While most rural special education leaders agree on the universality of certain problems (funding inadequacies, personnel recruitment/retention, transportation, low-incidence handicapped populations, staff development needs, resistance to change) in rural areas, no agreement exists regarding generalizable solutions which will work in all rural…

The proceedings of the 1986 Symposium on the Future of Special Education contains 12 papers. Presenters represented the following groups: state education agency directors, large school district directors, small school district directors, teachers, parents, teacher educators, researchers, and Canadian school administrators. An initial paper by F.…

This module is designed to familiarize students preparing to be special education teachers with the physical needs of the exceptional student. Information is given on how to structure an adaptive physical education program designed to meet those needs, including development of an individualized education program (IEP). The module covers such…

To explore the perceptions of special education administrators regarding the anticipated effects of restricted funding, survey questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 200 directors of special education in Texas. Questions regarding demographics, funding sources, staff and program concerns, and assistance needed for coping were asked.…

The Mental Health Project of the Albuquerque (New Mexico) Public Schools (APS), which was initiated in August of 1985, was evaluated. Funded by Public Law 94-142, the program focused on providing an interdisciplinary team approach to deliver direct and indirect counseling services to selected special education students, families, and staff.…

Average salary increases for 1,223 faculty in the field of special education are reported for 1983-1984 and 1986-1987, as part of the College and University Personnel Association's annual faculty salary studies. Included are comparative data for 120,580 faculty at 167 public colleges and 235 private colleges, representing 44 academic disciplines.…

This document is a monograph in a personnel development series addressing issues that are pertinent for policy-making personnel concerned with preservice personnel preparation of vocational/special educators. Section 1 presents a review of the selected literature related to the development of personnel preparation programs and the results of a…

This part of the School Management Handbook provides elementary school administrators with an overview of some of the special education regulations mandated in Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Section 1 of the document defines screening and evaluation procedures for identifying handicapping conditions of children…

Sixteen papers, developed as part of a 10-year study of substantive and methodological aspects of teacher education in special education at the University of South Florida, address professional issues in special education. The papers are: (1) "To Improve or Reconstruct Special Education: Issues Facing the Field" (James L. Paul and Ann…

Assistive technology is equipment that improves the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. Using assistive technology, children discover they have control over their environment and develop a sense of competence and independence. As special education enrollments increase, more students are using assistive technology, but many…

San Diego State University (California) has developed a coach-of-coaches model of providing support, assistance, and supervision to intern-teachers in its rural special education alternative credential program. Coaches, who are fully credentialed teachers with supervisory skills, make a minimum of nine direct and indirect (video analysis)…

Contains information on incidence of handicapping conditions among Texas Hispanic students; delivery of special education services to handicapped Texas Hispanics; a specific example of the application of a human resource planning model to bilingual handicapped students; significant staffing needs associated with serving exceptional Hispanics.…

States that educational priorities for secondary special needs students require an emphasis on vocational rather than academic training and a more structured learning situation. Presents a model of comprehensive career education for behaviorally disordered and learning disabled students featuring a cooperative teaching approach. (MF)

This study examined the advantages of using written language portfolios for authentic assessment in a third-grade special education classroom. Portfolios included data from students, teachers, parents, and the teacher's journal. Portfolios provided insights about how students thought about their writing, offered new understandings of parents'…

This article reviews research on the shortage of African Americans in university special education faculties, identifying problems in the faculty development system and possible solutions. Suggestions focus on improving available financial support, mentoring, and developing opportunities for creative research and writing, in order to recruit,…