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The presentation encompasses a conceptualization of what is meant by evaluation and what is involved in evaluating training programs which prepare special educators. Specifically, evaluation is differentiated from research; Stake's general framework for evaluating educational programs is summarized; and a number of factors involved in conceptualizing the nature and scope of training program evaluation are considered, as are several critical problems related to such evaluation. Finally, some specific ideas are offered with reference to the evaluation of special education training programs. (A 7-item bibliography is included.) (Author)

Public utterances that defend illegal actions on moral grounds which supersede legal grounds display distinct rhetorical features. Rhetorical criticism of Thoreau's "Plea for Captain John Brown" (1859) and the Antony Towne and William Stringfellow letter in defense of the Berrigan brothers (1972) reveals five similar rhetorical strategies. These strategies tend to define the "genre" of discourse called "moral justification for legal transgressions." One line of argument is a defense of illegal actions by the invocation of higher moral law. Other approaches include the acknowledgement of the inevitability of and disregard for the punishment which ensues from the illegalities; an assailing of the government agency which precipated the events leading to the illegal acts and punishment; the identification of the accused with morally superior beings, using religious imagery as supportive argument; and the proclamation that the illegal acts measurably aid a good cause. These rhetorical approaches for the justification of illegal actions are in concurrence with earlier observations by rhetorical critics, especially Edwin Black. (CH)

This document is one in a series of monographs that present concepts and practices reflecting an analysis of programs to prepare general and special education personnel. This monograph presents a conceptual model of the seven major phases and tasks involved in planning, implementing, and evaluating personnel preparation programs in the field of education, including a) the formulation of the program rationale, b) curricular planning, c) evaluational planning, d) administrative planning, e) instructional planning, f) program implementation, and g) program evaluation. Also presented are some views on how prototype programs might be developed, disseminated, installed, and maintained. Six appendixes include information concerning recruiting and maintaining education professionals, implications for the preparation of teachers, and criteria for admission to preparation programs and accredited professional standing. Bibliographic references follow each chapter and tables are presented throughout the document. (PD)

This document is a two-part monograph included in a series that presents concepts and practices reflecting an analysis of programs to prepare general and special education personnel. The first section of this monograph, entitled "The Development and Diffusion of 'Mainstreaming' Approaches," discusses procedures for developing, disseminating, installing, and maintaining prototype mainstreaming approaches. An examination of these procedures includes a discussion of a) four developmental steps, b) factors which must be dealt with in planning strategies for institutional change, c) a proposal for facilitating national diffusion, and d) an example of a local diffusion strategy using master or specialist teachers as change agents. The second section of this monograph is entitled "The Preparation of Change Agents Who Can Diffuse 'Mainstreaming' Approaches." Its purpose is to describe the pilot program implemented to prepare change agents and to discuss the implications derived from these findings that have relevance for future preparation of such personnel. Topics discussed are the selection of participants, program rationale, instructional content and process, and program evaluation. (PD)

This report describes a curriculum development project aimed at improving the teaching of neurology to undergraduate medical students; and providing more effective instruction in neurology for the practicing physician. The project involved: (1) development of a balanced presentation of neurological teaching from undergraduate medical education through postgraduate years; (2) introduction and further expansion of the use of a professional medical model in neurological teaching, including the further development and use of the evaluative technique known as the "programmed patient"; (3) production and use of short self instructional films demonstrating neurological skills; and (4) introduction of regular faculty workshops in neurological teaching. The report also deals with the problems of motivation, informational resources, core curriculum, educational goals and evaluative techniques. It describes experimental approaches used in neurological teaching in the areas of goals, evaluation techniques related to clinical goals, and teaching methods developed to solve some of the problems met in local neurological educational programs. Ten appendices, including some related articles, are attached. (AF)

An interactional view of the factors of school success or failure is presented which encompasses the student's strengths, weaknesses, and limitations on the one hand and specific classroom situational factors on the other. The child's success in the classroom is seen as dependent upon the congruity of his characteristics and the characteristics of the classroom in which he is required to perform. Therefore, the ability of the teacher to personalize instruction may be the most important single factor in preventing or mitigating learning difficulties for a number of students. It is suggested that children who have been labeled as learning disabled may be placed in either of three groups: children with major disorders which interfere with learning, children who are adversely affected by the particular classroom situation, and children with minor disorders who have sufficient compensatory powers to cope with their problems under appropriate circumstances. A set of sequential and hierarchical teaching strategies is outlined involving a two-step process by which teachers can identify and attempt to meet the remedial needs of children in each of these groups. Finally, the roles played by specialized teaching techniques and materials in correcting such learning problems are analyzed. (Author/DH)

This monograph discusses preparation of teachers for the educationally handicapped. It is intended to be a useful primer (containing basic definitions, conceptualizations, bibliographic references, and examples) for a newcomer to the field while also including specific formulations (positions on issues and suggestions for resolving problems) of interest or value to the professional. Organization is in three parts: teacher education in general, the educationally handicapped child, and teacher for the educationally handicapped. Chapter 1 explores issues related to planning, implementing, and evaluating teacher education programs. Chapter 2 focuses on problems related to luring, selecting, and keeping high quality personnel. Chapter 3 hypothesizes that the educationally handicapped consist of three subgroups: at one end of the continuum those who actually have major disorders interfering with learning and at the other end those whose problem stems primarily from the deficiencies of the learning environment. Chapter 4 suggests a set of sequential and hierarchical teaching strategies involving a two-step process by which teachers can identify and attempt to meet the remedial needs of youngsters in each subgroup. Chapter 5 takes the position that there is a need for the educationally handicapped specialist and suggests the appropriate range of his duties. Chapter 6 offers opinions regarding the recruitment, preparation, and certification of teachers for the educationally handicapped. (JS)

Efforts toward predicting reading failure have been principally directed at assessing the child's strengths and weaknesses with reference to a limited number of reading correlates under conditions dissimilar to those in which he will be later expected to perform. Because this type of readiness model does not take into consideration a number of important variables, an approach is suggested which will provide a closer approximation between the predictor and criterion. This would entail (1) evaluation of the kindergarten child's reading-related skills and behaviors, as well as interfering behaviors; (2) evaluation of each first-grade classroom program to determine the skills and behaviors the child must have in order to cope with the reading task; and (3) an analysis of the discrepancy between the child's skills and behaviors and those required for successful performance. Rating scale instruments are being developed for evaluation of the kindergarten child by the teacher. The first-grade teacher and classroom situation will also be evaluated by an observer who will use a separate but parallel rating scale. As less restrictive models are used to predict reading failure, it is likely that more comprehensive remedial and preventive measures will evolve. A bibliography is included. (DH)

Intended as a primer for those unfamiliar with teacher education, this monograph discusses general issues and problems related to the recruitment, education, and retention of high-quality educational personnel; the instructional needs of disadvantaged pupils; and basic issues and problems which have arisen specifically with reference to the recruitment, education, and retention of teachers for the disadvantaged. Each section includes a review of related research, relevant examples of current activity and thought, and bibliographic references. An appendix contains four short papers by the author: 1) "Notes on Personalized Classroom Instruction"; 2) "Prediction of School Failure Among the Disadvantaged"; 3) "Notes on the Systematic Evaluation of Teacher Education Programs"; and 4)"The Effective Teacher and Specialist as an In-service Educator: A Model. (RT)