Melvyn I. Semmel

Attitudes of Principals and Special Education Teachers Toward the Inclusion of Students with Mild Disabilities Critical Differences of Opinion

Attitudes of 49 principals and 64 special education teachers regarding the inclusion of students with mild disabilities were investigated. Results of a discriminant analysis indicated that principals and special educators were separated into groups with 76% accuracy according to their responses to items drawn from the Regular Education Initiative Teacher Survey (Semmel, Abernathy, Butera, & Lesar, 1991). items measuring attitudes toward the efficacy of included placements with consultative services, the academic outcomes associated with included placements, and the protection of resources devoted to students with mild disabilities correlated most highly with the discriminant function. Findings are discussed in relation to their implications for the implementation of inclusion reforms and the educational opportunities of students with mild disabilities.

ARE INCLUSIVE PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS WITH MILD DISABILITIES EFFECTIVE? A COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF MODEL PROGRAMS:

This review compared eight different inclusive models for elementary students with mild disabilities, primarily with learning disabilities. Model programs were described according to curricular innovations and the way school personnel and classrooms were organized. Quantified academic outcomes were also discussed. Methodological concerns prevented conclusions about the superiority of inclusive programming over pull-out programs. There were indications that inclusive programming can be effective for some, although not all, students with mild disabilities. More conclusive evidence suggests that the impact of organization and instructional changes on the achievement of nondisabled students was positive. Common elements in models reviewed included a redesigning of general education classrooms so that they more closely resembled special education: low student-to-staff ratio, intensive and prescribed basic skills instruction, performance monitoring, and the opportunity for intensive, one-to-one instruction. Results are discussed in light of implications of the inclusion movement and the future of special education.

Peer Acceptance of Included Students with Disabilities as a Function of Severity of Disability and Classroom Composition

This preliminary study examined the effects of severity of disability and classroom composition on the peer acceptance of included students with disabilities. Two hundred eighty-five students, 44 of whom had disabilities, from 14 elementary classrooms in southern California constituted the sample. Twenty-nine students were rated by teachers as having no immediately noticeable, or mild, disabilities; 15 received ratings indicating immediately obvious, or severe, disabilities. Peer acceptance was measured by nominations from classmates regarding with whom they would most like to play and work, as well as with whom they actually played on a regular basis. Students were separated into heterogeneous and nonheterogeneous classroom composition groups based on proportion of classmates who were included students with disabilities, minority students, and students whose reading performance was at least 1 year below grade level. Predicted severity of disability-by-classroom composition interaction effects on peer acceptance were indicated by the results of multivariate analysis of variance (MANCOVA) and analysis of variance (ANCOVA) equations after controlling for effects of grade level. Results are discussed regarding implications for practice and theory.

Microcomputer Use within Micro-Educational Environments:

An observational study of micro-educational environments (MEEs) and microcomputer use within these environments was conducted across a broad-based, representative sample of special day class, resource room, and mainstream classrooms in Southern California. Mildly handicapped students in special education settings were found to have less variety to their instructional experiences than did either handicapped or nonhandicapped students in the mainstream. That is, students in special education classes evidenced a more dominant pattern of individual, in-classroom, remedial work than did either handicapped or nonhandicapped students in the mainstream. Across all settings, students were highly engaged with the computer, although teachers spent little direct contact time with students during these periods. Microcomputer instruction emerges as a highly motivating vehicle for imparting information, but the effectiveness of these experiences remains to be assessed.

Twenty-Five Years After Dunn's Article A Legacy of Policy Analysis Research in Special Education

Twenty-five years after Dunn (1968) questioned the efficacy of special classes, some are questioning Special Education itself. Dunns polemical reaction to civil rights concerns was already permeating school reform in the 1960s. His legacy was an ideological cleavage between special education and advocates for minorities. General education created segregationist tendencies for economic reasons. Hence, contemporary rhetoric about “full inclusion” may fail. Couching special education in constitutional terms resulted in gradual substitution of procedural compliance for instructional innovation. Dunn ignored the importance of school context. The present authors focus on Tolerance Theory and analysis of the effects of school environments.

The Social Context of Dunn Then and Now

The impact of Dunns article was enhanced by the prevailing sentiment of the 1960s in favor of the environmental position and the press for civil rights. The adoption of resource specialist services in place of special day classes that was noted in the 1970s had profound curricular implications, which are examined. The dramatic changes in the number of EMR students and the behavioral characteristics of those currently identified render many of Dunns assertions invalid for the current situation. The current role of advocacy in policy formulation is discussed as an unfortunate legacy of Dunns influential paper.

A critical evaluation of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities.

With the advent of interest and concern for the educationally deprived child, there has corne a tremendous need for instruments to assess educational growth in young children. More specifically there has been an increasing concern for the development of language facility in these children. One answer to these needs has been the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA). This test carries the label Experimental Edition but the increasing demand for the data which this test can provide has caused its use in clinical and experimental settings without sufficient regard for the experimental nature of the test. The present report grew out of an attempt to clarify the status of the ITPA, because the authors had embarked on a study using the test. The standardization group and procedures are examined and information about validity and reliability is presented. Implications of this information for the use of the ITPA are discussed. It is hoped that the publication of this paper will enhance the work of others who use the instrument.

Connotative Reactions of College Students to Disability Labels

A total of 457 college freshmen and seniors in elementary education and special education were administered an instrument designed to evoke connotative reactions to disability labels in different described social psychological contexts. Differences in results are discussed in relationship to college major field, college level (class), disability labels, described social psychological situations, degree of contact with the handicapped, sex of students, and grade point average.

Case Studies of Six Schools Varying in Effectiveness for Students with Learning Disabilities

Historically, special education research has focused on placement and service-delivery options rather than on the broader school environment. In this study, we examined special education as an effort by schools to organize education for students with mild disabilities. To investigate which variations in how schools organize instruction account for their relative effectiveness, we selected 6 schools representing a range of effectiveness based on measures of academic performance, self-esteem, and school adjustment of students with mild disabilities. We then established overall school environment ratings based on data from observations and student and teacher interviews. The findings indicated that no single feature, structure, or organization of school environment consistently indicated a schools relative standing or its relative effectiveness based on student performance. This article describes how the case study schools were organized to educate students with mild disabilities, what kind of educational environment this created for students, and how organizational features appeared to relate to outcomes. Implications for educational policy and future research are discussed.

If at First You Don't Succeed, Bye, Bye Again: A Response to General Educators' Views on the REI:

Editors Comment: In the last issue of RASE (11:3, March/April 1990), we explored the Regular Education Initiative from the perspectives of several prominent general educators. These perspectives were written by Russell Gersten and John Woodward, Lvnne Miller, Dolores Ditrkin, Allan Glatthorn, Beverly Showers, Robert Slewin, and Susan Loncks-Horsley and Deborah Roody. These were followed by two commentaries-by Edward Kameenui and Anne McGill-Franzen and Richard Allington. Following are three more commentaries on those papers, by Melvyn Semmel and Michael Gerber, Robert Slaiin, and Allan Glattborn.-LI