bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The self in self-interest: land, labour and temporalities in Malawi's agrarian change
Authors: Englund Harri
Published: April 2006

This article examines agricultural labour contracts and household-based production in Dedza District, Malawi. Deepening impoverishment seemingly creates conditions for profound social changes. In agriculture, small-scale contracts rather than big work parties mobilise the bulk of ‘extra-domestic’ labour. Although labourers are paid in cash or in kind, they are most often the recruiter's relatives or affines. The pattern fits, therefore, uneasily with the ideas of labour as a commodity and persons as mutually independent individuals. Claims about changing values must be accompanied by careful analyses of personhood. Among Dedza villagers the notion of the self in the idioms of morality discloses social relations as the origins of a person's interests. By recruiting labour, wealthy villagers make their valued relationships visible. These observations caution against viewing ‘agrarian change’ as a uniform and teleological process in which the buying and selling of labour necessarily entail individualism. As an example of how, in any case, moral sentiments are historical phenomena the article examines the predicament of landless refugees in Dedza District. Under conditions of social and material alienation, agricultural labour contracts became exploitation.
Locating the politics of a Sierra Leonean chiefdom
Authors: Fanthorpe Richard
Published: April 2006

The chiefdoms of Sierra Leone are institutions of colonial origin but nevertheless continue to serve as local government units in the post-colonial state. The prevailing view among scholars is that these institutions have little basis in indigenous political culture, and have furthermore become breeding grounds of political corruption. This view has tended to elide anthropological analysis of internal chiefdom politics. However, it is argued in this article that such conclusions are premature. With reference to the Biriwa Limba chiefdom of northern Sierra Leone, it is shown that historical precedent, in many cases relating to prominent political figures of the late nineteenth century, continues to serve as a primary means of ordering local rights in land, settlement and political representation. This phenomenon is not a product of innate conservatism but emerges rather as a pragmatic response to the persistent failure of successive Sierra Leone administrations to extend modern measures of citizenship to the bulk of the rural populace. Rights and properties have become progressively localised in villages originally registered for tax collection in the early colonial era. Here one finds one of the most telling legacies of the British policy of indirect rule in post-colonial Sierra Leone.
Preliminary notes on audiences in Africa
Authors: Barber Karin
Published: April 2006

There have been audiences, presumably, as long as there has been performance. The perception that what creates an audience is the listeners' intentional orientation towards the speaker is the starting point of a far-reaching development in performance and media studies which focuses on the activity and creativity of the audience. If the audience has an active role in constituting the performance, cultural historians seeking to uncover histories of consciousness in African popular genres cannot afford to ignore it. But audiences are not all the same. Just as much as performances, they are a historical product. There are different ways of convening and of experiencing reception, whether collectively or in dispersal, which are deeply connected with the nature of the social life of the age and place. How people come together; how they relate to each other and to the spectacle or utterance they are attending to; what they consider themselves to be part of in doing so; how the spectacle/utterance addresses them—all these are historically and culturally specific and need to be empirically investigated. Specific African audiences have distinctive, conventional modes and styles of making meaning, just as performers/speakers have. We need to ask how audiences do their work of interpretation.
The new development rhetoric and Lake Malawi
Authors: Ferguson Anne E. , Derman Bill , Mkandawire Richard M.
Published: April 2006

Despite the new development rhetoric emphasising sustainability, preservationof biodiversity, natural resource management, income generation and participatory research, the new World Bank Malawi Fisheries Development Project represents a continuation of past practices. This article examines the underlying conceptual framework and implications of this World Bank project in the light of research among fishing communities on Lake Malawi. The Bank, it is argued, is mistakenly promoting assistance to the large-scale commercial fishing sector rather than attempting to implement more innovative and collaborative project initiatives with small-scale fishers, processors and traders who comprise the vast majority of lake users.
Disguising chiefs and God as history: questions on the acephalousness of LoDagaa politics and religion
Authors: Hawkins Sean
Published: April 2006

This article examines two periods in the historiography and ethnography of the LoDagaa of northern Ghana and analyses the similarities between them. In the late 1920s the institution of chieftaincy was written into LoDagaa history by colonial administrators, only two decades after they themselves had created that institution in a society they had once considered bereft of political authority. By the early 1930s colonial administrators had created a historical fiction, namely that chiefs had always existed among the LoDagaa, despite the view of a generation of earlier officers that there had been no chiefs prior to the arrival of the British. Administrators needed to finesse the past, not to convince the LoDagaa of the legitimacy of the chiefs, but in order to continue ruling through chiefs once indirect rule had been introduced. Colonial political engineering had to be indigenised in order to survive under the terms of indirect rule. This finessing of the past has bequeathed ambiguities and contradictions evident in contemporary attitudes toward the position of chiefs among the LoDagaa.

Similarly, in the 1970s and 1980s the indigenous clergy among the LoDagaa, who had taken over from the missionaries in the 1960s, began to reassess the nature of god in indigenous religious thought in order to narrow the distance between LoDagaa culture and Catholicism. The idea of inculturation, which grew after the Second Vatican Council, was the specific impetus for such enquiries. LoDagaa priests reexamined indigenous religion and discovered the existence of belief in and worship of a single, absolute deity which had been neglected by earlier missionaries and ethnographers. The latter had argued that there was only a diffuse or otiose notion of an absolute god in LoDagaa culture and thought. The once otiose god was repatriated, as if it had been exiled by earlier observers, in ways and circumstances similar to the invention of chieftaincy as an indigenous pre-colonial reality. While earlier political revisions were finessed by colonial officers, with the acquiescence of colonial chiefs, bent on changing LoDagaa culture and history for administrative convenience, the latter revisionists were seemingly concerned with defending and preserving indigenous culture rather than changing it. However, the notion of the pre-missionary worship of god is as much a historical fiction as the idea of the existence of chiefs in the pre-colonial period.
Impurity and power: women in Aladura churches
Authors: Crumbley Deidre Helen
Published: April 2006

What is there about being female which elicits religious rituals of control? More specifically, what is there about menstrual blood which elicits a language of ritual impurity? What is the relationship between exclusion from the sacred and exclusion from power? This article, based on fieldwork among the Aladura or ‘praying’ churches of Nigeria (1982 to 1986), explores these questions in three Aladura denominations. While these three ‘spiritual’ churches share similar features in being indigenous, healing and prophesying churches, the status and roles of women in their respective organisational structures vary remarkably. The ways in which an ideology of impurity impacts or fails to impact upon gender and power relationships is investigated, and an explanatory framework for assessing such variations is suggested.
The invention of biodiversity: social perspectives on the management of biological variety in Africa
Authors: Guyer Jane , Richards Paul
Published: April 2006

Biodiversity means, in its broadest sense, the variety of life. More specifically it can refer to the number of species, genetic diversity or the variety of environments in which species or genes are to be found. The concept is in some ways an odd one, since biodiversity is quantitative without necessarily being quantifiable. As an object of study biodiversity is a bit like an iceberg—most of it is hidden from view, and (like the underwater portion of an iceberg) indefinite in shape and extent. The notion of global species biodiversity is often expressed in the form (estimates vary): 1·5 million species known to science, 5 million (or 30 million) yet remaining to be discovered (Primack, 1993). The rider to this surprising formulation is that most of the unknown species are probably insects in the tropical rain forest.
Rural people as conservationists: querying neo-Malthusian assumptions about biodiversity in Sierra Leone
Authors: Kandeh H. B. S. , Richards Paul
Published: April 2006

Contrary to neo-Malthusian assumptions population increase may not necessarily mean less biodiversity. More people may mean more care of the environment. Much depends on the circumstances through which local populations develop an awareness of, and practical involvement in, biodiversity management. This article considers two instances. In the first, an apparently pristine rain forest turns out on closer inspection to be heavy with the marks of past human occupance. This may have been quite good for some classes of biodiversity—the birds, for instance. In a second case, attention is paid to crop genetic resources in a densely populated agrarian landscape. Here genetic biodiversity may have been conserved through the activities of farmers selecting planting materials adapted to harsh physical conditions. Case-study material of this kind provides a basis for conservationists and community groups to develop mutual understanding.
Ethnicity and Language Dominance — Influence on the Prediction of Achievement Based on Intelligence Test Scores in Nonreferred and Referred Samples
Authors: Palmer Douglas J. , Olivarez Arturo , Willson Victor L. , Fordyce Thomas
Published: April 2006

An urban sample of referred and nonreferred Black, Hispanic, and Anglo pupils were assessed with the WISC-R and K-ABC cognitive and achievement scales. Approximately 38% of the Hispanic sample was identified as Limited-English Proficient (LEP). Analysis of various procedures revealed differences in cognitive and achievement performance due to pupils' ethnicity, referral status, and LEP status. Predictive bias was examined using Potthoff's (1966) simultaneous test of regression slopes and intercepts. For both WISC-R and K-ABC IQ measures, a number of regressions on the K-ABC Total and Arithmetic achievement measures evidenced bias across ethnic groups for both referred and nonreferred samples. Bias due to language dominance also was found for WISC-R and K-ABC composite scales. Implications of predictive bias for assessment and placement of minority and LEP children in special education classes are discussed.
Limited Role for Learning Disability Specialist
Authors: Larsen Stephen C. , Deshler Donald D.
Published: April 2006

