This paper addresses the participation of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in mainstream schools. There are different benefits for ASD students to be educated in an inclusive environment (Gena, 2006; Whitaker, 2004). They challenge the school community by presenting difficulties in essential domains for school activities (Chamberlain,…

Background: One of the most commonly cited rationales for inclusive education is to enable the development of quality relationships with typically developing peers. Relatively few researchers have examined the features of the range of relationships that children with developmental disability form in inclusive school settings. Method: Interviews…

This study examined the impact of classroom teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education, teachers' self-efficacy and classroom practices on the social status of students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms in Tamil Nadu, India. Questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations were employed to gather data. The data analysis included…

In the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of pupils with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) attending mainstream schools. However, particular concerns have been expressed about their inclusion, focused on an increased risk of peer rejection and lack of staff knowledge about appropriate teaching approaches. Parental views of…

Len Barton has pioneered the sociological study of education in the areas of disability studies and inclusive education. This paper addresses an argument developed by Len Barton that social exclusion, of which disablism is one element, (1) has many compounding forms of differing exclusions, (2) is not a natural but a socially constructed process,…

Results of interviews with 15 first-year students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf concerning their high school mainstreaming experience suggested that social mainstreaming may be more difficult to achieve than academic mainstreaming. (Author/DB)

A 6 month study of attitudes held by hearing students toward deafness on an integrated deaf-hearing campus examined changes in attitudes that are theoretically to be expected when ideal cultural norms confront real norms of daily life. (Author)

The report describes a study which looked at two-way interactions among teachers and severely physically disabled and nondisabled children who were followed from kindergarten through first grade. Seven of the children had cerebral palsy and one a muscular disorders. Data collection included direct classroom observation on 74 days; interviews with…

To investigate change in the general self concept of ability of educable mentally retarded special class students, four equally spaced interviews were conducted with 51 students (mean age 11.63) over a 2-year period. Pupils answered questions about their academic ability from the General Self-Concept of Ability Scale; scores showed an ascending…