Technical assistance may be defined as help from an outside agency designed to improve the competence of educational service delivery personnel by increasing their planning, management and organisational or programmatic skills as applied to tasks of service delivery to pupils. Such assistance may function within and between the federal, state or regional levels of governments, tertiary institutions, schools and other agencies concerned with educational service delivery. The limitations of traditional ‘ad hoc’ consultation systems are discussed and a formal model for technical asssistance delivery is proposed. It is argued that a realistic service would combine both formal and informal elements and would include problem analyses, development of inservice training curricula, the conduct of surveys and service needs, assessment, development and review of publications, design and conduct of evaluations, assistance to apply new techniques of service and other means of translating knowledge into practice.

Since the early 1970s special education courses at graduate and post-graduate levels have become standard offerings at many Australian universities. As these courses continue to be the main avenue of professional development for special educators in this country, it is pertinent to wonder how often the objectives and content of the courses are examined and revised to ensure contemporary relevance. It must be recognized that the field of special education appears to be in what Tomlinson (1982, p.24) has described as a ‘permanently dynamic state’, with frequent changes in policy, service delivery, roles and responsibilities. The roles and responsibilities of special educators have certainly changed significantly during the past decade (Watts, 1990; Dyson, 1991), and the earlier studies of essential competencies required by special education teachers (e.g. Whitmore,1982; Scott, 1983; Davis, 1983) may not provide reliable data on which to design current courses. There has been renewed interest overseas in the issue of what constitutes essential knowledge and skills for teachers working in special education (Best, 1988; Ramsey & Algozzine, 1991; Ramsey, Algozzine & Smith, 1990; Glomb & Morgan, 1991; Folio, 1990; Cannon, Idol & West, 1992; Reynolds, Wang & Walberg, 1992; Swan & Sirvis, 1992), and it is worth analysing some of this material to determine its relevance for the Australian context. The information could well prove useful as a basis for evaluating special education courses here.

It is axiomatic that people with intellectual disabilities have the same human and civil rights to education as other citizens and that they must therefore have the same opportunities to attend their local schools and educational facilities. This is a fine vision. But it is far from the reality experienced by the majority of people with intellectual disabilities across the world.

No country in the world has reason to be satisfied with the quality of the educational facilities which it provides for people with intellectual disabilities. But enough examples of good practice exist in different countries to make it possible for all of us to reappraise ways in which a higher quality of inclusive education and schooling could be provided for people with intellectual disabilities and the contribution that we can make personally and professionally to that process.

In the field of intellectual disabilities, we need to define education in very broad terms as anything which systematically promotes learning and development. Defined in this way, education is a lifelong process which neither begins nor ends with schooling. Similarly, it is carried out by many people who are not teachers. Parents are at the heart of this process from the outset. The years spent at school are clearly of vital importance but they are only one element of the educational process. There is a sense in which all work with people with intellectual disabilities is educational, whatever the setting, in so far as it helps them to learn and to develop knowledge, skills and understanding.

A survey of the prevalence and needs of exceptional students was carried out in Queensland Catholic primary (n = 195) and secondary (n = 40) schools. Within the overall population surveyed 3.13% possessed disabilities, 3.83% behavioural difficulties, 4.19% advanced learning characteristics, and 12.80% learning difficulties. The survey indicated that support services fell short of the demand, particularly for students with behavioural difficulties and those considered to be advanced learners. The data obtained was of the same order as that found in other state, national and international studies. The majority of principals and teachers interviewed held positive attitudes towards integration. However, this was qualified by a strong press for additional professional support, inservice training, and resources to enable the necessary enhancement of the educational experiences being offered. The survey identified a continuing need for communication and cooperation with state and private agencies and the desirability of developing a system which marshalls the available resources, both regular and special, into an efficient and feasible service delivery operation.

In many Western countries in the past two decades, there has been considerable general education reform, typically with increased educational accountability through national reporting. The major features of this accountability process, as it has occurred in the United States, are described, with an emphasis on what this has meant for students with a disability. Key features of the process include the provision of significant federal funding contingent on the achievement of specified outcomes; the introduction of a widespread testing regime using standards-based assessment and the reporting of these outcomes at the state, district and school level; and providing access to the regular curriculum to students with a disability unless there is a good reason not to do so. The education reform process in Australia is also described and contrasted with the US movement. A conclusion of the discussion is that the Australian states and territories have been reluctant participants in the reporting process for students with a disability, and that leadership by the Commonwealth is the only likely avenue by which improvements in reporting for these students may come about.