The final regulations of PL 94–142 have omitted the LD specialist from the evaluation team. This editorial outlines reasons why this action is not in the best interest of the LD student.
Implications of the Helping Relationship between Learning Disabled Students and their Teachers
Authors: Dyer William G.
Published: April 2006

Asking for and providing help is a critical issue in the relationship between the learning disabled student and the learning disabilities teacher. The usual concerns of demonstrating academic growth often overshadow some of the subtle, yet very real, effects of the relationship between the LD student and the LD teacher. Dyer discusses some highly significant factors that the LD teacher should be aware of when help is provided to the LD student. It is suggested that LD teachers have a responsibility to monitor their involvement with the LD student so as to develop a relationship that facilitates, rather than impedes, the student's overall growth and development.
Orthographic Problem-Solving Ability of Learning Disabled and Normally Achieving Students
Authors: Gerber Michael M.
Published: April 2006

Based on results from research on learning disabled children's spelling, it is argued that spelling errors produced by carefully selected LD elementary-school students cannot be interpreted as aberrant or as deviating from errors expected of younger, normally achieving children. The data are interpreted to support a cognitive-developmental model of spelling acquisition in LD and normally achieving children. Errors are shown to represent limited information and/or ability to formulate strategies for how to apply information in order to solve spelling problems. Recommended solutions include the need for supplementary instruction in general problem-solving skills as they relate to acquisition of basic academic skills. Moreover, researchers are urged to consider the potential of programmatic research on LD students' basic-skills acquisition as a model of cognitive processing differences.
WAIS-R Stability for College Students with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Slate John R. , Frost Julia , Cross Belinda
Published: April 2006

We investigated the stability, over a 4-year period, of the WAIS-R for 25 college students with learning disabilities. Results showed that WAIS-R global and subtest scores were highly stable over time, even though subjects tended to obtain higher subtest scores on the WAIS-R retest. Given subjects' four years of educational experiences between test administrations, higher subtest and higher global scores would be expected. However, only the subtest scores were higher on the retest. The reason for this phenomenon is that in order to obtain a Full Scale IQ score of 100 for ages 20–24, 111 scaled-score points are required. In comparison, 101 scaled-score points are needed for ages 18–19. Thus, global and subtest scores across the age groups of 18–19 and 20–24 may not be directly comparable. Assessment specialists working with individuals who have learning disabilities in postsecondary institutions may find these data useful in interpreting WAIS-R test scores.
Teacher Interactions with Mainstreamed Handicapped Students and Their Nonhandicapped Peers
Authors: Alves Alda J. , Gottlieb Jay
Published: April 2006

Teacher interactions with handicapped and nonhandicapped students in 38 mainstreamed classrooms were observed using an interval time-sampling procedure and behavioral categories derived from the Brophy-Good Teacher-Child Dyadic Interaction System. Six aspects of teacher-student interactions were considered: Academic Questions, Extended Feedback, Praise, Criticism, Work Interactions, and Total Amount of Interactions. Results of discriminant analysis indicated that handicapped students received fewer questions and were provided with less teacher feedback than their nonhandicapped peers. It was concluded, therefore, that mainstreamed handicapped students were less involved in academic exchanges than the nonhandicapped subjects.
Performance Instability of Learning Disabled, Emotionally Handicapped, and Nonhandicapped Children
Authors: Fuchs Douglas , Fuchs Lynn S. , Tindal Gerald , Deno Stanley L.
Published: April 2006

The performance instability of learning disabled (LD), emotionally handicapped (EH), and nonhandicapped (NH) children was compared. Employing two contrasting strategies of repeated measurement, we administered three third-grade reading passages to 50 LD, 37 EH, and 40 NH children. First, subjects were tested on a different reading passage once a week for 3 consecutive weeks; second, pupils were tested on three passages in one sitting. Analyses of covariance were run on a stability index calculated on the number of words read correctly during each administration. On both sets of measurements, LD and EH pupils demonstrated similar instability. On the first repeated measures, the NH pupils' performance instability was greater than that of the handicapped students; on the second repeated measures, however, no difference was found between NH and handicapped children's variability. Implications for the diagnosis and treatment of LD and other exceptional children are discussed.
Using Count-Bys to Increase Multiplication Facts Fluency
Authors: McIntyre Susan B. , Test David W. , Cooke Nancy L. , Beattie John
Published: April 2006

