ANALYSIS OF SCIENCE TEXTBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS PROVIDED FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Teachers' manuals from three major elementary science textbook series were analyzed. These textbooks provided specific instructional recomme ndations for students with disabilities in mainstream classes. Finding s reveal that (a) the textbooks did not provide recommendations for al l categories of disabilities as defined in Public Law 94-142; (b) many recommendations did not specifically address the learning needs of th e students for whom they were intended, and (c) there was no consisten cy in the nature of recommendations provided for any given category of disability. Results indicate that special education and mainstream te achers should monitor the usefulness of published materials that claim to meet the needs of students with disabilities.