Behavioral fluency is that combination of accuracy plus speed of responding that enables competent individuals to function efficiently and effectively in their natural environments. Evolving from the methodology of free-operant conditioning, the practice of precision teaching set the stage for discoveries about relations between behavior frequency and specific outcomes, notably retention and maintenance of performance, endurance or resistance to distraction, and application or transfer of training. The use of frequency aims in instructional programming by Haughton and his associates led to formulation of empirically determined performance frequency ranges that define fluency. Use of fluency-based instructional methods has led to unprecedented gains in educational cost effectiveness, and has the potential for significantly improving education and training in general. This article traces the development of concepts, procedures, and findings associated with fluency and discusses their implications for instructional design and practice. It invites further controlled research and experimental analyses of phenomena that may be significant in the future evolution of educational technology and in the analysis of complex behavior.

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Behavioral fluency: Evolution of a new paradigm.

Quantitative and qualitative research evidence is reviewed and synthesized with regard to the family-centeredness of early intervention, preschool, and elementary and secondary school practices. Early intervention and school practices are not as family-centered as is generally claimed, and one finds less presumption of being family-centered at each level from early intervention to preschool to elementary school to secondary school programs. The need for better research is noted, and research that would advance our understanding of family-centered practices is suggested.

Family-Centered Practices Birth Through High School

A decade of public policy in special education has failed to yield suitable definitions, identification and assessment procedures, or reliable prevalence estimates of mild handicapping conditions, such as learning disabilities, mild mental retardation, and mild emotional disturbance. In the absence of professional agreement and compelling empirical evidence, federal and state policies represent a “consensual theory”; of special education for the mildly handicapped, based primarily on several psychometric‐oriented assumptions. Recent research has failed to support these assumptions and has provided evidence which is interpreted to show the overarching importance of teachers’ decision‐making — specifically decisions to refer a child for special education. This article argues the need for a rethinking of basic assumptions in special education for the mildly handicapped. Specifically, we recommend the design of: (a) new identification procedures at the school site level and (b) a program of research aimed at ...

Teacher as imperfect test: Reconceptualizing the referral process

This investigation examines teachers' attitudes toward their included students with disabilities. Seventy general education teachers of inclusive elementary classrooms nominated three of their students to prompts corresponding with the attitudinal categories of attachment, concern, indifference, and rejection. Consistent with predictions based on a theory of instructional tolerance, chi-square analyses indicated that included students with disabilities were significantly underrepresented in the attachment category, and significantly overrepresented in the concern and rejection categories. Greater experience teaching in inclusive classes was also associated with higher rates of concern nominations for included students with disabilities. Results are discussed in regard to their implications for inclusive policies and practice.

Teachers Attitudes toward Their Included Students with Disabilities

Minority Parental Involvement and School Barriers: Moving the Focus Away from Deficiencies of Parents.

To prepare for post-industrial leadership in the twenty-first century, we must transcend the circular journey of leadership studies of the twentieth century which is rooted in the industrial paradigm of organizations. The post-industrial era of knowledge workers requires a group-based, interactive framework of leadership. Based on the works of Burns (1978) and Rost (1991), the authors propose a definition of transforming leadership discovered through their systems design work. Three principles of transforming leadership are identified through the application of the CogniScope System. From 200 applications of the CogniScope System in various organizations, the phenomenon of transforming leadership has emerged as an important possibility. Observations from multiple applications of the CogniScope System have led to the codification of three principles that fit the context, content, and process of systems design work. The three principles are illustrated through excerpts of a case study. Using the case study, the authors identify specific events or group products to validate the claim that transforming leadership did occur. The authors identify a need for research by other emancipatory systems thinking methodologies to further our understanding of transforming leadership. The authors speculate on the emergence of transforming leaders/managers in new organizational structures that will support transforming leadership. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Creating transforming leadership for organizational change: the CogniScope System approach

Teaching Mainstreamed Students

A pilot study was initiated with three regular preschool classes (65 children) to determine the validity of identifying preschool handicapped children (3½ to 5½ years of age) through a frequency sampling technique. Seven 1 minute samples of academic behavior were developed for 4 year olds and nine 1 minute samples for 5 year olds. The 1 minute samples involved learning tasks all children were expected to achieve during the school year (e.g., matching colors). The frequency of correct responses of each child on the tasks was compared with other students in the school at the same age level. By noting all children performing in the lower 25% of frequency scores, a list of at risk learners was developed. When comparing the list of children identified through the frequency sampling technique with teacher identification of at risk children at the end of the school year, a correlation above .9 was found.

Early Identification of Handicapped Children through a Frequency Sampling Technique

A descriptive study was conducted to identify factors that influence special education teachers' attitudes about parents as educational collaborators. The study found that teachers view parents as more capable and are more open to parent input if they interact more frequently. Student age was found to influence openness, independent of interaction frequency. None of the factors analyzed were found to be related to perceptions of incapability. The results are interpreted as consistent with other collaboration studies that indicate greater amounts of interactions increase positive attitudes about others' roles in collaboration.

Influences on Teachers' Attitudes of the Parents' Role as Collaborator

The federal Rules and Regulations of P.L. 94-142 for the development and implementation of child-identification systems present severe policy problems for state planners. The constraints imposed by the federal design may be critiqued by examining the Child Count required for child-identification activities and the research literature. The authors identify the Child Count report as the most significant factor hindering the development of comprehensive child-identification systems. In the research literature, three concepts have emerged that provide the outline of a comprehensive system: (A) prevention as a primary purpose, (b) the critical relationship of identification to program intervention, and (c) the use of identification procedures rooted in an instructional framework. The Child Count requirements serve as a constraining influence on state planners, with the resulting procedures resembling child inventories more than comprehensive child-identification systems.

Larry A. Magliocca

Papers

Creating transforming leadership for organizational change: the CogniScope System approach

Teaching Mainstreamed Students

Early Identification of Handicapped Children through a Frequency Sampling Technique

Influences on Teachers' Attitudes of the Parents' Role as Collaborator

Child Identification or Child Inventory? A Critique of the Federal Design of Child-Identification Systems Implemented Under P.L. 94-142: