This paper examines the pressures placed on northern Manitoba (Canada) communities to meet provincial legislative requirements for certification of special education teachers, the special needs of native northerners, and principles guiding an appropriate education program. Special emphasis is given to the need for distance education and…

Special education is in danger of disintegration due to both justified criticisms of implementational failures and unjustified criticisms concerning its conceptualization and the separate placement of some students with disabilities. Needed reforms include constructing defensible rival philosophies and improving the preparation and support of…

This article reviews the literature and proposes that the problem of retention of teachers of students with emotional and behavior disorders be addressed in teacher preparation programs. Programs should include an understanding of factors leading to burnout, individual coping mechanisms, and training in most-needed competencies. (DB)

No Child Left Behind offers many challenges to those who work with children with EBD [emotional and behavioral disorders]. It also offers opportunities never before available for collaboration and cooperation between general and special educators. Two snapshots of opportunities are provided. The first summarizes some of the challenges our field…

This paper includes a qualitative study of the role of "inclusion specialists" in schools, a review of the history of special education, accounts of interviews with 17 special and 7 regular educators, accounts of day-long observations of four specialists, and the author's reflections. The literature review focuses on the relationship of…

When newly trained special education teachers begin working with infants and young children in early intervention programs, they find themselves also having to work extensively with parents. Teachers may expect all parents to become partners with them in teaching their children, and teachers often become upset or frustrated when parents fail to…

This document describes a community resource plan developed for rural special educators at a small elementary school near Salem, Oregon. The plan was designed for the specific needs of rural special educators, who generally have greater need for materials, personnel support, and financing than their urban counterparts. The resource plan includes:…

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142) demanded basic changes in the practices, purposes, and institutional structures of schools to accommodate handicapped students, but did not adequately address the differences between general and special educators in expectations, training, or assumptions about the functions of schooling…

"Tomorrow's Teachers" (Holmes Group, 1986) expressed the need to reform teacher preparation programs. Implications of this report for preparation of visual disabilities teachers are discussed, focusing on a five-year training program, three levels of educational licenses, professional entry examinations, strengthened ties between…

Suggests methods for solving major problems in delivery of special education services to exceptional children in rural and remote areas, such as: (1) staff recruitment and development; (2) provision of services to special education students; (3) legislation and funding; and (4) parent and community involvement. (JD)

Suggests that there is a "second system" of specialist teachers and that this system has largely failed to fulfill the goal of accelerating the literacy development of participating children. Explores a "whole day model" as an alternative to the highly regulated "second system," wherein the classroom teacher would assume the responsibility for the…

This response to five case studies of inclusive practices for elementary students with learning disabilities (LD) finds that the consistent result was to diminish and subordinate the role of the special education teacher, reduce the potential effectiveness of special education as a specialized instructional effort, and remove the academic press…

This response to five case studies of inclusive practices for elementary students with learning disabilities identifies problems inherent in inclusive education (e.g., coteaching and logistics) and suggests that fundamental school reform offers an alternative that meets recognized best-practice standards and requires the trained skills of learning…

Proposes three solutions to the continuing problem of disproportionate representation of multicultural students in special education programs: (1) training of culturally and linguistically diverse teachers in teacher preparation programs; (2) inclusion of multicultural education perspectives in special education; and (3) the implementation of…

A new teacher in a self-contained classroom for six kindergarten students with autism describes the challenges of beginning a new program in her school, planning instruction with the new state instructional standards in mind, being scrutinized by parents, and coordinating documentation of progress and development of Individualized Education…