In the United States, a certain percentage of the students cannot meet certain requirements of the school. A portion of these students (approximately 12% of the total school population) are identified as having some handicapping condition, i.e. deaf, blind, mentally retarded, learning disabled, emotionally disturbed, or orthopedically handicapped. Many of these identified students with mild to moderate handicaps are served in resource programs. When placed in a resource program, students also receive a portion of their academic instruction in a regular education classroom. Special education resource teachers support the regular program efforts by providing specific assessment of the students academic and social/emotional abilities, some direct instruction to the student, as well as consultation with regular classroom teachers, parents, and other specialists concerned with a student’s progress.

The study analysed employer receptivity to hiring mentally retarded persons. A stratified random sample of 100 employers in the Hobart area were sent a two part questionnaire. The first part of the questionnaire was designed to replicate Mahoney’s (1976b) Melbourne study of employers’ attitudes to the mentally retarded. A comparison of the Hobart and Melbourne data indicated that in both samples the variables of age, educational level, size of organization and the number of mentally retarded persons previously employed were all related to positive employer attitudes. The second part of the questionnaire was concerned with Hobart employers’ attitudes towards a Job Try-Out program. The major finding revealed that employers’ willingness to cooperate in this type of program was strongly related to their willingness to hire successful candidates from such programs on a permanent basis. The implications of these findings were discussed.

The history of special education is conceived within the integration debate in a way which lends credibility to two broad claims. The first is that governments have been lax in providing educational facilities for children with disabilities, while the second comprises an argument for shifting definitional control of the notion of ‘disability’ from the medical to the educational arena. The recent Report to the Australian Schools Commission on Integration in Australia exemplifies this stance by pointing to the initial reluctance of governments to assume responsibility for educating children with special needs, followed by their eventual involvement in establishing segregated educational facilities. With segregated schooling becoming the norm, the problem now confronting educators is how to integrate these students and their supporting resources into the regular school system.

The Literature on the effects of segregated vs. integrated school experience for mildly intellectually handicapped children is considered in the light of four questions: (1) What is the effect upon the person of being labelled and segregated? (2) Does segregation provide a better learning experience? (3) Does segregation provide for better social and emotional adjustment? and (4) What alternatives are available? In general, the literature supports the view that integration is more desirable both in terms of intellectual and emotional gain.

Facilitating the learning and engagement of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in any classroom can be challenging. In this study, we examined the use of online daily behaviour report card (DBRC) to decrease off-task behaviour in students with ADHD who were studying at a public school for at-risk youths in Singapore. Using a multiple baseline design across participants, the study involved 3 adolescents with ADHD who exhibited a high level of off-task behaviour and had received numerous office discipline referrals. Aside from the involvement of classroom teachers, the online DBRC intervention was modified to involve an additional school mentor who supported the parents in monitoring and guiding the students. Results indicated that the online DBRC intervention had been effective in decreasing off-task behaviour in the 3 students. Implications of findings and directions for future studies are discussed.

Classroom management remains one of the greatest challenges for teachers. In this study, with 52 general and special education teachers, we examined the effectiveness of a screencast-delivered professional development program focused on classroom management practices in the first 3 days of school. Results suggest that after participating in the program, teachers report a positive change to the start of their school year across 12 different areas. Further, teachers’ classroom management self-efficacy increased significantly after completing the program, and there was a significant correlation (r = .41) between increases in classroom management self-efficacy and rate of implementation of new practices. Implications for practitioners and future directions for research are included.

In the last decade, the 1980s, we have witnessed the consolidation and maturing of Special Education, a far cry from the post-Karmel era which saw a frantic rush to expand Australian Special Education, particularly in the area of teacher preparation. It is an appropriate time to review some of the key topics and issues which have shaped Special Education in Australia in the last decade and it should be a useful exercise, on the basis of mat review, to make recommendations for the next decade.

One of the first steps toward meeting the educational needs of the increasing number of students who display high risk behaviours is to identify who these students are and how many exist in public school classrooms. The purpose of the present study was twofold in nature: (a) to use teacher ratings to determine the proportion of students who were judged to be high risk for academic and social behaviour failure; and (b) to determine the efficiency and accuracy with which a screening instrument, the High Risk Screening Survey, could determine the proportion of students judged to be high risk. This paper provides a preliminary examination of the usefulness and efficiency of teacher reports and the High Risk Screening Survey. Three hundred and nine teachers, representing 29 schools in a large metropolitan area in Western Australia, rated 8,722 students in preschool and first through seventh grades. Preliminary field validation results indicated that the High Risk Screening Survey appeared to be an efficient, useful, and descriptive tool for assessing the general risk status of students in preschool and grades one through seven. In addition, across seven variables, most students were seen by their teachers as about or above average; in reading, math, and language arts, approximately 7% of all students were judged by their teachers as significantly behind their peers; and in self-management and social interactions with peers and adults, approximately 2% of students were judged by their teachers as significantly behind their peers. Additional findings, limitations, and recommendations are discussed.

