Mainstreaming: Implications for Reconceptualizing Schooling. Incidental Papers. Reports of the Deans' Grants: 6.

Overview & Synopsis

The paper focuses on differences between regular and special education and suggests ways in which the principles of P.L. 94-142 (the Education For All Handicapped Children Act) can be extended to the education of nonhandicapped students. Special education as mandated by P.L. 94-142 differs from regular education in six dimensions: mandate for appropriate education, emphasis on individualization, attention to the social climate and to social goals, the role of the parents in the educational process, staffing patterns and interdisciplinary process, and accountability. Applications to regular education of these principles would result in a variety of changes, including reduced class sizes, development and implementation of social skills curricula, use of release time to allow teachers to meet with parents, increased interdisciplinary consultation, and greater accountability for student outcomes. Impediments to such changes exist, but the benefits of extending the merits of P.L. 94-142 to all of education are great. (CL)