Abstract
The ideological belief system of actors who influence the direction of policies is an important dimension providing some estimate of a policy's feasibility. This paper, through the development and application of a Special Education Ideology (SEI) Scale, examines what a randomly selected group of local educational decision-makers in Massachusetts think regarding the education of handicapped children within the contexts of citizen/parent participation, intergovernmental relations, community/agency linkage, and normalization. Their belief system, and extent of mainstreaming in Massachusetts, are analyzed according to community type—urban, small city, suburban, and rural. With respect to Public Law 94–142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, implications and limitations of the SEI Scale are explored for education and human service professionals.
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