Both prior to and during the transition from early intervention (EI) to school, parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing (d/hh) need crucial information about the transition process and school services. Given the ubiquitous nature of computers and Internet access, it is reasonable to assume that web-based dissemination of information…

Many parents feel intimidated when talking with special education professionals. There is much in our society which encourages us to look at professionals and to accept what they say without question. However, that does not mean you should be intimidated. The discussion is about your child and you know your child better than anyone, giving you the…

Early childhood educators teach science to all students, including students with disabilities. Strategies for accommodating students with disabilities in science, including familiarity with equitable frameworks such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) are therefore a critical aspect of early childhood teacher candidates' pedagogical content…

This single-site case study describes the outcomes and lessons learned from the implementation of a technology professional development initiative aimed at helping three special education teachers from an urban elementary school learn how to infuse technology in their content literacy instruction. Three types of qualitative data were collected:…

This article offers a variety of strategies for pre-service and beginning teachers to utilize in order to create positive and effective relationships with families that are built on clear communication and trust. It is crucial for new and veteran teachers to understand the importance of successful communication with parents and families of…

States are increasingly using value-added approaches to evaluate teacher effectiveness. There is much debate regarding whether these methods should be employed and, if employed, what role such methods should play in comprehensive teacher evaluation systems. In this article, we consider the use of value-added modeling (VAM) to evaluate special…

The authors argue that insufficient attention has been given to foundational concepts in special education. Two classes of foundational concepts are discussed: human constructions and logico-mathematical facts. Four human constructions are examined: (1) making teaching most important, (2) discriminating among ideas, (3) choosing conceptual models,…

This paper addresses the troubled, problematic and contested field of inclusive education, characterised by antagonisms between so-called inclusionists and special educationists; frustration, particularly among disability activists caused by the abstraction of the social model of disability and the expansion of the special educational needs…

Findings from a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,560 young Internet users revealed youth receiving special education services in schools were more likely to report receiving an online interpersonal victimization in the past year, even after adjusting for other explanatory factors. These findings suggest that special education staff…

A tension exists between educational practitioners and researchers, which is often attributed to their dichotomous and oftentimes polarizing professional ideologies or Discourse communities. When determining what works in education, researchers tend to emphasize evidencebased practices (EBPs) supported by research that is rigorous and internally…

A key contributor to student learning is believed to be the classroom teacher. With 40 to 50% of special education teachers leaving the profession by the end of their fifth year, an inexperienced teaching force disadvantages students with disabilities. This qualitative inquiry investigated and analyzed the phenomenon of sustainment among effective…

Since the enactment of the "Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975" ("EHA"), Public Law (P.L.) 94-142 and its successor statute, the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" ("IDEA" or "act"), the secretary of the U.S. Department of Education (secretary) (and her predecessor, the…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the main federal statute governing special education for children from birth through age 21. IDEA protects the rights of children with disabilities to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). It also supplements state and local funding to pay for some of the additional or excess costs of…

Reading comprehension is a significant concern for adolescents with learning disabilities (LD), particularly in secondary schools in the United States (US) where content is taught primarily through textbooks. Surprisingly little is known about the actual reading instruction for students with LD in secondary classrooms. Thus, the purpose of this…

This article considers the increased identification of special educational needs in Australia's largest education system from the perspectives of senior public servants, regional directors, principals, school counsellors, classroom teachers, support class teachers, learning support teachers, and teaching assistants (n = 30). While their…