Teachers of students with severe disabilities in three NSW Department of School Education regions were surveyed to obtain their views on a set of 42 statements reflecting possible “best practices” in the education of students with severe disabilities. Teachers were also surveyed regarding their reported extent of implementation of each practice, their training needs and the perceived barriers to implementation. A total of 99 responses were received, 83 of which were appropriately targeted. Results indicated that teachers agreed for the most part with the statements but reported they were not always able to implement fully every practice for reasons such as inadequate staffing, lack of time, insufficient funds and inadequate access to therapy services. Teachers indicated that their greatest needs for inservicing were in the areas of managing challenging behaviour and teaching communication and social skills.

This research study was designed to investigate the effects of inclusion on regular class teachers in Queensland schools. While education departments promote inclusion there is frequently insufficient notice taken of the impact of such programs within the classroom context where inclusion actually happens. For the majority of children, and for most of the time, inclusion occurs within the four walls of a regular classroom. This paper reports the findings of focus group interviews with primary school teachers involved with inclusion. The research was undertaken in 1997 with 17 teachers from 13 primary schools within one region in Queensland. All teachers involved in this study taught in regular classrooms that included a child with either an intellectual or physical disability. Discussion of the analysis of the interviews focuses on three main areas within the classroom context: (1) the children in the classes (2) the classroom learning environments; and (3) the teachers. This project is highly significant as policies of inclusion rely on teachers’ acceptance of them, belief in their worth, and ability to cope. It is essential to determine if the reality of the current situation is likely to support further trends towards greater inclusion.

Eight children without disabilities who attended an inclusive preschool at Macquarie University Special Education Centre were followed‐up in their first year of school in an attempt to establish whether their preschool program, in particular the inclusion of a high proportion of children with a range of intellectual disabilities, would have a detrimental effect on their subsequent social and academic performance. The current skills of these children, in relation to their peers, were assessed using a range of measures including a teacher interview, a collection of independently evaluated work samples and measures of in‐class behaviour. The academic performance of the children was also compared to the measures of their receptive vocabulary and tests of early reading which were collected towards the end of their preschool year. The academic and social measures taken in the school year indicated that the children’s performance was equal to that of their peers, thereby challenging claims that integrated settings have a negative impact on development. According to the ratings of their early reading and phonemic awareness skills by their kindergarten teachers, these children were performing at or above the level predicted by measures of their language and prereading skills in the preschool.

This paper investigates issues surrounding the inclusion of students with Asperger’s Syndrome in primary school classrooms by first identifying the unique needs of these students, and secondly, by examining some strategies which can facilitate the inclusion of these students into inclusive school settings. These effective methods take into account physical factors within the classroom, the predictability of instructional routines, and building on students’ pre‐existing knowledge in order to enhance their productivity. The approaches to instruction discussed in this paper are particularly valuable because they are appropriate to the needs of many students in the regular classroom.