Background: China's coastal wetlands belong to some of the most threatened ecosystems worldwide. The loss and degradation of these wetlands seriously threaten waterbirds that depend on wetlands.
The Learning in Regular Classrooms experiment has evolved in response to China's efforts to educate its large population of students with disabilities who, until the mid-1980s, were denied a free education. In the Learning in Regular Classrooms, students with disabilities (primarily sensory impairments or mild mental retardation) are educated in neighborhood schools in mainstream classrooms. Despite difficulties associated with developing effective inclusive programming, this approach has contributed to a major increase in the enrollment of students with disabilities and increased involvement of schools, teachers, and parents in China's newly developing special education system. Here we describe the development of the Learning in Regular Classroom approach and the challenges associated with educating students with disabilities in China.
This article, written by Meng Deng of Beijing Normal University and Kim Fong Poon-McBrayer of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, reviews and analyses the reform of special education in China, the challenges confronting Chinese special education provisions, and how the Chinese inclusive education model, namely 'Learning in RegularClassrooms', has been shaped by the pragmatic needs aligning with the nation's economic and social developments. In an effort to provide wider school access, the current inclusive education model has become the form of educational placement that serves the majority of students with disabilities in China. The authors conclude that reforms in the last two decades have resulted in dramatic changes and progress in many facets of special education service delivery, school structure, administrative monitoring mechanism, and instructional practices. However, the current Chinese special education service structure is still shaky, with inadequate resources, personnel preparation and support at the local level. Fundamental changes to the examination-oriented mainstream education system are still needed, to enhance the quality of education for students with special needs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.