In this thesis I set out to study the process through which special education teachers characterise and educate a group of pupils who are categorised as mentally handicapped. Teachers' perceptions of their pupils are reflected in their educational practice and constitute an important element in the complex and lengthy procedure during which a child is defined as mentally handicapped. The research examines these issues in practice by way of a case study of teachers in the Greater Athens Region of Greece. During the school years the label of mental handicap may be confirmed and maintained in a child's identity as he/she moves into adulthood. Schooling may also work in a positive way and provide for a child's eventual integration in the mainstream education and the community. It is this positive aspect of schooling which has become an inseparable part of the underlying principles in special education today. The Greek Education Act of 1985 concerns individuals with special educational needs and refers to the category of mentally handicapped, among other groups, as those with a right to education. As stated in the Act the scope of education is to provide for the balanced and effective development of the individuals concerned as well as for their mutual acceptance and integration in the community as a whole. The above principles laid down by the policy makers are loosely framed in the context of the Act and are open to interpretation by those who are involved in the practice of special education. Reference in the Act to "the balanced and effective development of the individuals and possibilities for their integration" may be defined in a variety of ways by the professionals involved in the system of special education. Among the latter the role of the teachers is a central one. Teachers are Expected to educate pupils who are already categorised as mentally handicapped and help them develop their potential and integrate as best as possible in the community. Depending on their personal experience, gained in the community, their training and their involvement in the system of special education, teachers may take different approaches in defining what mental handicap is and how education of the mentally handicapped pupils should and/or could be carried out. On the one hand teachers develop a professional ideology, that is, their conception of how their task should be carried out. On the other hand, faced with practical aspects of implementing such ideologies, teachers reach decisions as how to handle different cases in given situations. Thus, I am using the concept of teachers' perceptions of mental handicap to refer to the practical aspects of teaching the mentally handicapped as well as the teachers' own ideologies. The empirical research began with an exploratory study. This involved a sample of 10 teachers in 5 special schools in the study area. The results of the exploratory phase were then used for the design of the main research which concerned the study of 13 special schools with a sample of 40 teachers. In both exploratory and main research I have followed a research methodology based on the ethnographic approach in educational studies. This involved a flexible design to start the research and the use of observation and informal interview techniques in data collection. The results have been analysed mainly qualitatively. They show the range of criteria teachers in the sample are applying to identify their mentally handicapped pupils, criteria such as physical features or social and psychological characteristics of the pupils. They are not, however, applied in a universal manner by all the teachers. Variation in the criteria is analysed and conclusions are drawn that may be of use to further study in this area. As far as education of the mentally handicapped is concerned the results of my research point out the existence of a complex network of interactions within which teachers have to carry out their task. It involves elements both within and outside the schools where they teach, i. e., the attitude of the community as a whole and the general atmosphere at work. Teachers' approaches towards their mentally handicapped pupils may be formed through a process of interaction in different setups. In this research I am attempting to discover the outcomes of such interactions by studying teachers' practice of special education in the actual setting of the schools. I have sought to demonstrate that the outcome of teachers' interaction in each specific situation adds to a cluster of perceptions within which mental handicap is defined and dealt with. In some cases teachers may help maintain this already existing cluster, in other cases they may modify its form.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie studie is die opvoedingspraktyke van verskillende samelewings met betrekking tot verstandelik erg gestremde kinders histories-analities ondersoek. Die tendense wat telkens onderliggend aan veranderinge was, is geidentifiseer en aan die hand van pedagogiese kriteria geevalueer. In die antieke Griekse en Romeinse beskawings is 'n praktyk van uitwissing gevplg. Die Christelike godsdiens bet 'n meer verdraagsame houding meegebring, maar in die Middeleeue bet onkunde en bygeloof nog steeds hoogty gevier. Eers vanaf die agtiende en negentiende eeu bet groter kennis en 'n nuwe kindbeeld tot 'n meer rasionele benadering tot die verskynsel van verstandelike gestremdheid gelei. Pioniers, veral medici, bet na vore getree en die weg gebaan vir 'n beter bedeling vir hierdie kinders. Dit was egter eers in die tweede helfte van die twintigste eeu dat onderwys aan verstandelik erg gestremdes 'n werklikheid geword bet. Die beginsel van normalisasie is toenemend op dienste wat aan hierdie kinders verskaf is, toegepas en het tot gevolg gehad dat wetgewing met betrekking tot die onderwys aan verstandelik erg gestremde kinders tans in die toonaangewende lande en in SuidAfrika op 'n handves vir menseregte geskoei is. Hierdie bevindings bet segwaarde vir die huidige situasie ten opsigte van die beplanning van onderwysvoorsieninge vir verstandelik erg gestremde kinders in die Republiek van Suid- Afrika. / In this study the education practices with regard to severely mentally handicapped children of various societies have been investigated from a historic-analytical perspective. The trends related to a certain anthropologic view and a specific child image, which have been the cause of certain changes have also been identified and were evaluated according to pedagogic criteria. In the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations a trend of infanticide influenced the education of severely mentally handicapped children. The Christian religion brought a more tolerant attitude, but during the Middle Ages superstition and ignorance were still at the order of the day. It was only from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that more knowledge and a new child image brought about a more rational approach to this problem. Pioneers, mostly medical surgeons, came to the fore and paved the way for a better dispensation for these children. In the latter part of the twentieth century education for the severely mentally handicapped had for the first time become a reality. The normalization principle was increasingly applied to all services rendered to these children and this resulted in legislation regarding the education of severely mentally handicapped children in all leading countries and in South Africa being based on a declaration of human rights. These findings have an important meaning for the present situation with reference to the planning of education services for severely mentally handicapped children in South-Africa. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Historiese Opvoedkunde)

