THE LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATION
Since 1986 and the passage of Bill 85, many school districts in New Brunswick have integrated exceptional students in regular classrooms. However, integration was in effect for a number of years in NewBrunswick prior to Bill 85 and, as a result, teachers and principals developed ways to implement integration and make it successful for their own situations. They drew on various sources of expertise including workshops, books, articles, visitations, courses, sharing sessions, and practical experiencies. Even before Bill 85, professional development in integration ranged from visitations outside of New Brunswick to individual consultations with teachers and administrators.
In 1986 and 1988, a series of regional workshops on integration were sponsored by the New Brunswick Department of Education. The series consisted of three workshops in 1986, attended by 104 classroom teachers, methods and resource teachers (see Chapter 8) and school and district administrators; and four workshops in 1988 with 170 educators in attendance. The main purposes of these workshops were: 1) to provide training to teachers; 2)to share experiences; and 3) to problem-solve.
Following the second series of regional workshops, a provincial meeting on integration was held in March 1988. It was attended by fifty-five classroom teachers, methods and resource teachers and school administrators from across the province. The participants were selected for their experience in the integration process; they could provide useful information to other educators working towards integration. At this meeting the teachers and administrators shared their experiences, discussed their needs and concerns, and helped one another to solve specific problems.
At both the meeting and the workshops, people were asked what had been particularly helpful to them in making integration work. In addition, similar information was obtained from school administrators at a meeting of three districts held in April 1990. The feedback has become useful as strategies and recommendations for successful integration.
