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The article discusses the challenges faced by the Council for Exceptional Children, a professional association for people involved in the education of exceptional children in the United States. The council's past presidents include Elizabeth E. Farrell, Alice B. Metzner, Charles M. Elliott, Edith L. Groves, and John Louis Horn. The council had succeeded in affiliating with the National Education Association in 1924, and then with the World Federation of Education Associations in 1928. The council's first publication was the "News Letter on the International Council for the Education of Exceptional Children" with Eleanor Gray as its first editor until its demise on October 1932. The council failed to develop the convention during the 1920s and early 1930s into the growing and increasingly attractive educational event that it should have been.

The article employs the direct observation system developed by the University of Minnesota in connection with a special project funded by the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped, to objectively evaluate the presence of any behavioral difference in a classroom. The system requires the recording of the frequency of four key target behaviors exhibited by the referred student and by a normative peer sample. Findings showed that multiple observations are needed in order to prevent erroneous conclusions.

The article reports on research to determine the impact of teacher-administered praise notes on the academic performance of three special education elementary students. Findings indicated that consistent written praises by students can result into a significant and lasting improvement in academic performance. The data also support the utilization of parents as participants in schemes designed to enhance the academic performance of children.

The article reflects on preparations required for teaching exceptional child. It discusses several trends in special education such as improving exposure, retraining, expanding the knowledge base, listening to spokesmen, and the competency based teacher education. It reports that to improve instruction of exceptional children, greater accuracy and systematization is needed and that colleges and universities need to shed their isolation for a partnership with teachers, consumers, and community agencies of education.

Presents a study on the collaborative roles of special and general education teachers of handicapped children. Examination of resource teacher perceptions of constraints on performance of collaborative roles; Differences between teacher perceptions of actual and ideal performance of collaborative roles; Identification of constraints on resource teachers' collaborative role performance.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether examiners' personal familiarity and professional experience with examinees affects handicapped children's test performance. Subjects were 22 handicapped preschoolers. Examiners were either experienced (N = 11) or inexperienced (N =11) with this group of children and with testing. Subjects were assigned randomly to one of the two examiner groups. Within examiner groups, children again were assigned randomly to two examiners, one to serve as a personally familiar tester and the other to function as a personally unfamiliar tester. Each examiner tested children in both personally familiar and unfamiliar conditions in a repeated measures crossover design. Results indicated that subjects performed more strongly when tested by personally familiar examiners regardless of testers' experience. Additional analyses suggested that (a) there was no difference between experienced and inexperienced testers' cognitive complexity or attitude toward the handicapped; and (b) both examiner groups described the handicapped relatively simplistically and negatively. This may partially explain the finding that professional experience was a poor proxy for personal familiarity. Implications for current testing practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the existing parallels between the teachers of deaf and teachers of children with English as an additional language in terms of perspectives on their education, their experiences of discrimination, their communication environment and the significance for them of integration at school. Use of sign language among deaf people.

Summary The purpose of this research was to assess the effectiveness of the revised Utah State University Self-Concept Protocol Program in changing teacher behaviors presumed to be related to pupil self-concept. This program was focused on teachers with handicapped pupils in mainstreamed classrooms (grades 4 through 6). Ten volunteer teachers were trained in the self-concept behaviors as part of an inservice course. Eight additional volunteer teachers served as a no-treatment control group. Program-related teacher behaviors were observed and a pupil self-concept measure was administered before and after the inservice course. Results indicated that, although no changes occurred in program-related behaviors for the control group teachers, experimental group teachers showed significant increases on six of the 12 program-related behaviors. No gains in self-concept were made by handicapped children; however, there was some evidence for differential effectiveness of the program for learning disabled and emotionally handicapped children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines teacher perspectives of the needs of students with disabilities susceptible to the risks associated with a wide range of contemporary issues in a society. List of contemporary issues; Teacher comments in support of addressing contemporary issues; Teacher comments regarding obstacles in addressing contemporary issues.

Studies teachers' perspectives on selecting literacy media for children with visual impairments. Factors to consider in selecting literacy media for visually impaired children; Information about the teachers who participated in the study; Differences between the teaching styles of public and residential teachers.

Provides a review of the existent research regarding the mainstreaming of disabled students into regular education classrooms in what is termed the Regular Education Initiative (REI). Focus on the REI teacher, attitudes, skills and abilities; Suggested remedies.

