Whitehouse, Carlene. (1988). Integration — a personal perspective. New
Brunswick Teacher’s Association News,
30(10), pp. 12-13.
This article is written by a teacher who, with no special training,
integrated Susan, a student with handicaps, into her Grade 5 classroom.
She documents her initial fears and worries about her ability to meet
Susan’s various needs, and about the increased work load and the possible
impact on the academic progress of other students. Yet what originally
seemed a daunting task evolves into a mutual learning process for all.
The author learns to involve Susan in the general program, make small
adaptations to the curriculum, and allow and encourage natural interactions
with peers.
Wang, Margaret C., Eva D. Vaughan and Joan A. Dytman (1985). Staff
development: A key ingredient of effective mainstreaming. Teaching
Exceptional Children, 17(2), pp. 112-121.
An Adaptive Learning Environments Model (ALEM) was implemented in five
schools of a large urban school system as a full-time mainstreaming
program. It was designed for students with mild handicaps who had
previously been served in self-contained special education programs.
While many general education teachers had expected problems in dealing
with students with mental handicaps, difficulties were rare. Staff
development was identified by participating teachers as a key factor in
the program’s success.
The authors call for renegotiation of the roles of both general and special education staff. They see general education teachers acting as the primary instructors for all students and special education teachers providing consultation and special instruction as needed in the classroom.
