Colleen J. Mandell

An analysis of factors related to the attitudes of regular classroom teachers toward mainstreaming mildly handicapped children

Abstract A model of factors was developed in order to examine variables that might be associated with the attitudes of regular classroom teachers toward mainstreaming mildly handicapped children. Using multiple linear regression analyses, the following variables were found to be significant predictors of a positive attitude toward mainstreaming: team-teaching, years of teaching experience (negative correlation), course in diagnosing learning and behavior problems, availability of resource teacher, previous special education teaching experience, number of courses taken in special education, number of students in classroom (25–27), and inservice program experience related to exceptional children. An examination of these predictors suggests that they may be used to select those regular educators who are likely candidates for implementing mainstreaming programs and that school systems can inhance their mainstreaming efforts by arranging the integration settings to conform with these predictors of positive attitude.

RESOURCE ROOM SUPPORT SERVICES FOR REGULAR TEACHERS

In order to assess the delivery of support services from resource room teachers to regular elementary teachers involved in mainstreaming learning disabled students, a list of 26 services was developed from the literature. The Index of Support Services was distributed to 228 regular educators who were asked to rate the importance and frequency of occurrence of each service. The results indicated that regular teachers rated nine support services as critical for effective mainstreaming. However, only two services, remedial instruction in the resource room and informal student progress meetings, were provided with any degree of regularity. Training in consultation skills at the college level and public school administrative support are discussed as means of alleviating the discrepancy between needed and delivered resource room support services.

On-the-Job Practices of Early Childhood Special Education Providers Trained in Family-Centered Practices

This qualitative study investigated the use of family-centered practices by graduates of two early childhood special education personnel preparation programs that embedded family-centered pedagogy and involvement in all coursework. Three cohorts, involving 19 graduates employed in 19 different programs located in six states, participated in individually administered interviews to identify their perspectives about and use of family-centered practices in their work environments. All graduates were committed to and described using family-centered practices, but the large majority of graduates also identified significant barriers to using family-centered practices, including lack of support from colleagues and administrators and lack of policies related to working with families. Implications for preservice preparation, policy makers, and service programs are discussed.

Administrators' Understanding and Use of Family-Centered Practices

Employing qualitative methods, administrators’ understanding and use of family-centered practices were examined. Results indicate differences in role perceptions and service delivery based on their level of understanding. Administrators with a comprehensive understanding of family-centered practices, in comparison to administrators with limited or no understanding of such practices, were more likely to involve families in organizational governance and provide staff members and families with training opportunities designed to build collaborative partnerships. Regardless of the level of understanding of family-centered practices, administrators viewed on-the-job experiences occurring early in their careers as an influential factor in shaping their beliefs about working with families. Recommendations for practice and future research are discussed.

Innovative Family-Centered Practices in Personnel Preparation

A early childhood special education recommended practices and professional standards support the use of familycentered practices in intervention service delivery, empirical investigations have concluded that providers either do not value such practices or lack the skills necessary to build and maintain parent-professional partnerships. Given that preservice programs tend to rely on field-based experiences as the pedagogical forum for providing preservice students experiences with families (Miller & Stayton, 1996), they are less likely to develop family-centered dispositions and skill sets (Rosenkoetter & Stayton, 1997). While families increasingly are becoming more involved in preservice education, overall family participation is minimal (Knight & Wadsworth, 1998). This manuscript describes how one early childhood special education personnel preparation program developed a Family-Centered Preservice Model (FCPM) and measured its impact on program graduates. The FCPM was an outcome of two Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) personnel preparation grants, Project ENHANCE (1997–2000) and Project FOCUS (1998–2001), awarded to a Northwest Ohio State Univeristy. Both projects were de-

Interpersonal Communication Between Resource and Regular Teachers

Deborah L. Speece is Coordinator of Early Identification Programs, Children’s Resource Center, Bowling Green, Ohio. Colleen J. Mandell is Assistant Professor, Department of Special Education, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio. The current practice of integrating exceptional children into regular classrooms has had a significant impact on the traditional role responsibilities of special and regular classroom teachers. In the past, special and regular educators were viewed as serving two distinctly different populations of children. However, federal mainstreaming guidelines negate the separatist view of student placement by requiring special and regular teachers to plan and implement cooperatively an educational program for handicapped children who are taught in both classrooms.

A Social Observation Checklist for Preschoolers.

Successful mainstreaming of young handicapped children requires integration ofthese children in several different domains, including the temporal, social, and instructional components of an early childhood program (Turnbull & Blacher-Dixon, 1981). A review of the literature suggests that the process for achieving social integration is not clearly defined (Guralnick, 1981), even though deficits in the social domain are considered to be more ofa deterrent to success in the mainstream program than academic readiness problems (Gresham, 1984). This article addresses the need for a systematic planfor achieving social integration. Use of an informal assessment tool focusing on the relationship between the nature and expectations of the environment and the social skills and behaviors ofthe disabled child is suggested as one way to increase the likelihood of a successful mainstreaming experience.

Screening for Otitis Media: Issues and Procedural Recommendations:

Otitis media, a common childhood condition, has a high incidence among young children. Recent research reports link recurrent otitis media with language and learning problems, To prevent later learning problems, it is recommended that otitis media-prone children be treated with appropriate educational and medical procedures. Yet, many children afflicted with recurrent episodes of otitis media fail to be identified due to the widespread use of inappropriate and noncontinuous screening procedures. The components necessary for developing an appropriate screening program to identify young children with recurrent otitis media are identified. Suggestions for developing both periodic and ongoing screening programs are presented.

Otitis media in young children: A case for early intervention

Although recurrent otitis media, or middle ear disease, is common in young children, the importance of early intervention for otitis media prone youngsters is often overlooked. Recent research contributions from both medicine and education indicate that the fluctuating hearing loss often accompanying recurrent otitis media may have significant adverse effects on the young childs speech and language development and may be related to later learning disorders identified during the school years. The gravity of such findings strongly supports the need for all professionals working with young children to be aware of the important role they have in the screening process and in providing appropriate intervention strategies for these children. Implications addressed include the following: (a) involving an interdisciplinary team at all phases of intervention, (b) identifying comprehensive screening procedures, and (c) developing an appropriate intervention program. Comprehensive early intervention for young children with recurrent otitis media is considered to be of critical significance in the prevention of later language and/or learning disabilities.