The present emphasis on mainstreaming has exposed regular classroom teachers' opposition to working with the handicapped. Although much of their concern is attributed to lack of experience in the area of special education, teachers' attitudes toward the handicapped have been shown to contribute to their resistance. Research on improving attitudes has concluded that information about mainstreaming and experience with the handicapped can make teachers less anxious in working with these students. Inservice programs generally have been identified as a mechanism for providing required training. This article, in addition to a review of research on attitudes toward the handicapped, provides strategies designed to help teachers become receptive to mainstreaming and to work effectively with handicapped students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers suggestions for the art education and lists several resources for preparation of teachers for handicapped children, regarding the implementation of Public Law 94-142. It discusses the characteristics of handicapped children and suggests several approaches for teaching art activities for children who are mentally retarded, neurologically impaired, emotionally disturbed, visually impaired, perpetually handicapped, and auditorially handicapped. It reports on the adaptive methodology for teaching handicapped children and describes scissor manipulation, pasting, clay and general methods for use by handicapped children. It concludes that in the mainstreamed art classroom, all children are treated in a similar manner regardless of their own interests, abilities and needs.

The article investigates the initial expectations of regular classroom elementary teachers for mainstreamed handicapped children. Subjects were randomly assigned to treatment conditions and told that the experimenter was interested in evaluating their initial expectations for a child being considered for placement in their class. Data showed that a child's attractiveness and school–related traits significantly influenced initial expectations of regular classroom teachers.

The article provides a brief report on the convergent and discriminant validity of project PRIMES's Guess Who?, an instrument that obtains peer ratings of children on a series of descriptive statements, in Texas. Two forms of the instrument were administered to teachers and mildly handicapped students. Three factors for both sets of data were determined through factor analysis of the student and teacher ratings. Factor scores for the student and teacher forms were intercorrelated in a mutitrait-multimethod matrix.

The applicability of the theory of reasoned action in predicting special educators' structuring of student integration opportunities from measures of behavioral intention, attitude, and subjective norm was tested. Teachers' intention to structure integration opportunities was predicted from measures of attitude and subjective norm; actual reported structuring of opportunities was weakly predicted by intention and the antecedent of attitude. Teacher beliefs about influential others also differentiated high and low performance. One variable external to the theory was also found to predict behavior performance. Recommendations for teacher change efforts and modification of the theory were made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relative effectiveness of part versus whole teaching strategies for students with moderate and severe handicaps was investigated Students were taught two functional tasks using the two methods, with outcome assessed by measures of acquisition, initiation, problem solving, and inappropriate behavior Although trends in the data suggest the superiority of the pan method for acquisition by students with the more severe handicaps, these effects were not significant. The whole method had a significant carryover effect on task preparation and termination. A significant effect of method wets found for excess behavior: students taught by the pan method exhibited less excess behavior than did students taught by the whole method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the preparation of science educators to deal with the needs of handicapped learners in the U.S. The objective of this article is to provide educators involved with preservice and inservice training programs a description of some resources available for sensitizing science teachers to the special needs of children with disabilities. Science teacher trainers are encourage to join special education training programs to help develop new courses and objectives for teaching handicapped students.

This conceptual paper illustrated how applied semiotics can uncover hidden assumptions of school practices for students with disabilities. These school practices or 'microtechniques' (Foucault, 1980) represent language as a multiple sign system that serves to empower or disempower students in inclusive settings. An awareness of language as a multiple sign system allows teachers to view intervention strategies as dynamic processes rather than static structures to be learned and remembered. Thus, teachers learn how language connects people through symbolic means, inviting some members into the larger community while marginalising others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the psychotherapy-remediation interaction for multiply handicapped children from the perspective of a psychotherapist. It addresses both special education teachers and psychotherapists who may be involved in concurrent individual treatment. It includes following practical issues in concurrent treatment: understanding and dealing with the child's feelings or confusion about the concurrent treatments; understanding resistances to either treatment; the nature of the child's dual relationship to both psychotherapist and remedial specialist; an issues involved in the teacher-therapist interaction. For the child undergoing concurrent psychotherapy-remediation, there is often a double blow to self-esteem that must be weathered. This youngster, who is often quite intelligent, knows that he or she is having difficulty in at least two major areas of human functioning. It is essential that children in concurrent psychotherapy-remediation be given a meaningful explanation of the need for both interventions.