The count-by technique was taught to a 4th-grade student with learning disabilities. The procedure involved learning to translate a multiplication problem into a count-by problem (e.g., 3×4 translates into count by 3 four times — 3, 6, 9, 12). The student learned to count by numbers not typically taught in the curriculum (e.g., 4s, 7s, and 8s) as a way of quickly determining answers for difficult-to-master multiplication tables. Both oral and written count-bys were practiced prior to daily probes of multiplication facts. A multiple-probe design across multiplication tables indicated substantial increases in correct rate per minute. Rates maintained and generalized to other situations when count-by practice was withdrawn.
Allergies and Learning Disabilities
Authors: McLoughlin James A. , Nall Michael , Petrosko Joseph
Published: April 2006

Numerous connections between allergies and learning disabilities have been made in the popular press and other media directed to parents of the learning disabled. This article briefly traces the reasons for this association and critically analyzes existing research of such factors as school underachievement and learning problems, listening and hearing problems, absenteeism, and social-emotional disorders. Results of a comparison of group achievement scores, school attendance records, and medical symptoms of allergic and nonallergic students with and without learning disabilities raise serious questions about the purported relationship between allergies and learning problems.
Declaring Students Eligible for Learning Disability Services: Why Bother with the Data?
Authors: Ysseldyke James E. , Algozzine Bob , Richey Linda , Graden Janet
Published: April 2006

School personnel routinely collect a variety of information in order to make decisions concerning a student's eligibility for special services. Such decisions are typically made at placement team meetings in which individuals are expected to reach consensus as a group on the basis of assessment results. Twenty videotapes of placement team meetings were analyzed relative to the kinds of data presented. The relationship between the final decision and the amount of information presented was positive: greater likelihood of identification was evident at meetings in which more information was presented. Little relationship existed between the type of information presented and applicability to various currently popular identification criteria. Eighty-three percent of the statements made at the meetings were considered irrelevant. The data provide little evidence to suggest that teams use specific, formal criteria when making eligibility decisions or that assessment results are used for purposes other than minimal professional credibility.
Sex Differences in a Sample of Learning Disabled Children
Authors: Ryckman David B.
Published: April 2006

Sex differences between 27 girls and 75 boys were examined on psychological, academic, and cognitive-style measures. All students were enrolled in a program for severely learning disabled children. LD girls were found to be verbally inferior, less capable of abstract thinking, more field dependent, and more impulsive than the boys. No differences were obtained on measures of academics or perceptual-motor skills. Possible socioemotional factors were suggested as an explanation for the above differences.
LD Teachers' Perceptions of Severely Learning Disabled Students
Authors: DeLoach Thurma F. , Earl Janet M. , Brown Beth S. , Poplin Mary S. , Warner Michael M.
Published: April 2006

Questionnaires completed by 223 elementary and secondary learning disability teachers were analyzed for information about teachers' perceptions of the incidence and characteristics of severely learning disabled (SLD) and mild-to-moderately learning disabled (MLD) students. Incidence figures for other handicapping conditions represented in learning disability classrooms were also determined. Findings showed that the SLD and MLD groups differed significantly on 40 of the original 44 questionnaire items. Items were clustered into 12 factors. Results of a discriminant analysis showed that three of the twelve factors correctly classified 82.7% of the SLD and 84.1% of the MLD elementary-aged students. At the secondary level, the final stepwise function contained only one factor. This factor correctly classified 89.2% of the SLD and 86.5% of the MLD students. Overall, the most significant factor for both elementary- and secondary-aged SLD students dealt with the need for one-to-one instruction and alternative curricula in addition to the existence of extreme discrepancies between students' apparent intelligence and achievement. Diagnostic and instructional implications as well as suggestions for further study are discussed.
Practice of Learning Disabilities as Social Policy
Authors: Shinn Mark R. , Tindal Gerald A. , Spira Deborah , Marston Doug
Published: April 2006

This research presents an analysis of learning disabilities from a social-policy perspective. The reading performance of three groups of elementary students was systematically measured during the spring of the school year: regular education students receiving no supplemental instructional services, regular education students receiving remedial Chapter 1 services, and students labeled as learning disabled. The measures consisted of Curriculum-Based Assessment procedures, following the format developed at the Institute for Research on Learning Disabilities at the University of Minnesota. Students' reading performance was compared across the three groups, including the means and semi-interquartile ranges. A discriminant function analysis was applied to predict group membership. The three groups were sorted by level of reading skill with (a) very different means, (b) minimum overlap, and (c) high accuracy in classification. The results support the notion that schools may be consistent in their decision making and allocation of service delivery on the basis of students' classroom achievement. Regardless of legal or scientific definition, it is argued that schools widely employ a social-policy definition of learning disabilities designed to serve students most deficient in achievement.
Early Identification — An Analysis if the Research
Authors: Mercer Cecil D. , Algozzine Bob , Trifiletti John
Published: April 2006

