Adults with learning disabilities were studied to ascertain the patterns of successful functioning that promoted high levels of vocational success. This area of research has been neglected in the developing research base on adults with learning disabilities. In this study of 46 highly successful and 25 moderately successful adults with learning disabilities using ethnographic interviews, it was found that the overriding theme was control and that control was sought through the pursuit of two sets of themes--internal decisions and external manifestations. These themes transcended the entire sample, and the clear difference between the groups was the degree of attainment on the various elements the themes comprised. These elements and themes are discussed and a model of successful vocational functioning is developed and explained.

JL. HE SEARCH FOR EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONALmethods for students with learning disabilities has persistently challenged researchers and practitioners. The heterogeneous nature of the population of persons with learning disabilities accounts for a tremendous diversity of approaches. A number of attempts have been made to match instruction to theoretical etiologies of learning disabilities and thereby remediate the presumed dysfunctional psychological processes causing the learning difficulties. Most of these approaches have met with limited success and much criticism. The criticism has tended to focus on the lack of empirical evidence to support a particular etiology, the dubious supposition that basic psychological processes can be remediated, and the reduced time devoted to direct academic instruction (Hammill & Larsen, 1978). Moreover, the heterogeneous characteristics of learning disabilities suggest multiple etiologies; an approach based on a specific etiology would, at best, respond to only a portion of the population. Further, most researchers agree that more than one psychological process is involved in most areas of learning (Lerner, 1993).In recent years, attention has shifted from remediation to compensation. Compensation strategies reflect the growing evidence that learning disabilities cannot be "fixed" and will simply not disappear as one grows older. Consequently, students with learning disabilities need to learn ways of coping and adapting. However, it would be difficult to develop specific strategies to meet every possible learning situation. Approaches that have become popular, such as the Strategies Intervention Model developed at the University of Kansas Institute for Research on Learning Disabilities (Schumaker, Deshler, & Ellis, 1986), have attempted to develop general learning strategies, such as writing well-organized paragraphs or using self-questioning when reading, that can be employed in many settings. The goal of this approach is to teach students to become active,

Reframing the learning disabilities experience has been identified by researchers as a key variable in employment success and adjustment in adulthood. This article provides a discussion of theory, related literature, methods, and techniques related to the process of reframing--from recognition, to understanding, to acceptance of the learning disability, to the development of a plan of action. We argue that successful reframing is imperative if one is to take control of his or her learning disability in adult life. It is also necessary for the development and implementation of self-advocacy skills.

Teachers from charter and traditional schools in Colorado were queried about their perceptions of their level of empowerment, school climate, and working conditions. Using a cluster sampling design, approximately 100 teachers from 16 charter schools and 100 teachers from seven traditional schools were surveyed by combining several well-established instruments to measure empowerment, school climate, and working conditions. Factor analyses yielded three composite variables each for the three constructs. One-way analyses of variance were used to explore these teachers' differences in perceptions. Results yielded consistent and practically significant differences in these charter and traditional school perceptions of empowerment, school climate, and working conditions. Not all of these differences, however, were consistent with expectations given the educational and legislative contexts driving Colorado's charter school movement. Implications and recommendations for future research are given. of 22to traditional public school teachers? The Colorado Charter Schools ActWhen Colorado legislators passed one of the nation's earliest and strongest charter school laws in 1993, they explicitly adopted the perspective that local control of schools and "teacher professionalism" must increase if public education is to improve. The Colorado charter school law is considered "strong" because it includes a mechanism for appealing disputed charter school applications to the Colorado State Board of Education. That is, local boards of education and/or school districts do not alone have final say over whether a charter school will or will not be approved for their district.According to the state's Charter Schools Act, a charter school in Colorado is a public school operated by a group of parents, teachers, and/or community members as a semi-autonomous school of choice within a school district, operating under a contract between the members of the charter school community and the local board of education. Such schools were purposefully created to provide an avenue for educators and others "to take responsible risks and create new, innovative, more flexible ways of educating all children within the public school system." Essential characteristics of charter schools were to be school-centered governance, autonomy, and a clear design for how and what students learn. Another clearly stated objective was "to create new professional opportunities for teachers, including the opportunity to be responsible for the learning program at the school site." During the 1998 legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly re-authorized the Charter Schools Act without a future sunset, signaling the evolution of charter schools from a reform experiment to a permanent part of the public education infrastructure in Colorado. Another bill, passed in 1999, increased the required amount of state per-pupil allotment going to charter schools from 80% to 95% of the public school average, as well as the base upon which that percentage was calculated. Although c...