The article discusses the applications for classroom teaching for dyslexic adolescents. The applications include strategies, structures and evaluation of both the learning and teaching. Three major foundations for any successful strategy to teach dyslexic adolescents have been discussed. The teacher should do his/her homework to find out about each learning-disabled student in the class: the learning style, intellectual potential, strengths, weaknesses, and past educational history. These students should be passive in learning. Instructional strategy for these students should be responsive. Multi-sensory instruction can be used to teach these students. This instruction should be creative, focused, purposeful and effective. It is essential to vary expressive channels in a multi-sensory fashion. Writing as an expressive channel cannot be overlooked or undervalued. Each writing skill needs to be taught, patterned, and practiced before it is required as an independent skill. These students should learn to follow a step-by-step process that involves planning, writing, and revising.

The article discusses the multi-sensory approach to provide creative experiences for specific language disability children. Creativity is considered as the function of the ego of every human being. However, the creative abilities of specific language disability children are frequently overlooked in favor of those children who have successfully demonstrated language skills. Language-handicapped children need opportunities for creative experiences in every area to balance their structured program. It is the responsibility of the teacher to structure the daily program so that creative experiences are an integral part of these children's school lives. A teacher can enhance a child's self-esteem by being interested in him and concerned about him or her as an individual. This means providing a warm, supportive climate in the classroom by genuinely accepting the child and emphasizing every success. Provide constructive help by using errors as a positive part of the learning process. Each child should be challenged without being overloaded. He or she should feel pride in the success that comes as the result of individual effort.

The article focuses on the importance of programming for teachers of dyslexics. Carefully structured programming for the teacher is found to be the most essential element to enable dyslexic students to master confident literacy. The dyslexics are very often imaginative, creative, intuitive thinkers. Their talents are predominantly right-brained, 3-dimensional, real-world oriented and they are less able to sort out and retain information processed through the two-dimensional symbols of language. Teachers can succeed in reaching every kind of learner if they utilize multisensory techniques in teaching synthesizing phonics and in presenting all new learning; deliberately inject logic and sequence; lead students to discover prevailing concepts through Socratic questioning; and coach, foster, and encourage confidence. It is important to sequence, symbolize, and post precise steps for every major process and to guide students to habituate each step in exact order until the reflex becomes a substantial tool for daily use.

The article reports on the presentation of the Samuel T. Orton Award to psychiatrist Drake D. Duane for 1982. The award is presented by the Orton Dyslexia Society. The award recognizes service of significance to The Orton Dyslexia Society and achievement in the field at large. Drake's experience in the U.S. Army Medical Corps took him off that course. There was, however, clear evidence all along that he would become a helper. As president of the society, Drake used every opportunity to advance the Orton cause among professionals. During this time, the National Joint Committee for Learning Disabilities was reborn and during Drake's stewardship as chairman, considerable agreement was reached among these disparate forces on the difficult question of definition. There is no doubt that his leadership contributed in large measure to that achievement. This ability to reach out to others with differing viewpoints, to others in different disciplines, to teachers and parents, is a hallmark of Drake's contribution to the field.

This study compares the opinions of teacher educators, teachers, and state directors of special education with regard to curriculum topics they believe important for inclusion in teacher education programs. Teacher educators were represented by chairpersons in special education departments in colleges and universities. Teachers were represented by practicing special education classroom teachers and were randomly selected from a national pool. State directors were represented by the person holding the highest leadership post in special education within each state department of education in the various states. A rating instrument was constructed from concepts and topics found in the professional literature. The instrument covered 25 curriculum topics, with each topic rated for importance using a five point bipolar scale. Data analysis was completed by a Kruskal-Wallis Analysis of Variance of Ranks and by comparative rankings. Specific findings relative to the topics surveyed are discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on mainstreaming in education. Mainstreaming arrived on the education scene during the late 1960's. It was readily accepted by most educators when the concept of mainstreaming was proposed as an alternative to the special class. Specialists and teachers must be willing to combine efforts and work cooperatively to provide the most appropriate education for all children. An important part is played by school administrators in the integration of handicapped children.