The early identification of children who are at risk of experiencing school problems has become a major area of interest within special education. Teacher perception, test batteries, and single instruments are presented as the major types of prediction procedures. The authors discuss general considerations relative to using various prediction models as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the various early identification approaches. - D.D.D.
Parents' Perceptions of Their Learning Disabled Child's Educational Performance
Authors: Abramson Marty , Willson Victor , Yoshida Roland K. , Hagerty George
Published: April 2006

A questionnaire was developed to assess how parents of an LD child viewed (a) their relationship with school personnel, (b) their child's academic and social progress, and (c) integrated programs involving handicapped and nonhandicapped students. The results of the survey indicated that many parents are not actively involved in making educational decisions regarding their child. Furthermore, many parents are uncertain about how their child is functioning in an educational setting. These findings are discussed as they relate to the need for (a) greater parent involvement, and (b) attitude changes on the part of school personnel toward parents' role in the educational process.
Measuring Pupil Progress toward the Least Restrictive Alternative
Authors: Jenkins Joseph R. , Deno Stanley L. , Mirkin Phyllis K.
Published: April 2006

Urgent discussions of how to measure student progress toward special education program goals have begun to appear with greater frequency. The factors that seem to be most influential concerning pupil progress measurement are those associated with PL 94–142. Now, IEP's must be written that include specific objectives and time lines for monitoring program success. In addition, the “least restrictive environment” requirement implies that objectives be written, and progress be monitored relative to the skills required for placement and maintenance in the regular classroom. The present paper outlines the uses of pupil progress measurement, the desirable characteristics of progress measurement systems, and includes an evaluation of the adequacy of currently available data systems. Finally, two relatively recent alternatives to pupil progress measurement are recommended.
Learning Disabled Students' Spontaneous Use of Test-Taking Skills on Reading Achievement Tests
Authors: Scruggs Thomas E. , Bennion Karla , Lifson Steven
Published: April 2006

The present investigation was undertaken to identify the type of strategies learning disabled (LD) students employ on standardized, group-administered achievement test items. Of particular interest was level of strategy effectiveness and possible differences in strategy use between LD and nondisabled students. Students attending resource rooms and regular third-grade classes were administered items from reading achievement tests and interviewed concerning the strategies they had employed in answering the questions and their level of confidence in each answer. Results indicated that (a) LD students were less likely to report use of appropriate strategies on inferential questions, (b) LD students were less likely to attend carefully to specific format demands, and (c) LD students reported inappropriately high levels of confidence.
Critical Evaluation of Published Research: Some Guidelines
Authors: Harber Jean R.
Published: April 2006

Studies of the quality of published educational research have indicated that, while the quality is improving, much published research still suffers from major weaknesses. This finding is particularly disconcerting since it is generally recognized that the average reader of educational journals lacks a sound understanding of the research process and of statistics and is, therefore, very likely to accept uncritically as true anything reported in the published literature. This article suggests ways in which the consumer of educational research can critically evaluate research reports in terms of sample and methodology, design and statistical treatment, and results and interpretation. The reader is alerted to sources of deliberate and nondeliberate bias and to fallacious use and/or interpretation of statistics. The reader of educational research must critically evaluate research in order to determine whether totally or partially to accept, or to question or reject reported findings.
Peer-Mediated Instruction: A Promising Approach to Meeting the Diverse Needs of LD Adolescents
Authors: Maheady Larry , Harper Gregory F. , Sacca M. Katherine
Published: April 2006

This article focuses on the role peer-mediated instructional approaches may play in improving the academic and social performance of secondary learning disabled students. Two peer-teaching programs, Classwide Peer Tutoring and Classwide Student Tutoring Teams, are described, as well as findings from recent investigations in mainstream and resource room settings. Implications for teacher preparation are reviewed.
Narrative Knowing: Basis for a Partnership on Language Diversity
Authors: Reid D. Kim
Published: April 2006

