A Report of the Kansas Special Education System in the US : Implications on Special Education in Korea

Bae, Sung-Jik KOREA INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION 2005 The Asia-Pacific Journal of Inclusive Education Vol.2 No.-

The purpose of the article is introducing recent trends and issues in special education in the U.S. and descriptive information about special education in the state of Kansas to suggest its implications on special education in Korea. In a nationwide view, three important issues and trends are: (a) the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004, (b) increasing access to postsecondary education, and (c) fostering self-determination. In a state wide, four important issues are: (a) statistics of special education, (b) the role of the state education agency, (c) the teacher recruitment and training system, and (d) transition education in Kansas are discussed. Finally, implications and recommendations regarding special education in Korea are suggested.

Defining Co-Teaching Practices in Inclusive Education Settings in U.S.A.

Choi, Seung-Sook KOREA INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION 2005 The Asia-Pacific Journal of Inclusive Education Vol.2 No.-

The purpose of this study was to obtain information about co-teaching practice in inclusive education setting in U.S.A The history of co-teaching, types, characteristics, benefits, and barriers of co-teaching were addressed. Overall, co-teaching practices were academically and socially effective service delivery options to include students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Teachers also could relieve each other during instruction because they shared the workload and having an extra person who assisted with each other. However, teachers who engaged in co-teaching were faced with many challenges, such as lack of mutual co-planning, lack of administrative support, and lack of content knowledge by special educators. Future researchers are required to validate the effectiveness of co-teaching practice on student and teachers outcomes and develop the practical guideline to overcome these challenges. Implications for practice considering the educational system in South Korea were addressed to develop more appropriate instructional practices related to co-teaching for including students with disabilities in South Korea.

Present Situation and Problems of Inclusive Education in Japan

Shoji Higo KOREA INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION 2005 The Asia-Pacific Journal of Inclusive Education Vol.2 No.-

The purpose of this paper was to discuss the inevitability and the difficulties of introducing inclusive education in Japan by analyzing the present special education situation. Attaining the purpose, three directions were discussed. The first was analyzing present tendencies of statistics about special education and outcomes of investigation studies on realities of special or regular school settings. The second was discussing cultural factors against introducing inclusive education to Japan. And the last was reconsidering the meaning of two reports on special education reform. After these discussions, some important points were suggested. Many problems which affected present system arose and preparedness for transition from the present system to inclusive education was proceeding. And solving cultural problems was an important condition if we introduced inclusive education in Japan. In these circumstances, the government has been tried to reform special education system. Achieving this reform, we had to pay attention to cultural factors more intensively and to slough off the remedial education paradigm for reorganize education system effectively.

General Education Teachers' Perceptions on Inclusion

Son, Seung-Hyun KOREA INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION 2005 The Asia-Pacific Journal of Inclusive Education Vol.2 No.-

The inclusion of students with special needs in general education classrooms has become a major focus of current educational reform, and general education teachers perception is a critical component in the students with disabilities are served in general education setting. Qualitative research methods were used to investigate 5 teachers perceptions on teaching with students with disabilities in general education classroom setting of 3 schools. Individual interviews were conducted by the researcher. Most participants revealed positive attitudes toward inclusion. Positive attitude was related with their training experiences, school conditions, and collaboration, modification, and use of resources. Barriers and benefits were suggested from the participants. Results are discussed in terms of teacher preparation and implications for inclusive practices.

Compliance, Quality, and Appropriateness of Individualized Early Intervention Plans : Analysis and Issues

Sekhar S. Pindiprolu,Mark S. Innocenti KOREA INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION 2005 The Asia-Pacific Journal of Inclusive Education Vol.2 No.-

individualized early intervention plans (referred to as Plans) are required in the United States (U.S.) for young children with disabilities. In this study, individual early intervention plans (i.e., Individualized Family Service Plans or IFSPs and Individualized Education Programs or IEPs) from a western U.S. state were examined for their compliance, quality, and appropriateness. A total of 127 IFSPs and 244 IEPs were obtained from five early intervention programs and six local education agency preschool special education programs as part of a statewide evaluation of early intervention services. Compliance was measured by noting the presence of mandated components, as specified in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, in the Plans. Quality was measured by nothing the presence of components advocated by professionals as best practices in the literature. Further, the goals/outcomes and objectives were coded for their quality using an adapted evaluation criteria (Notari & Bricker, 1990; Notari and Shuster, 1994). Appropriateness was measured in terms of the relationship between the childs classification and goals/outcome domains listed on the Plans. Results suggest that (a) the Plans, in general, were in compliance with the mandated components, (b) there were discrepancies in the quality of various aspects of the Plans, and (c) the goal/outcomes were congruent with the childrens disability classification. Issues for improving the quality of the Plans and the need for research demonstrating the Plans are linked to child progress are discussed.

