In the Middle
In the Middle

Author: Martha Naomi Alt

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Prompted by widely held concerns about middle schools' academic rigor and the effectiveness of activities designed to help early adolescents develop in non-academic realms, many middle school educators have renewed efforts to develop curricula and instructional strategies that challenge students academically and expand their intellectual interests, to ensure that teachers receive appropriate training to meet student needs, and to create more nurturing and supportive environments. This report uses data from the Schools and Staffing Survey and the accompanying Teacher Follow-Up Survey to describe various aspects of middle schools, examine how they have changed over time, and compare middle schools with elementary and secondary schools. Following an introduction exploring policy issues related to middle schools, the report examines data in the areas of: (1) organization of schooling, including locations, size and other characteristics, and classroom organization and class size; (2) programs and services, including health-related services; (3) decision making and management, including site-based decision making and principals' and teachers' perceptions of their influence; (4) staffing, including qualifications, teacher workload, and staff turnover; and (5) school climate, including teacher satisfaction, and teachers' and administrators' ratings of problems at their schools. The concluding section of the report explores areas for future research. Tables and notes are appended. (Contains 66 references.) (HTH)

Identification of Learning Disabilities
Identification of Learning Disabilities

Author: Renee Bradley

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2002-12-18

Total Pages: 879

ISBN-13: 1135627649

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Identification of Learning Disabilities: Research to Practice is the remarkable product of a learning disabilities summit conference convened by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in August 2001 and the activities following that summit. Both the conference and this book were seen as important preludes to congressional reauthorization of the historic Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) scheduled for 2002 and subsequent decision making surrounding implementation. The OSEP conference brought together people with different perspectives on LD (parents, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers) and resulted in this book, which examines the research on nine key issues concerning the identification of children with learning disabilities. Coverage includes alternative responses to treatment, classification approaches, processing deficit models, and approaches to decision making. Chapter Structure-- Each of the first nine chapters is organized around a lengthy, issue-oriented paper, which presents the most current research on that topic. These primary papers are then followed by four respondent papers that reflect a variety of viewpoints on the topic. Summarizing Chapter -- A small group of researchers (listed in the final chapter) dedicated an enormous amount of time to summarizing the research and developing key consensus statements regarding the identification of children with learning disabilities. Their work is sure to have a tremendous impact on future discussions in this area. Expertise-- The following well-known scholars have helped summarize the vast amount of research presented in this book as well as the consensus statements derived therefrom: Lynne Cook, Don Deshler, Doug Fuchs, Jack M. Fletcher, Frank Gresham, Dan Hallahan, Joseph Jenkins, Kenneth Kavale, Barbara Keogh, Margo Mastopieri, Cecil Mercer, Dan Reschley, Rune Simeonsson, Joe Torgesen, Sharon Vaughn, and Barbara Wise.