Chapter 3: Special Populations In Middle Level Classrooms

The purpose of this chapter is to review seminal and recent work on special populations in middle level settings including the following categories: inclusion, gifted and talented education (GATE), response to intervention (RtI), instructional and assistive technology, and universal design for learning (UDL). Our intent is to present: (a) definitions and backgroundinformation, (b) ways in which programs and systems have been studied, and (c) gaps in research by offering questions for further inquiry. Through this review, we hope to focus attention on areas of immediate need regarding programs and support for these students. The research questions focusing on special populations can be found in Chapter 10.