In special schools for severely mentally handicapped Indian children the class teacher has to assess each pupil's level of language functioning before he can devise an effective language intervention programme to suit the pupil's individual needs. Generally, class teachers are not sufficiently trained to administer such language assessments themselves. The aim of this study was to formulate scientifically sound guidelines according to which class teachers can administer their language assessments. In order to formulate such guidelines, an investigation was undertaken on the phenomenon of mental handicap and the characteristics of severely mentally handicapped pupils. Attention was focussed on language and normal language acquisition before the language of the severely mentally handicapped was examined in detail. On the basis of these findings, guidelines were suggested to the class teacher for the assessment of language in the education of severely mentally handicapped Indian pupils in the Durban area. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Orthopedagogics)

Thesis (MEdPsych)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the literature on research about children with disabilities, special education and inclusion, the voices of the children with disabilities are seldom heard. Historically research about disability and children has been framed within the medical or charity models of disability with prolific accounts of characteristics and treatment of disability, where professionals and caregivers respond on their behalf. In this case study the views are elicited of two ten-year old learners who are at a school for learners with special educational needs. They are invited to represent their experiences of both mainstream and special schooling, friendship, family and disability. The case study is a participatory research project, located within an interpretivist paradigm, influenced by the social model of disability and a feminist perspective. It makes use of a purposive sampling technique, interviews, observations and school documents and records. The interviews are mainly used to reflect the views of the learners on the life areas of schooling, friendship, family and disability. The learners are regarded as the insiders and seen as fit to represent their own meanings, and thereby make a contribution to the field of intellectual disability and childhood. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die literatuur wat handelaar gestremde kinders, spesiale onderwys en inklusiwiteit, word die stemme van die gestremde kinders self nie dikwels gehoor nie. In die verlede is navorsing oor gestremdheid en kinders binne die raamwerk van mediese of welsynsmadelle van gestremdheid geplaas, wat aanleiding gegee het tot baie verslae oor die eienskappe en behandeling van gestremdhede, met professionele persone en versorgers wat namens die kinders praat. In hierdie gevallestudie word die menings van twee tienjarige leerders gevra. Hulle woon 'n skool vir leerders met spesiale leerbehoeftes by. Hulle is uitgenooi om hulle ervarings van beide hoofstroom- en spesiale onderwys, vriendskap, familielewe en gestremdheid weer te gee. Die gevallestudie is 'n deelnemende navorsingsprojek wat binne die interpretiewe paradigma hanteer is en wat deur die sosiale model van gestremdheid en 'n feministiese perspektief beïnvloed is. Dit maak gebruik van 'n doelbewuste selekteringstegniek, onderhoude, waarnemings en skooldokumente en -rekords. Die onderhoude word hoofsaaklik gebruik om die leerders se idees oor skool, vriendskap, familie en gestremdheid te weerspieël. Die leerders word gesien as die kundiges wat bevoeg is om hulle eie menings weer te gee, om sodoende 'n bydrae te kan maak tot die veld van intellektuele gestremdheid en kindwees.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The primary purpose was to determine the relative effects of drive level, degree of mental retardation, and nature of reinforcer on effectiveness of operant conditioning of mentally retarded children. Embodied in the general purpose were the following sub-purposes: 1. To determine if mentally retarded subjects of differing induced drive levels (defined as satiated, nondeprived, and deprived) learn a simple discrimination problem at different rates. 2. To determine if the nature of the reinforcer (social versus material) produces different effects on performance of the task. 3. To determine the extent to which retardates of differing levels of intelligence learn the task. 4. To determine the degree of interaction among the three main treatment variables (drive level, degree of retardation, and nature of reinforcer) simultaneously.

The problem of this study was to determine if involvement in lecture-discussion classes of group centered counseling would significantly alter anxiety level, aspects of self-concept, or knowledge of mental retardation in parents of moderately mentally retarded children.