Constructivist literature has become increasingly prominent in the area of special education. The nature of constructivism and its relevance and limitations for students with special needs is discussed, as is the importance of appropriate research in determining the efficacy of instructional interventions. A search of the literature into the efficacy of constructivism for students with special needs in K-12 settings revealed a predominance of descriptive and discussion-based research and very limited experimental research. The limited existing experimental research indicates that constructivist instructional approaches may have circumscribed applications in special education. Specifically, they may be appropriate to applications for students with learning difficulties in areas such as science education. Nevertheless, there are major methodological and interpretative problems that undermine confidence in the existing body of research. These problems include an absence of adequate procedural reliability data, interventions that often involve teaching single or very small groups of students, and conditions that do not approximate regular classrooms. There is also evidence suggesting that constructivist approaches may be inappropriate and ineffective for students with intellectual disabilities. The need for considerable caution and extensive further research in this area is evident, in light of the ready adoption of constructivism in schools and the increase of constructivist literature.

This case study examined the effects of a parent-presented Direct Instruction decoding program on the reading and language skills of a child with high functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder. Following the 23 hour intervention, reading comprehension, listening comprehension and fluency skills improved to grade level, whilst statistically significant improvements were also noted in receptive language skills. There were no significant changes in phonological and decoding skills for which various possibilities are explored, including the student’s prior double deficit in phonological skills. The findings are consistent with research suggesting that increased intervention intensity, along with greater emphasis on phonological skills may be necessary to advance the decoding skills of children displaying a double deficit. The reading and language outcomes were sufficiently promising to warrant further studies employing methodologically sound group designs with this population.

It is an honour to be invited to present the Des English Memorial Lecture at the 30th Annual National Conference of the Australian Association of Special Education (AASE) in 2005. Des English was the first President of this Association. Much of what he stood for was embedded in a respect for the abilities of students with special needs and his desire to ensure that these students had the best opportunities to learn. He was deeply committed to the belief that a professional organization such as the Australian Association of Special Education was needed to develop teachers and administrators who were knowledgeable and skilled, and he worked tirelessly to establish this Association, continuing to work with energy towards the goal of enhancing the education of students with special needs through the professional development of their teachers until his death in 1977.

Constructivist literature has become increasingly prominent in the area of special education. The nature of constructivism and its relevance and limitations for students with special needs is discussed, as is the importance of appropriate research in determining the efficacy of instructional interventions. A search of the literature into the efficacy of constructivism for students with special needs in K-12 settings revealed a predominance of descriptive and discussion-based research and very limited experimental research. The limited existing experimental research indicates that constructivist instructional approaches may have circumscribed applications in special education. Specifically, they may be appropriate to applications for students with learning difficulties in areas such as science education. Nevertheless, there are major methodological and interpretative problems that undermine confidence in the existing body of research. These problems include an absence of adequate procedural reliability data, interventions that often involve teaching single or very small groups of students, and conditions that do not approximate regular classrooms. There is also evidence suggesting that constructivist approaches may be inappropriate and ineffective for students with intellectual disabilities. The need for considerable caution and extensive further research in this area is evident, in light of the ready adoption of constructivism in schools and the increase of constructivist literature.

Former students (34) of a residential school for students with emotional-behavioural difficulties, and their parents, were interviewed to determine their perceptions about the educational and social adjustment of the students. Following reintegration into mainstream schools, or work, the majority of the former students were reported as coping at least adequately with the social and academic demands of their lives. Both former students and their parents held positive perceptions regarding the students’ special school experience, and in general believed that the students’ attendance at the special school had facilitated their subsequent development and adjustment. The results are discussed in terms of the need for this first study in New Zealand to be supplemented by further research to validate the beliefs of former students and their parents, and some of the major attendant methodological problems which confront research in this area.

This paper is written primarily as a call to those of us in the special education field in Australia to become more actively involved in responding to the popular culture construction of disability as it takes place in the mainstream media. It is not the aim to define the form such activism should take but rather to raise awareness of the issue for further discussion. It is argued that Australian special educators and researchers are currently passive in relation to our negative media representations of disability with little to be found in local research literature that shows a specific interest in the issue. It is proposed that the television news show, A Current Affair, which airs daily during the week on the Nine Network in Australia, at 6.30 p.m. following the six o’clock news, offers an illustrative example of social and cultural construction that unwittingly contributes to stereotypes about young people with challenging behaviours and disability. Such stereotyping can be laid bare by critique as a means of countering the impact of such uninformed, and often sensationalised, media images.

Sustaining comprehensive secondary school reform (CSR) represents an immensely difficult and unresolved challenge for the field. The problems associated with CSR are of significant concern to proponents of inclusion given that more responsive schools and classrooms are connected to, if not dependent upon, the success of broader school reform efforts. In this paper, we will employ the experience derived from a decade of practice in secondary school reform to interpret the findings from the CSR literature. We will extract lessons learned about the reform process to identify five key implications that seem to be preconditions for the success of comprehensive site-based reforms and lead to inclusive practice.

A survey was conducted to investigate secondary school support teachers’ perceptions of speech-language pathology services to students experiencing language difficulties. Information was sought regarding support teachers’ understanding of language disorder, their experience with students who have language difficulties and their involvement with speech-language pathologists with regard to these students. Support teachers’ views on supporting adolescents who are experiencing language difficulties were also sought as well as information regarding their satisfaction with speech-language pathology services to adolescents. Findings indicated variations in support teachers’ perceptions, including mixed views regarding how speech-language pathologists should offer assistance to students. The need for support teachers and speech-language pathologists to offer each other professional training was indicated.

The aim of this study was to develop a means of tracking the reading performance of low-progress readers on a weekly basis, so as to inform instructional decision-making. A representative sample of 261 primary school children from Years 1 to 5 were tested on 21 different text passages taken from a developing passage reading test, the Wheldall Assessment of Reading Passages (WARP). The results from this study were used to identify a series of ten ‘progress passages’ that were of very similar difficulty level to a set of three parallel ‘basal’ WARP passages. High parallel form reliability levels were demonstrated among all the passages. It is argued that the ten parallel progress passages may be employed with the original three basal passages, first to establish the current reading performance level of low-progress readers and then to track their progress by administering each of the ten progress passages weekly in turn over a ten week school term.

A review of research into the acquisition of phonological awareness skills in individuals with intellectual disabilities, the relationship between phonological awareness and reading in these individuals and the effect of phonological awareness training on the development of their phonological skills is presented. Research indicates that children with intellectual disabilities may take a different path to that of typically developing children in the acquisition of phonological skills. Despite this, there is more similarity than difference between the two groups in the relationship between phonological awareness and the acquisition of reading, the indication being that there is a positive relationship between phonological awareness and reading acquisition for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Moreover, the components of phonological awareness that can be associated with the acquisition of reading are similar for both groups. Limited data indicate that, as with typically developing children, the reading related skills of individuals with intellectual disabilities can be developed through explicit instruction that includes a phonological awareness component.