The impacts resulting from the integration of students with moderate-to-severe disabilities into a contemporary technology education program are described in this study. The research centered around questions that addressed impacts on students with disabilities, on regular students, on teachers, and on parents of students with disabilities. The study took place in a ninth-grade technology education class and involved two students with moderate-to-severe disabilities. One subject was a 15-year-old male student who was autistic, had a speech handicap, and was mildly retarded. The other student was a 17-year-old male who was emotionally disturbed and learning disabled. Data were collected through classroom observations, videotaped sessions, and interviews with teachers and parents. Notes taken during observations and from videotaped sessions were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Interviews were also transcribed. The transcripts were reviewed, and significant data were transferred to interview synopsis sheets for incorporation with the other findings. No major problems were found with the integration of the students with disabilities into the technology education program. The students with disabilities caused no discipline problems and were readily accepted by the regular students. However, because the students with disabilities were not actively involved in many of the activities of the class, much of their time was spent off task. The findings reveal that the technology education teacher, who was provided only minimal orientation prior to the placement of the students with disabilities in his class, used regular students as well as individual attention to direct the students with disabilities. A strong need for in-depth, ongoing communication was indicated between special education staff members and mainstream teachers. The importance of providing an orientation for regular students before students with disabilities are placed in mainstream classes was also evident from this study.

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Gender inequality greatly affects the vulnerability of women in many areas of societal development. Gender mainstreaming is used as a strategy to include a gender perspective in policy and practice to decrease vulnerability. In regular development there is a discrepancy between policy and practice, but especially so in contexts of disaster. This thesis aims to examine how gender mainstreaming strategies are implemented in disaster risk reduction. The main purpose is to create an understanding of how such processes translate into practice both in relief efforts and resilience-building projects. A case-study of the Swedish Red Cross is the foundation of this thesis, looking at how these processes flow from theory to policy to practice. Semi-structured interviews with professionals from the field serve as the main method. A content analysis of IFRC policies regulating gender action will supplement the interviews. The results illustrate a discrepancy between the gender-focused policy and a women-centric implementation, and further highlight the role of donors and ‘the Tyranny of Urgency’. These results, and consequently this thesis, contributes to recognizing the feminization of responsibility in the field of development in general, but especially in the context of disaster.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Clinical Psychology) in the Department of Psychology University of Zululand, 2002. / To provide equal access to education, it is required that children be placed in the least restrictive environment that will promote their academic and social development. Schools are therefore integrating learners with special education needs (LSEN) from segregated special education settings into mainstream schools. Educators play a crucial role in the integration process, thus knowledge of their attitudes is important. The study focuses on the attitudes of educators towards LSEN and the attitudes of educators towards the integration of LSEN into mainstream schools. A study of the literature was undertaken and guided by those insights a questionnaire was drawn up. This was distributed to educators and the information was statistically analyzed and presented. The questionnaire consisted of scales that measured attitudes. The relationship of educator attitudes to such educator variables as age, gender and experience in education was examined. The study revealed that educators hold favourable attitudes to both LSEN and the integration of LSEN into the mainstream. It was also found that male educators hold more favourable attitudes than female educators. Educator variables, age and number of years teaching experience were found to not significantly effect attitudes. Results from this study will enable programmes and policy implementation and development concerning the integration process of LSEN into the mainstream environment.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate attitudes of parents of school-aged and preschool aged children with and without handicaps, toward the issue of mainstreaming. A sample of 212 individuals responded to a parent questionnaire which was mailed to each household to be completed by both parents. This questionnaire examined attitudes and concerns of parents across 14 mainstreaming issues (Appendix 2) . Of the total sample, 123 responses were used for the final analysis. Cases were discarded because some were missing the age of their child, some we::e not qualified because of their child's age, and others had not completed the survey. Regarding overall attitudes toward mainstreaming, there was a significant interaction between handicapping condition and sex of parent. Fathers of handicapped children disagreed more with the attitude questions than mother-s of handicapped childr-en. Also, the handicapping condition of the child affected parental attitudes about problems which a handicapped child might encounter in a mainstreaming situation. Parents of nonhandicapped children disagreed more with these issues than parents of handicapped children. Fathers of handicapped and nonhandicapped children agreed more than mothers that there might be problems encounter-ed by handicapped children in a mainstreaming situation. Mothers of nonhandicapped children and fathers of handicapped children disagreed more with these statements. The interaction between sex of parents and handicapping condition of the child was found to be significant for the dependent variables of overall mainstreaming attitudes and attitudes toward problems which a handicapped child might encounter in a mainstreaming situation. Another significant independent variable was handicapping condition of the child which was found to be significant on attitudes toward problems which a handicapped child might encounter in a mainstreaming situation and attitudes toward safety issues of both handicapped and nonhandicapped children in a mainstreaming situation. In other words, parents of handicapped children were more children were more concerned about school related problems and safety issues for handicapped children in a mainstLeaming situation. Age of the child was not found significant for- any of the dependent variables. In addition, the interaction of handicapping condition and age of the child was found to be significant for the dependent var-iable which dealt with attitudes toward safety of both handicapped and dealt with attitudes toward safety issues of both handicapped and nonhandicapped children. Families with school-aged handicapped children and families of nonhandicapped preschoolers disagreed mo~e with the safety isses.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the inclusion of students worldwide. Because the language barrier would impede the gathering of the necessary research, this study was delimited to only those English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The researcher examined many aspects of the education of students with disabilities in each country and how that attributed to the extent in which students with disabilities were being educated in the regular classroom. First, the researcher analyzed the legislation regarding students with disabilities, especially those directives that called for the Inclusion of them. Second, the researcher investigated the educational models used in each country to ascertain the placements available for the disabled, making special note of those that were more inclusive. Next, the researcher gathered data that examined the categorical system used to label, group, and educate the Special Education population. Finally, the researcher compared the extent to which the students with disabilities were educated in the regular classroom in each country by looking at the total proportion included as well as the percentage included in each disability category. To make a comparison of the educational attainments of each country, the researcher utilized a study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development that incorporated the students with disabilities in their international assessments. Results revealed that the United States has a much more extensive legislation dedicated to the education of individuals with disabilities than does the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. As a result, the United States' placement models and categorical systems are just as complex. Data also confirmed that other countries are including their disabled population in a regular education classroom at a much higher rate than that of the United States. Finally, the international study found that the United States performed worse than all the other countries in the subject areas assessed: Reading, Math, and Science. Recommendations for further research included the examination of teacher education programs world wide, comparison of provincial and territorial regions in Canada and Australia, and a comparison of graduation rates for those students with disabilities in inclusive settings and those in segregated settings.

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No description available.