The role of parents in the education of their children is a factor which has been acknowledged as one of the contributors to learners' success in schools. In addition, the nature of parental involvement and the benefits thereof, have been sufficiently treated in the corpus on school improvement. The purpose of this paper is to probe the support…

The Re-ED experience of the Positive Education Program (PEP) in Cleveland, Ohio, utilizes educational, mental health, social service, and juvenile justice resources to provide a community based day treatment program for disturbed children and adolescents. Program components include team/counselor team staffing of classrooms, the Parents Training…

This paper, by a parent of a child with severe mental and physical disabilities, discusses why parent/professional teaming is important to maximize benefits for children and youth with severe disabilities. It recounts the family's experience with the impact of disability. Strategies for effective parent/professional teaming are outlined, stressing…

A "working party" (a decision-making group similar to the quality circles concept) comprised of public elementary school personnel (administrator, regular and special education staff), and parents, university special education faculty and graduate students worked cooperatively to develop and implement a manual sign inservice training package to…

This paper describes how the movement of students with severe disabilities to more inclusive settings impacts on the team process, particularly with regard to the development, implementation, and evaluation of communication intervention. First, the characteristics of transdisciplinary teams as they operate in more inclusive settings are described,…

Parents and professionals are increasingly working together to serve handicapped children; however this partnership is often marred by conflict. Most explanations for the conflict emphasize the psychological and attitudinal characteristics of individuals. Although this explanation has some validity, it precludes identification of the more basic…

Shared leadership among members of a home, school, and community partnership is an idealistic goal that sounds good in theory but can be very difficult to achieve. Based on a review of the literature on issues in collaboration and applied research conducted by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, this paper examines the importance of…

This paper first compares Vermont's old Individualized Education Plan (IEP) which was designed primarily to insure legal compliance with the new family-centered IEP. It then describes the new IEP. Vermont's new family-centered IEP process emphasizes increased collaboration, reduced paperwork, and legal compliance. Three questions serve as a focus…

Contends that there is a need for a strong partnership between industry and education. Outlines the important services that multinational companies perform for the world's peoples. Suggests ways that teachers can help their students succeed in the market place. Calls for maintaining high standards, increased teamwork, and emphasis on work-study.…

This keynote address states that early intervention services must consider more than professional analyses in their planning. It describes findings from focus group discussions with Latino families of children with disabilities, emphasizing the need to match early intervention services with parent expectations and goals, and the need for services…

The role of parents of handicapped children in a team approach to educational programming is discussed. Noted are rights of parents, such as the right to review evaluations and school records, to appeal the types of tests and evaluation procedures employed by the school, and to obtain independent evaluation of the child. Such attitudes and…

A teacher action research study, undertaken as part of the larger Schools Reaching Out (SRO) project, sponsored by the Institute for Responsive Education, is described in this report. The project is based on the concept of the urban school, family, and community partnership as a means to improve all children's academic achievement and social…

The branches of experiential education are many, but they all derive from a common philosophy and approach to learning that values hands-on experiences and centers on the learner. Encouraging the broader implementation of experiential learning requires that the field be interpreted to initiates down to its roots. In the case of whole-school…

The collection of 41 papers from a conference on individualized education programs (IEPs) for handicapped students addresses four main topics (sample titles and authors in parentheses): communication and group process ("Establishing and Maintaining the IEP Team" by W. Morgan and N. Bray; "Child and Parent Involvement in Educational Planning" by M.…

The collaborative procedures used to derive the instructional objectives for Arizona State University's Teacher Corps training programs for inservice teachers, preservice teachers, and teacher aides were time consuming and costly, but have resulted in increased respect and better working relationships between teachers, parents, and teacher…