Six teachers, the school principal, six university faculty, and two doctoral students participated in a school-university partnership based on narrative knowing. Using a teacher-as-researcher model to focus on the instruction of students labeled as language and learning disabled, we engaged in three preliminary activities: (a) identifying the best hopes and worst fears of the partnership participants, (b) reading about teacher research, and (c) sharing descriptions of students with language-related problems. The six steps of the research collaboration included (a) consensus building; (b) data collection, including teacher observations and journaling, ethnographic observations, periodic videotaping, and home visits; (c) continuous joint study; (d) data analysis and descriptive narratives; (e) design and implementation of interventions; and (f) assessment.
Development and Validation of a Classroom Assignment Routine for Inclusive Settings
Authors: Rademacher Joyce A. , Schumaker Jean B. , Deshler Donald D.
Published: April 2006

This study had two purposes: (a) to identify the characteristics of high-quality classroom assignments and how they are best explained, as indicated by teachers, students with learning disabilities (LD), and students without LD; and (b) to determine the effects of training teachers to use an assignment completion routine based on these characteristics. Multiple-probe and comparison-group designs were used in combination to show the effects of learning the routine on the teachers' planning, explanation, and evaluation of assignments. Results indicated that the teachers initially performed few of the behaviors associated with the assignment characteristics and explanation factors, but could effectively be taught to use them in an assignment completion routine with their students.
Reconstructing the Paradigm of Learning Disabilities: A Holistic/Constructivist Interpretation
Authors: Grobecker Betsey
Published: April 2006

The paradigm for defining learning disabilities has evolved in relation to information-processing constructs of learning and intelligence. Assumptions regarding the nature of knowledge acquisition as well as assessment and remedial techniques that are derived from such a paradigm are currently being challenged. This article argues that learning differences can be best understood, and attended to, in relation to the holistic/constructivist theory of knowledge construction and the reciprocal evolution of cognitive structures. Knowledge is conceived of as being embedded in, and subordinated to, a spiral of mental structuring activity that guides relational thinking or logic. Symbols (i.e., language, numbers, and images) are tools that exercise mental structuring activity for the purpose of transforming and enriching individual learning spirals by coordinating and integrating its energy form. Reciprocally, greater depth and flexibility in knowledge bases evolve, which serve to transform persons and their cultures. It is in these spirals of mental structuring activity that learning differences are proposed to manifest themselves. Such a perspective shifts the focus of assessment and remediation away from specific skill development that attends to standard answers and ways of solving problems to an examination of the adaptive, transforming thinking activity (mental constructs) generated to solve for answers. By making contact with and guiding individually constructed realities through techniques such as graded learning loops in the zone of proximal development, learning behaviors become more adaptable and generalizable.
Links among Social Status, Service Delivery Mode, and Service Delivery Preference in LD, Low-Achieving, and Normally Achieving Elementary-Aged Children
Authors: Mare Lucy Le , de la Ronde Marie
Published: April 2006

Relations among social status, current service delivery, and service delivery preferences were examined in 42 students with learning disabilities (LD), 40 low-achieving (LA) and 42 average/high-achieving (A/HA) students in grades 2–4 and 6–7. Service delivery preferences were assessed via forced choice (in-class vs. pullout) and ratings. Participants and classmates completed sociometric rating scales asking how much they liked to work and play with each classmate and how much classmates liked to work and play with them. Most students chose pullout service and rated pullout higher than in-class service. Current service was related to service preference only in the LA group. Only among LD students were self- and peer-rated social status related. Social status was lowest for LD, followed by LA and A/HA children. Among older students, those who preferred pullout service had lower sociometric status than those who preferred in-class service. Implications for educational programming decisions are discussed.
Teacher Ratings of Instructional and Setting Demands in Vocational Education Classes
Authors: Evers Rebecca Barr , Bursuck William
Published: April 2006

There is an urgent need for support services for teachers and for interventions for students in vocational education mainstreaming programs. Development of appropriate and specific interventions for use in these classes requires precise descriptions of instructional demands and teacher expectations in the technical, home economics, and business areas of vocational education. The primary purpose of this study was to compare the instructional setting demands and teacher expectations of vocational education classes with those found in regular academic classes. Results were mixed and not significantly different for instructional grouping and instructional materials and methods. Teachers in academic and vocational classes also held similar expectations for behaviors necessary for success in their courses. However, significant differences were found in the demands of physical setting, method of instruction, class requirements, and allowed accommodations. In addition, significant differences were found between the three types of vocational courses: home economics, business, and technical. The implications of these findings for future research and classroom practice are discussed.
Differences in the Learning and Transfer Performance between Students with Learning Disabilities and other Low-Achieving Students on Problem-Solving Tasks
Authors: Brownell Mary T. , Mellard Daryl F. , Deshler Donald D.
Published: April 2006

