disabling identity-construction; and (2) the educational needs of the many poverty-stricken children and those for whom English is a second language. (DB)

This essay argues that ideas circulated by Blatt and Dybwad, two scholars who exposed the plight of people labeled "retarded," can be illustrated in certain inclusive education practices and reinforced and refined in various critical narratives about mental retardation, particularly in autobiographical accounts of people with…

This article explores four key threats to the movement toward inclusion within the field of special educational needs: the lack of precision in definitions of inclusion; the lack of research evidence, the tendency for some children to experience internal exclusion in the schools, and the continuing inclination to label children. (Author/CR)

The history of the study of human mental ability is an example of the dialectic in social science between those who interpret data within the framework of existing social inequities and those who look for perspectives that might eventually dissolve inequities. The dedication of Henry Herbert Goddard to a belief in the scientific proof of…

Stereotypes of the African American male in the popular media have imprinted a harsh and unflattering image in the public consciousness that has negatively affected the self-image of African Americans. Additionally, those stereotypes affect the decision making of employers, police officers, teachers, and other authority figures, resulting in a…

This paper results from a research project that investigated the problem of inter-ethnic relations between Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, as they are bound together under the label, "Asian/Pacific Americans" (APA). A basic thesis is that by identifying these two groups with one label, significant cultural and socioeconomic differences are…

Professional sensitivity and responsibility must be used to describe giftedness in ways that do not isolate gifted children or their parents and which encourage shared advocacy with other educational groups. More information is needed on how labeling of gifted students and conceptual frameworks surrounding exceptionalities affect societal and…

Assesses the value of competency/skill research in speech pedagogy. (PD)

William Rhodes reviews 1975 predictions about the future development of the mental health system, along with his current (1982) opinions about the predictions. (SEW)

School crime may be a product of the organizational structure of the school. The negative, stigmatizing labeling of students contributes to school crime and produces poor (deviant) career decisions. Attempts to increase success rate of individual students must recognize the school's value systems and the origins of its stereotypes. (Author/GPM)

The author discusses attitude formation and attitude change and suggests how administrators, teachers, and counselors can help change negative attitudes toward the handicapped and develop positive ones. (KC)

In the typical career appraisal, the structure of client and counselor roles and the focus of the assessments and interpretation obstruct its intended purpose in four major ways: casting clients as subordinates, discounting self-assessment by favoring counselor assessments, de-emphasizing the influence of context, and focusing on a single choice.…