Handicapism, bias against the disabled, is a major barrier to the successful education and integration of children with disabilities. Educators need to devise strategies to deal with handicapism, beginning with disability awareness programs. A variety of instructional approaches is necessary to capitalize on students' strengths and learning…

This article explores how pre-existing structures within the educational system impede the academic achievement of many African-American learners and contribute to low self-concept, mislabeling, and placement in lower academic tracks. Methodologies and strategies needed to change these practices and/or to limit their ill effects are suggested.…

This article addresses issues of ethics, power, and privilege within the context of educating African American learners with disabilities and gifts and talents, critical issues in education affecting African American learners, and the role of special education teacher educators and special and gifted teacher practitioners as change agents.…

Research indicates that a disproportionate number of minority students are assigned to special education programs in urban school districts. Oftentimes, these programs are inadequate and they deny minority students with special needs a free appropriate public education. These concerns are not only applicable to urban public schools; research also…

The monograph addresses legal issues involving discrimination against handicapped persons and the key legal requirement of reasonable accommodation. Four chapters in Part I examine background issues, including definitions and statistical overviews of handicaps; historical attitudes toward handicapped persons and an analysis of the extent of…

Numerous interpretation problems currently exist in the statutory and regulatory definition of "handicapped individual." The three-part definition as set forth in section 504 of the 1974 amendments is analyzed, and potential sources of controversy are identified in each section. Possible applications of such a broad definition are…

Discusses the legal history of special education. The exclusion of students with disabilities and the early efforts to ensure a free appropriate education for students with disabilities are examined up to and including the enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997. (Author/CR)

This article reflects on previous articles (EC 624 620-621) that explore how pre-existing structures within the educational system impede the academic achievement of many African-American learners. It urges more educators to be willing to critique school practices and to seek understanding of African American culture in order to alter teacher,…

A case study of the efforts at Mount Pleasant School in Vancouver to create a more equitable educational experience for children of poverty, illustrates the potential of schooling to contribute positively to social justice. Successful conditions included: availability of funding, clarity of focus, facilitation of leadership, and openness to…

The first part of this article critiques categorical approaches to special education, overrepresentation of minority children in special education, inclusion and exclusion, and white privilege. The second part of the article describes the potential of multicultural education, transformation, and participatory leadership approaches to address the…

This booklet, developed by the Southampton (England) Adult Education Panel, provides a demonstration of how the barriers to education and training that confront disadvantaged adults can be overcome. It identifies 16 barriers to access as follows: money; value dominance in race, gender, or social class; child care; physical disability; bureaucracy;…

The result of a directive issued by the President of Cardinal Stritch College pertaining to the self-evaluation required for compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is presented. The purpose of the self-evaluation is to evaluate all of the institution's policies and practices (and their effects on handicapped persons) to…

The author considers the legality of minimum competency testing diploma requirements applied to the handicapped in light of (1) their constitutional and statutory rights to nondiscriminatory treatment, (2) their statutory right to an appropriate education, and (3) their constitutional right to substantive and procedural due process. (Author/SSH)

This article addresses the contextual background of India's Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and examines why the ICDS policy does not refer to individuals with special needs. It concludes that exclusion has been deeply rooted within the socio-political system. Policy shifts promoting sustainable strategies of inclusion are explored.…

This report derives from a study of the implementation of civil rights guarantees by elementary, secondary, and higher education institutions. The study was commissioned by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) with the objective of determining whether the OCR should more closely monitor and enforce compliance with Federal regulations concerning the…