Despite a lack of empirical support, students with learning disabilities are frequently characterized as having poor transfer abilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in the learning and transfer ability of 20 students with learning disabilities (LD) and 20 students with matched low achievement (LA). The two groups were assessed on one learning task and three transfer tasks under unassisted and assisted conditions (i.e., dynamic assessment). A 2 (Group) by 4 (Session) (i.e., pretest, training, maintenance/transfer, and delayed maintenance) mixed, factorial design was employed for data collection. Seven separate analyses and several post-hoc analyses were conducted to determine group performance differences on measures of learning, transfer, and maintenance. Results indicated inconsistent performance differences. Implications of these findings are discussed in the context of previous research employing dynamic assessment as well as investigations of problem-solving in students with LD.
Self-Monitoring of Attention versus Self-Monitoring of Performance: Replication and Cross-Task Comparison Studies
Authors: Harris Karen R. , Graham Steve , Reid Robert , McElroy Karen , Hamby Robin Stern
Published: April 2006

The effectiveness of two self-monitoring interventions on the attentional and academic performance of students with learning disabilities was compared in two separate experiments. In the first experiment, a counterbalanced, multiple-baseline-across-subjects design was used to determine if attention and performance monitoring had differential effects on the spelling study behaviors of four students with learning disabilities. Both interventions had a positive impact on students' on-task behavior as well as the number of times they correctly practiced spelling words. Two of the students, however, were more productive when using self-monitoring of performance, and all the students preferred this self-monitoring procedure. In the second experiment, using the same design and procedures, the two self-monitoring interventions were applied to story writing. Both had a positive effect on the length and quality of students' stories as well as their on-task behavior during writing. Neither of the self-monitoring interventions, however, was clearly or consistently superior to the other. Recommendations for teachers regarding designing, implementing, and evaluating self-monitoring procedures are provided.
Stages of Acceptance of A Learning Disability: The Impact of Labeling
Authors: Higgins Eleanor L. , Raskind Marshall H. , Goldberg Roberta J. , Herman Kenneth L.
Published: April 2006

The research described here is part of a 20-year longitudinal project tracing the lives of a group of 41 individuals with learning disabilities. The article enumerates a small piece of the qualitative findings obtained using an ethnographic approach that emphasized the “emic,” or insider's, perspective. Since several of the research questions addressed patterns of change over time, portions of the interview focused on changes in past and present attitudes, emotions, conceptions and meanings related to the learning disability. A salient notion emerged from participants' narratives, which they described as “acceptance of the learning disability.” Further analysis revealed a shared set of understandings concerning distinct stages of “coming to terms” with the technical realities of their disability and with the social/emotional impact of being labeled. These included (a) awareness of their “differentness”; (b) the labeling event; (c) understanding/negotiating the label; (d) compartmentalization; and (e) transformation.
Social Skills Deficits in Learning Disabilities: The Psychiatric Comorbidity Hypothesis
Authors: Miguel Stephanie K. San , Forness Steven R. , Kavale Kenneth A.
Published: April 2006

The hypothesis that social skills deficits in learning disabilities may reflect the comorbidity of learning disabilities with psychiatric diagnoses is partially supported by prevalence rates of learning disabilities within samples of individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depressive or dysthymic disorder. The maladaptive social skills patterns of children with specific subtypes of learning disabilities appear to mimic the symptom patterns of children with ADHD, depression or dysthymia, thus providing additional support for the psychiatric comorbidity hypothesis. This article includes a discussion of the implications of a psychiatric comorbidity hypothesis for increased special education support, further delineation of subtypes of learning disabilities, therapeutic, psychological or psychopharmacologic treatment, and collaborative efforts between professionals in mental health and learning disabilities.
Partitioning and Unitizing in Children with Learning Differences
Authors: Grobecker Betsey A.
Published: April 2006

Seven- to 13-year-old children of average intelligence who were (a) learning disabled (LD, n=42) and (b) not identified as learning disabled (NLD, n=42) were individually tested in a task that investigated the quality of their logical-mathematical structures of thought. Mathematical knowledge was additionally assessed on the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement-Revised (WJTA-R). Students in both groups generated grouping relationships in their solutions; however, children with LD tended to generate solutions suggestive of less coordinated structures of thought than their same-aged peers with NLD. They also performed significantly below same-aged peers on the WJTA-R, although they achieved approximately at age-level expectancy on this task. For both groups, scores on the WJTA-R were inflated relative to the quality of operational thought structures demonstrated on the task investigating the quality of grouping relationships deduced. Diagnostic and remedial implications are discussed.
Evaluation of a Writing Instruction Model that Integrated a Process Approach, Strategy Instruction, and Word Processing
Authors: MacArthur Charles A. , Graham Steve , Schwartz Shirley S. , Schafer William D.
Published: April 2006

