The administration of public schools encompasses myriad generic issues having to do with curriculum content, instructional methodology, human resource and financial management, and of course, the guidance and counseling of students. Woven into this tapestry is the obligation to individualize educational programs to accommodate the needs of a wide and diverse student population. The needs of children may be categorized by economic, social, ethnic, physical and mental differences unique to each child and family. It is incumbent upon the public school to accommodate these differences with specially designed educational programs and to remediate any effects that may be detrimental to learning. Prominent and unique among such programs is special education, for which the program of learning is usually separately funded at both federal and state levels, but even more importantly, the learning regimen is individually calibrated to address the needs of each child determined to have a disability. Indeed, assuring children with disabilities their statutory rights constitutes a substantial segment of public school administration in the United States today. The various ramifications of the educational needs of children with disabilities and their attendant circumstances are so extensive that one book on the subject cannot be sufficient to address the magnitude and broad scope of the field. However, in this book we have attempted to discuss several of the salient issues that are of prominent concern to both school administrators and teachers. The book proceeds from the broad consideration of rights and costs to more specific issues regarding the categorization of children and the disproportionality of the various racial and ethnic groups of children who may be improperly designated as disabled. Within the context of such classifications the book discusses the screening strategies on which the rights of children with disabilities are so delicately balanced. To inappropriately classify a child may result in a form of subtle discrimination or denial of a statutory right to the provision of a particular type of educational instruction or accommodation. As is indicated throughout this book, the assessment methods by which a child's free appropriate education is determined have become a science of considerable importance. Incident to this necessity of precise assessment is the need for risk screening strategies and protocols to identify symptoms, behaviors and indications of learning disabilities requiring particular and specialized educational redress. Among issues of greatest importance is the determination not to exclude children with disabilities from the regular classroom and the mainstream of learning. Inclusion or mainstreaming is among the most contentious and perplexing issues confronting school administrators. What constitutes the legal requirements and the educational considerations of the least-restrictive environment comes directly into play in provision of an appropriate education. Beyond the all-important inclusion issue, other chapters of this book address problems of cultural and social mores that affect children with disabilities, symptoms of depression in parents of children with disabilities, maltreatment of children with disabilities, and symptoms of children who have suffered post-traumatic stress from catastrophic events in their own lives. Each chapter suggests measures to be taken by educators in identifying and redressing such matters. Policy implications for the enhancement of the effectiveness of special education programs are identified for the school administrator to consider.
Author(s): Kern Alexander
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 264
PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND INDIVIDUAL AUTONOMY......Page 15
THE COSTS OF RIGHTS......Page 17
RIGHTS AND THE PUBLIC TREASURY......Page 19
WHAT ARE THE COSTS?......Page 20
EXTENUATING VARIABLES IN COSTS......Page 22
EFFECTS OF RESIDUAL FUNDING......Page 24
RIGHTS COMPROMISED......Page 25
REFERENCES......Page 26
INTRODUCTION......Page 27
The Doctrine of Intent......Page 31
Exculpatory Review Standards......Page 32
Proportionality and Congruence......Page 33
Outsourcing State Action......Page 34
Collaborative State Action......Page 35
Hate Crimes......Page 37
School Desegregation......Page 38
Desegregation of Higher Education......Page 40
THE DOCTRINE OF NEGATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES......Page 41
SEEPING NEGATIVITY INTO SPECIAL EDUCATION......Page 44
CONCLUSION......Page 46
REFERENCES......Page 51
Further-Reading......Page 52
Integration......Page 55
Resegregation......Page 57
DISPROPORTIONALITY......Page 60