The Rhode Island Pupil Identification Scale, which is a pupil behavior observation scale for use by classroom teachers, is discussed. The scale is a multipurpose instrument designed to improve communication among the educator and his colleagues in the other child centered professions. The standardization sample comprised 851 pupils in kindergarten through second grade drawn from 7 schools in 3 school districts in Rhode Island. Retest reliabilities and several validity studies are reported, and the findings of the studies attest to the concurrent and predictive validities of the scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a procedure for achieving an intensive summer workshop for preparing elementary teachers to instruct mildly handicapped children in regular classrooms. The major workshop objectives were to develop elementary teachers with diagnostic, remedial, and behavior management skills that would increase their ability to successfully instruct mildly handicapped children in regular classrooms. First, is the selection of elementary teachers and students who will be included in the workshop. The students were then grouped wherein each group one teacher is assigned. Every morning, students and teachers participate in activities that are designed to enhance group participation skills and understanding of human behavior. There are also several sessions for the students and teacher including the problem solving, formal instruction, feedback and planning, and parent meetings.

This study investigated the attitudes, characteristics, and personalities of 70 teachers of the trainable mentally retarded. The use of multiple regression analysis allowed the investigation to evaluate the unique contribution of 42 teacher variables to the criterion variable, teacher effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the possibility of incorporating individualism and behaviorism in the education of handicapped children. The authors have discovered that using etiological labels to establish homogeneity is less efficient than is expected. The main objective of the authors in the study is to develop and deliver individualized instruction for handicapped children. It is common in programs for teachers of behaviorally disturbed children to include coursework or experiences designed to heighten teachers' understanding of their own emotional behavior. Through such techniques as studying group interaction and trying to understand the relationships between speech behavior in group discussion and underlying feelings, the authors attempt to develop a concept which helps individuals understand disturbed children.

Socialization to the role of parent of a handicapped child is usually a traumatic and conflict producing experience. There are both instrumental (technical) and expressive (emotional) aspects of this role change which need resolution. The agents of socialization, such as doctors, teachers, social workers, and handicapped adults, play an important role in the socialization process. The transition in role perception is also influenced by the socioeconomic status, age, religion, and physical characteristics of the parents and by the sex and birth order of the child. An understanding of the influence of these factors should assist the agents of socialization in helping parents and in turn be beneficial to the handicapped child in making an effective adjustment to his handicap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From one school district 40 men and 40 women teachers of educable mentally retarded students, grades 7 to 12, were randomly selected. Each teacher completed the Preferred Student Characteristic Scale which permitted the ascertainment of teacher attitude in terms of affective and cognitive goals. The purpose was to determine the effects of and interactions between teachers' years of classroom experience, different secondary levels and experience with EMR's, and sex differences on cognitive/affective attitudes of teachers. Results were treated by analysis of variance. This study supports the view that special class teachers consider personal and social adjustment aspects of the educative process of major importance when compared to subject matter acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared a group of teachers who had taught mentally retarded children in Minnesota for 2 years or less with a group who had taught for a more extended period. Those who quit with 2 or less years of experience tended to be younger men, employed in larger school systems, with minimum certification. There was no difference between the groups with regard to number of years of training, differential salary, or laboratory experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports developments on the satellite centers established by the Instructional Materials Center (IMC) Network in the U.S. The goal of IMC, which is to provide needed and equal services to all teachers of special education, can be achieved through the development of local centers that are readily accessible to the potential users. The satellite centers are extensions of the regional centers, but autonomous in nature and can operate independently. Regional centers serve as a resource for consultation, support and training.

To accomplish the purpose of identifying and quantifying characteristics which contribute to successful student teaching of mentally and physically handicapped children, five dimensions of human behavior were investigated. Three characteristic patterns of successful student teaching experiences emerged from the investigation. The successful student teachers (a) were well adjusted, emotionally stable, and able to encounter difficult special class situations; (b) possessed physical energy, vitality, and enthusiasm necessary to meet special classroom demands; (c) obtained high scores on measures of scholastic achievement and ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the establishment of the special education's movement to further improve its efforts in providing better services for exceptional children. The early program is intended to provide assistance to the deaf, the blind and the mentally retarded people. They are defined as a network of residential programs focused on the care and education of the handicapped. These programs have expanded to include the necessary services of psychologists, therapists and guidance workers. In teaching special education, it is important for teachers to be creative, courageous, imaginative and sensitive to their needs.