Children with disabilities, and those with physical and intellectual disabilities in particular, need co-ordinated multidisciplinary approach as no single profession can hope to achieve very much single-handed. In order to provide appropriate services we should work with and through others who interact with these children. While one of the hallmarks of the good professional is collaboration, collaborative practices are all too infrequent. Some related problems currently affecting the development of services for children with special needs in the U.K. are outlined. Examples of actual and possible productive practice between and among teachers and other professionals are provided, with the desirability of active and systematic joint planning and problem solving, emanating from a base of shared training, stressed.

A demonstration study is described in which self-recording was implemented with an upper primary class of ten children with learning difficulties. Following a baseline period, an alternating conditions design was employed which demonstrated a mean rise in on-task behaviour of 10% as a result of the self-recording intervention employed.

This paper focuses on the concerns facing families of young children with disabilities as their child approaches transition to school. Three families were interviewed to gain insight into a) their feelings and concerns about their child’s transition to school, b) their understanding of the supports that currently exist and those that are needed to facilitate transition, and c) the influence of society on the development of the family’s values and attitudes which affect decisions about transition to school.

The results of the three interviews confirm earlier research findings which indicate the necessity to involve parents fully in the transition to school planning process. The anxiety and stress expressed by these families highlights the need for systematic planning, regular communication with families about the processes available to support them and the provision of opportunities to share information about their child with staff in the school setting.

By listening and reflecting on the feelings and concerns expressed by these three families, the complexity of the transition to school period is highlighted. Each family’s uniqueness needs to be respected. The perceptions they have developed about the situation, guide their beliefs and actions at this time. Such perceptions develop over time resulting from previous experiences, the influence of friends and family, and the attitudes and acceptance of members of the community.

Schools today are faced with an increase in problem behavior. Behavioral challenges often take extreme forms such as violence and aggression toward teachers and students. Even minor behaviors such as non-compliance are becoming chronic to the point of limiting educator’s ability to effectively teach. For a myriad of reasons, traditional “discipline” procedures are not effective in re-directing students toward more appropriate behavior. This article outlines and describes features of an alternative model that encourages educators to move from a reactive, consequent based system of behavior management to a pro-active instructionally focused system. Examples from on-going research with schools who are currently implementing systems of Effective Behavioral Support (EBS) are also provided.

The roles and responsibilities of special educators in both special and regular school settings are changing rapidly. More than two decades ago the move towards more inclusive practices disrupted the traditional, niche separatism of special educators to the extent that they are now an integral part of the regular school teaching staff. Today the broad agenda to facilitate access and participation for all students in education, not just students with disabilities, influences the roles and responsibilities of special educators. This article briefly identifies some of the generic pulses that are moving the special education profession from a focus on low incidence disabilities towards a more comprehensive approach to inclusion, school responsiveness and individualised learning pathways. From the foundation of inclusive practice, this article will describe how a qualitative study was used to understand the changing roles and responsibilities of special educators. A case-study analysis of 17 schools formed the basis of the investigation. Principals, lead teachers in special education and special education teachers were asked to identify trends and priorities in special education and also to identify rewards and challenges in their jobs. Further cross-referencing with teacher and special educator standards, a focus group, a stakeholder group and research in the field increased the opportunity for academics and special educators to critically reflect on the emerging demands placed on special educators and the attributes that are needed to be professionally effective.

Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) work with teachers to identify learning and behaviour needs of students who experience barriers to educational success. The language RTLB use can have a significant impact on teachers’ response to the inclusion of students with special learning needs and is key to improving educational outcomes for all learners. We examined the extent to which RTLB in New Zealand used inclusive, strengths-based language in initial meetings with teachers and whether shifts could be made through professional learning and development (PLD). Data collected included audio recordings, transcripts of initial meetings pre- and post-PLD, RTLB reflections on both transcripts, and questionnaires. Results indicate limited use of inclusive, strengths-based language prior to PLD. However, PLD that provided targeted opportunities to reflect on evidence of language behaviour and to practise requisite skills markedly increased RTLB awareness, knowledge, and skills with respect to inclusive, strengths-based language. Findings indicate that change often requires disrupting long-held beliefs and practices and a need for evidence of these to be able to do so. The findings have implications for the type of in-depth PLD needed to facilitate change in the language RTLB use when working with teachers.