Peer Tutoring for Improving the Reading and Social Skill of English Language Learners with Learning Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms

Seo, You-Jin KOREA INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION 2005 The Asia-Pacific Journal of Inclusive Education Vol.2 No.-

With substantial agreement on the effectiveness of peer tutoring in the literature, this synthesis searches for the available research on the peer tutoring for English Language Learners (ELLs) with learning disabilities (LD) in order to clarify its effectiveness in improving the reading and social skills of those students in inclusive classrooms. In reviewing the findings regarding the benefits of peer tutoring for students with LD as well as ELLs with LD, this synthesis can yield a clear picture of the potential effectiveness of peer tutoring in the areas where ELLs with LD struggle and need intensive support in inclusive settings. Consequently, it can provide avenues for future research on valid and effective peer tutoring suitable for ELLs with LD in various academic areas.

Perceived Benefits of Work-Based Learning : Differences between High School and Postsecondary Students with Disabilities

Sheryl Burgstahler,Scott Bellman KOREA INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION 2005 The Asia-Pacific Journal of Inclusive Education Vol.2 No.-

Although students with disabilities benefit from work-based learning experience as much as, if not more than, their peers without disabilities, fewer participate in them. The authors of this article share the results of a study that explores specific benefits of work-based learning experiences perceived by high school and postsecondary students with disabilities. In a survey after participating in work-based learning experiences, participants in this study reported gains in their motivation to work toward a career, knowledge of careers, job skills, ability to work with supervisors and co-workers, and knowledge of accommodation strategies. However, high school students and their college counterparts differ in their perceptions of specific gains as a result of work-based learning; for example, high school students report more benefit in learning to work with supervisors, while postsecondary students report more benefit in learning complex job tasks. The authors share lessons learned that may be of value to professionals working in career development, disability services, cooperative education, internship programs, counseling, advising, and human resources.

Vision Screening Policies for Young Children in the United States

Kim, Ho-Yeon KOREA INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION 2005 The Asia-Pacific Journal of Inclusive Education Vol.2 No.-

Early Detection of vision problems is essential because most vision problems occurring in early childhood are treatable if identified and treated early enough. Based on recent studies, 2 to 5 percent of all children suffer from two common preventable vision problem; amblyopia and strabismus. This paper examines vision screening policies for young children in order to discuss the importance of vision screenings for young children. Along with discussion of necessity of vision screenings, the incidence of children with visual problem and the characteristics of preventable visual problems among young children will be explained. Moreover, U.S. vision screening policies for young children will be introduced. Finally, the important role of teachers in early childhood settings and future research on vision screenings will be discussed in order to reduce preventable visual problems.

The study investigating the impact of the simple technology on the sentence writing skill of college students with Learning Disabilities

Christina H. Kimm,Elisha Shapiro KOREA INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION 2005 The Asia-Pacific Journal of Inclusive Education Vol.2 No.-

More of people with disabilities are deciding to go to college to improve their employability and pursue personal development (Hock & Deshler, 1993; Levine & Nourse, 1998). Almost 200,000 students identified with LD attended public colleges in the United Sate of America in 1998 (National Center For Educational Statistics, 1999). The increasing number of students with LD presents a growing challenge for colleges. one of the most serious problems for students with LD when they get to college is difficulty in writing college level essays. This study investigated the impact of the Sentence Display Macro (SDM) on the sentence writing skill of college students with LD. The SDM is a simple computer application that breaks paragraphs into individual sentences for the editing process and puts them back into paragraph form when editing is complete. The results suggested that students who used SDM made significantly more improvement on editing skills thant the control group despite of the small size of the sample. The results of this study indicate further study with a larger sample would be valuable.

Friend Selection Determinants : How Do Middle School Students Expect to be Friends with Peers with Disabilities

Han, Kyoung-Gun,Janis Chadsey KOREA INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION 2005 The Asia-Pacific Journal of Inclusive Education Vol.2 No.-

The purpose of the present study was to investigate friendship expectations of middle school students toward peers with disabilities. Friendship facilitation strategies suggested by middle school students without disabilities were also examined. The MSF-R, a friendship expectation survey, was filled out by about 200 middle school students without disabilities. Results indicated that friendship expectation qualities were somewhat important to typical middle school students for making friends with peers who had disabilities. This results differed by grade level, and gender also played a role for specific friendship qualities. However, no difference was found between the friendship expectations of those who had friendships with peers with disabilities and those who did not.