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CHOICE Review
The term ``special education'' conjures up the image of classroom instruction of the mentally retarded. In fact, the term encompasses computer applications, vocational programs, psychological counseling, and a variety of other programs and services for children and adults, who are ``special'' for widely differing reasons. This Encyclopedia reflects the often complex nature of today's special education. It treats an impressive array of topics relating to exceptional children and adults. Although the work is concerned with all types of exceptional individuals, including the gifted, the emphasis is on those with some type of handicap. The editors have broken the information into seven categories, among them descriptions of educational and psychological tests, interventions and service delivery, handicapping conditions, services related to special education, and legal issues. Also included are biographies of current and past key figures and miscellaneous entries. In the latter category, brief entries on major professional associations and important journals in special education and related fields are especially useful. The editors also include as an appendix the text of Public Law 94-142, a helpful addition. Another positive feature is treatment of general topics (e.g., ``leisure-time activities''), in a manner that tailors the information provided to special education. Entries are signed and range in length from a single paragraph to as much as seven pages, although the majority take less than a single page. For most subjects, articles serve as a competent, broad overview, but the relative length of some articles is out of balance with the importance of the subject matter. This is particularly evident with biographical entries: some young scholars (including editor Reynolds), who are prominent but still in the relatively early stages of their careers, are given lengthier treatment than figures of established importance (e.g., the late Burton Blatt). Occasionally, entries under separate but similar headings (e.g., ``robotics'' and ``robotics in special education'') are redundant and could have been combined. For most entries, however, the level of information given is appropriate for an encyclopedia. The goals of the editors were ``utility and readability'' to allow use by ``intelligent laypersons,'' and most articles succeed in achieving this goal. Although many articles include technical language, most would serve effectively as introductions for laypersons or undergraduates. Advanced users would also find information of interest, especially in the brief bibliographies appended to many articles. The final volume includes name and subject indexes. However, cross-references appended to individual entries are somewhat erratic in scope: the entry ``Terman's studies on genius'' has a cross-reference to ``gifted and talented children'' and to an article on Terman himself, but none to the articles on ``genius'' or ``gifted children.'' Since some very specific terms are omitted, a dictionary-such as that included in William Edmund Davis's Resource Guide to Special Education (2nd ed., 1986), a work of narrower scope-is needed for definitions of those terms. Although there are no strictly comparable works for the field of special education, other broad-based encyclopedias in education include The International Encyclopedia of Education (CH, Sep '86), which covers many of the same topics, sometimes in greater depth. For discussions of research in a particular area, The Encyclopedia of Educational Research (CH, Feb '83) is more thorough in treating some major topics, but does not include more specialized topics. Despite some flaws, a well-designed and up-to-date source. Despite its cost, recommended for public, college, and university libraries serving undergraduates and graduate students in special education.-M.M. Vass, University of Kentucky
Booklist Review
371.9'03 Handicapped children Education U.S. Dictionaries / Special education Education U.S. Dictionaries / Handicapped Education U.S. Dictionaries [OCLC] 86-33975 The more than 2,000 articles in this set explore aspects of special education and related topics for professionals and concerned lay audiences. The intent is to be a primary reference, combining authority, currency, and succinctness in a comprehensive source; historical and international perspectives are included. Topics fall into the areas of biography; educational and psychological tests; modes of providing for students (for instance, Itinerant Teacher); disabling conditions (Jargon Aphasia, Metabolic Disorders); and legal aspects (Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens vs. Pennsylvania, Equal Protection). Miscellaneous topics include professional associations; research techniques (Factor Analysis, Evaluation); information sources (On-Line Data Bases for Special Education, Federal Register, journals); curricula (Fountain Valley Teacher Support System); programs (Follow Through); special education in other countries; psychology (Learned Helplessness); medicine (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Thorazine); general education (Percentile Scores); and institutions (Lexington School for the Deaf).More than 400 writers contributed to the Encyclopedia of Special Education (ESE); their names and affiliations are listed in volume 1. All articles are either signed or noted ``Staff''; names are given in the front matter. Most writers are academics, although some practitioners are included. The editors are Cecil Reynolds, professor and director of doctoral training in the School of Psychology at Texas A&M University, and Lester Mann, professor and chair of special education at Hunter College. They worked with a board of consulting editors, who participated in writing and managing the project. An editorial advisory board provided guidance and reviewed specialty articles.The preface and foreword describe the intent, scope, and process of assembling the work. Articles, which range from two sentences to more than seven pages, are arranged letter by letter. Most end with see also references in boldface; see references are also used. Subject and name indexes are in the third volume. The former, only 17 pages long, simply lists the articles in the set and provides cross-references to them. The name index is limited to authors of articles and of works cited. Neither index lists terms within articles. Indexes do not indicate in which volume the continuously numbered pages are found. An encyclopedia of this size and importance deserves a better index.There are few illustrations apart from the occasional photograph accompanying a biography. A small number of diagrams, tables, graphs, and simple sketches is included. Pages are laid out in two columns and are readable. Each article concludes with a bibliography that is usually proportional to the length of the article. Often items from the bibliography are discussed in the body of the entry. Most references are to scholarly literature. Bibliographies are not comprehensive but allow for the additional exploration of a topic.Some articles are far less accessible to lay readers than others due to the complexity of the topics and also sometimes because the authors use too much jargon or do not clarify terms. Some articles cannot be read without a dictionary, although it is reasonable to expect technical terms to be defined within the article or at least within the set. For example, Sequential and Simultaneous Cognitive Processing includes the terms Block II; parietal, occipital, and temporal (lobes of the brain); serial recall; and free recall; not one is defined in the article or listed in the index.The objective articles attempt to trace concepts historically, review relevant research, and indicate current status. For example, the beginnings of Therapeutic Community as psychosocial rehabilitation are traced, several books that present t