The article discusses several factors affecting the progress of educational programming for prospective teachers of emotionally disturbed children in the U.S. The behavioral inconsistencies that children exhibited could complicate the identification of special programs necessary in treating the problem. Teachers were often confuse with role definitions in the supervision and treatment of emotionally disturb children. In organizing teachers the training programs, educators have to consider the problems involved in the selection of teachers, length of training, field experience and leadership training. The necessity of staffing the program with educators having background in the area of emotionally disturb children education, is viewed.

The article focuses on the preparation of teachers of handicapped children in the Western states in the U.S. Planning and developing regional programs for the recruitment and preparation of teachers of handicapped children among the western states entail a very large tasks. The following steps are necessary to be taken within the boundaries of each state: (1) each state should analyze and describe the functions to be performed by the different classifications of teachers serving handicapped children; (2) training and recruitment plan should be developed in terms of long range needs; (3) an improved program for better selection and recruitment of teachers should be implemented; (4) colleges should resolved problems concerning their staff; and (5) teamwork among teachers should be developed.

The article focuses on the important role of teachers in the education of children who are crippled. A teacher must consider crippled children a vital part of five educational organizations: the family, the community, the total school program, the treatment program, and the special education program. Teachers are required to instill in crippled children family values that are mostly disregarded in homes. Knowing what kind of community the child lives would make teachers understand a child's behavior. Furthermore, letting an exceptional child integrate in the total school program can boost his confidence. In conclusion, total participation of the teacher in all activities is crucial in the education of crippled children.

The article presents ten guide questions for special education teachers who wanted to assess their own professional growth. The first questions delves on the academic achievement of the teacher. It is expected that special education teachers have undergone training courses in all areas involving special education. The second question focuses on the congresses attended by the teacher. Next is on the participation of teachers in special education organizations. For the fourth question is directed at the frequency of personal professional library use of the teachers. Further questions are centered on the association of the teacher with his or her job, committee presence, problem solving skills, and community integration.

The article presents the annual meeting of teachers of the hospitalized and homebound in Michigan on December 5 and 6, 1953. Participants were divided into elementary, secondary and hospital areas. Some problems common to each group were curriculum, socialization, credit, evaluation, use of audio-visual aids, creative work and correlation between the special program, home and regular school. It was suggested in the elementary area that parents can help with school work if they can become interested and can be taught teaching techniques. Some teachers in the secondary area promote socialization between homebound students by making it necessary for them to contact one another by telephone in connection with their school work.

The article focuses on the efforts to help hearing handicapped children. Edward B. Nitchie, a lip reading teacher who was hard of hearing, has formed the Nitchie Service League because he believed that people with a hearing handicap should join together to help those similarly handicapped. A report of the Commission on Education of Our Society has been published by the U.S. Office of Education, which addresses methods of detecting hearing defects and recommendations as to educational and medical.

The article focuses on the participation and contributions of teachers on the education of handicapped children in the U.S. These teachers have been learning to test, graph, compile, observe and record behavior of handicapped children. The teachers focus on the children's freedom for individual growth, the elimination of lockstep education and the opportunity for limited development and maturation.

The article presents various guides to the literature of children with disabilities. The guides aim to meet the need for the teachers in finding sources of practical help. Literature for handicapped children has become so voluminous that most of the teachers are overwhelmed by its magnitude and complexity.

The article presents a summary of information related to mentally retarded children in relation to their need for school systems services in the U.S. The information on the provision of school services includes age of admission, types and method of educational placement, financial aspects of education, and the provision of transportation and attendant service during transportation. The provisions are for the children to have the benefit of essential services in all urban areas.

The article presents a study on examining teachers' educational needs in classes of trainable children. The study suggests that the teachers should have the knowledge on psychology of exceptional children such as mentally retarded, neurologically impaired and emotionally disturbed, to understand the complex problems of the class. The opportunity for observation and participation in various settings that the child and adult could work and play is important in teacher education program.

The article focuses on the efforts of the National Association for Retarded Children (NARC) in recruiting teachers of children with mental disabilities. Specifically, the NARC Education Committee has offered teacher recruitment brochure which is aimed at high school and beginning college students. Another NARC education offering is the publication titled "Notes for a Speech on Teacher Recruitment," which are very practical when one wants to request a professional person to speak at parent-teacher meetings, for instance.