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a model of writing instruction that integrated word processing, strategy instruction, and a process approach. Teachers established a social context for writing in which students worked on meaningful tasks, shared their writing with peers, and published their work for real audiences. The classroom structure supported extended cycles of planning, drafting, and revising. Teachers supported the development of writing strategies through conferencing and explicit instruction in strategies for planning and revising. Word processing supported fluent production of text, revising, and publishing. The experimental model was implemented for a full school year in 12 classes with 113 students with learning disabilities. Students in the experimental classes made greater gains in the quality of their narrative and informative writing than 94 students with learning disabilities in 10 control classes.
Imaging Brain Structure in Children: Differentiating Language Disability and Reading Disability
Authors: Leonard Christiana M.
Published: April 2006

Children's approach to print differs. Some plunge in, others read slowly and without pleasure. After a century of study we still do not know why these differences occur. Is reading disability (RD) a neurological disorder? How do the brains of children with RD differ? How does early linguistic experience change the brain? Evidence is presented here showing that consistent threads are beginning to emerge from reading and imaging research that treats RD as a heterogeneous condition. When disabled readers with oral language deficits are separated from those with no oral language deficits, modern imaging studies reveal differences in brain structures that have implications for diagnosis and educational practice.
Word Prediction for Students with Severe Spelling Problems
Authors: MacArthur Charles A.
Published: April 2006

In Study 1, three students with severe spelling problems wrote daily in journals in their classroom, alternating among handwriting (HW), word processing (WP), and word prediction with speech synthesis (PR). No differences among conditions were found for legibility, and only one student consistently spelled more words correctly with PR. One explanation for the lack of impact was that the word prediction software was difficult for students to use and that the modest demands of journal writing did not take advantage of the large vocabulary and complex word prediction capabilities of the software. Study 2 was conducted with the same students and conditions but with a writing task that demanded a larger vocabulary. In this study, improvements in both legibility and spelling were noted for two of the three students. Students wrote two to three times slower with word prediction than with handwriting. Analyses of students' use of word prediction and their spelling errors suggested that the software was difficult to use because of substantial demands on attention and the need to spell the initial letters of words correctly.
Definitions and Eligibility Criteria Applied to the Adolescent and Adult Population with Learning Disabilities across Agencies
Authors: Gregg Noël , Scott Sally , McPeek Donna , Ferri Beth
Published: April 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate the similarities and differences across state agencies serving adolescents and adults with learning disabilities in relation to their definitions and eligibility criteria for services. Significant differences were noted within and across agencies. Specific emphasis was given to investigating the 51 state departments of special education (SPE) and vocational rehabilitation (VR), including Washington, DC. A conceptual framework consisting of 21 components was used in analyzing the definitions and criteria. A follow-up phone interview was conducted with 14 state departments of SPE and VR to provide additional input on current trends that might not have been reflected in the empirical data. An outcome of those findings resulted in suggestions for definitions and eligibility criteria policy across state agencies.
On Babies and Bathwater: Addressing the Problems of Identification of Learning Disabilities
Authors: Scruggs Thomas E. , Mastropieri Margo A.
Published: April 2006

In this article, we review problems in identification of learning disabilities and consider proposed alternatives to present procedures. We argue that no proposed alternative meets all the necessary criteria for identification of learning disabilities, and that radically altering or eliminating current conceptualizations of learning disabilities may amount to “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.” We conclude that the major problems of identification of learning disabilities — including overidentification, variability, and specificity — can be eliminated by increasing specificity and consistency of state criteria and strict adherence to identification criteria on the local implementation level. Finally, we argue that scarce special education funds should not be employed to address the problems of general education.
Year-Long Balanced Reading/Writing Tutorial: A Design Experiment Used for Dynamic Assessment
Authors: Abbott Sylvia P. , Reed Elizabeth , Abbott Robert D. , Berninger Virginia W.
Published: April 2006

Sixteen children referred for severe reading problems in first grade participated in a year-long individual tutorial. The tutorial, which was designed to bring children up to expected level based on ability and grade in reading and writing, lasted from the end of first grade to the end of second grade. Growth curve analyses for the group on measures of orthographic and phonological coding, word identification of real words, word attack of pseudowords, reading comprehension, letter automaticity, and spelling showed that gains were significantly greater than chance. Growth curves for the group were marginally significant for written composition. Individual subject analysis revealed that most children were treatment responders (i.e., growth significantly greater than chance) on most of the measures and all reached expected levels, based on ability or grade, on some of the measures. Results have implications for analysis of response to intervention in reading and writing as a form of dynamic assessment.