Tracking......Page 67
Teacher Expectations......Page 68
Unequal School Expenditures......Page 72
Poverty and Not Poverty......Page 73
Culturally Insensitive Evaluation Instruments......Page 74
European American and African American Cross-Cultural Styles in Conflict......Page 75
Over-Determination of Placement on IQ Tests......Page 77
REFORM AGENDA......Page 78
CONCLUSION......Page 83
REFERENCES......Page 84
INTRODUCTION......Page 89
TRANSITION DEFINITIONS......Page 91
STUDENT TRANSITION OUTCOMES......Page 92
BEST PRACTICES FOR SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION......Page 94
Reform Strategy 1: Transition Demonstration Site Program......Page 97
Reform Strategy 2: Multidisciplinary Training Program......Page 99
Technology-based Strategies......Page 101
Traditional Strategies......Page 102
Reform Strategy 3: Student Tracking Program......Page 103
Methods......Page 104
Procedures......Page 105
Demonstration Sites' Impact......Page 106
Training Program Results......Page 107
Student Tracking & Outcomes......Page 109
SUSTAINABILITY AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS......Page 110
REFERENCES......Page 111
5. RETHINKING THE ASSESSMENT OF MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR......Page 115
INTRODUCTION......Page 116
THE MALADAPTIVE ENVIRONMENT......Page 118
ATTACHMENT AND MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR......Page 122
THE ATTACHMENT TO CHAOS......Page 123
IMPLICATIONS FOR ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION......Page 127
REFERENCES......Page 130
INTRODUCTION......Page 133
A MACRO LEVEL PERSPECTIVE......Page 134
LESSONS FROM NEWBORN AND PRENATAL SCREENING......Page 135
THE PREMISE THAT PREVENTION IS PREFERABLE TO TREATMENT......Page 137
DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF MULTIFACTORIAL CAUSATION AND HETEROGENEITY OF CAUSATION......Page 138
Primacy of a Child's Parents as Source of Information to be Screened for Indicators of Risk......Page 140
Outcomes of Teratogen Exposure......Page 141
Systemically Imposed Disadvantage......Page 142
Inattention to Quality of Health......Page 143
Inattention to Markers for Violent Behavior......Page 144
REFERENCES......Page 145
7. INCLUSION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSROOMS......Page 149
INCLUSION LEGISLATION AND DEFINITIONS......Page 150
Integration......Page 151
Full Inclusion......Page 152
Legal Issues: Court Cases......Page 153
Inclusion as a Right......Page 154
Labeling Practices......Page 155
RATIONALE AGAINST INCLUSION......Page 156
General Education Classroom Instruction......Page 157
Social Benefits of Inclusion......Page 158
Academic Instruction......Page 160
General Education Classroom Instruction......Page 161
Outcomes for Students with Disabilities......Page 162
SUMMARY OF INCLUSION RESEARCH......Page 164
RESOURCES FOR INCLUSION......Page 165
Administrative Support......Page 166
Appropriateness of Resources for Severity of Disability......Page 167
PERSONNEL RESOURCES......Page 168
INSERVICE TRAINING......Page 169
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS......Page 170
SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS......Page 171
REFERENCES......Page 172
USEFUL REFERENCES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INCLUSION......Page 179
INTRODUCTION......Page 181
Europe......Page 183
Israel/Jordan......Page 186
Pakistan/Afghanistan/India/Turkey/Saudi Arabia......Page 188
Australia......Page 189
Africa......Page 190
Hispanic Culture......Page 191
Russia......Page 192
Korea/China/Japan/Vietnam......Page 193
Summary......Page 195
CONCLUSION......Page 196
REFERENCES......Page 197
INTRODUCTION......Page 203
PARENTAL DEPRESSION......Page 205
ELEVATED DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS VS. DEPRESSION......Page 206
META-ANALYSIS AS A TEST OF THE PATHOGENIC MODEL......Page 207
Sampling Procedure......Page 208
QUALITY OF STUDIES......Page 209
RESULTS......Page 221
DISCUSSION......Page 228
REFERENCES......Page 232
10. TEACHER-OBSERVED BEHAVIORS OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS SYMPTOMS OF STUDENTS IN GENERAL, GIFTED, AND SPECIAL EDUCATION......Page 237
Methods......Page 240
Participants......Page 241
General Education Students......Page 242
Special Education Students......Page 244
Coping Strategies Used by Teachers to Deal With the 9/11 Tragedies......Page 246
CONCLUSIONS......Page 248
REFERENCES......Page 250
INTRODUCTION......Page 253
ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS......Page 254
UNIFIED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM......Page 256
RECOGNITION OF PROFESSIONAL QUALITY......Page 258
REFERENCES......Page 260
