ISSN 0827 3383 - International Journal of Special … complete1.doc · Web viewClose teacher/child/parent liaison Outreach support Facilitating pupil engagement in activities Circle

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION Vol21 No.2 2006

ISSN 0827 3383

International Journalof

Special EducationVOLUME 21 2006 NUMBER 2

Social Problem Solving In Cooperative And Problematic Contexts In Students With And Without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Turkish Mothers’ Interpretations Of The Disability Of Their Children With Mental Retardation

Autistic Spectrum Disorders And Primary-Secondary Transition

The Development Of Special Education Services In Thailand

Programs And Methods To Improve Reading Comprehension Levels Of Reading Resource Special Needs Students At Austin Road Middle School

Educational Services For Students With Mental Retardation In Kenya

Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education In Jordanian Schools

What Teacher Candidates Need To Know About Academic Learning Time

Assisting Parents To Facilitate Social Skills In Young Children With Disabilities Through Play

Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitudes, Concerns And Sentiments About Inclusive Education: An International Comparison Of The Novice Pre-Service Teachers

Self-Management For Students With Disabilities: The Importance Of Teacher Follow-Up

High-Functional Autism: An Overview Of Characteristics And Related Issues

It Was Written All Over Him: Classroom Teachers’ Referral Criteria For Special Education Services

A Comparison of Emotions Elicited in Fair and Unfair Situations between Children with and without Behaviour Problems

i


International Journal of Special Education

REVISED EDITORIAL POLICY 2006

The International Journal of Special Education publishes original articles concerning special education. Experimental as well as theoretical articles are sought. Potential contributors are encouraged to submit reviews of research, historical, and philosophical studies, case studies and content analyses in addition to experimental correlation studies, surveys and reports of the effectiveness of innovative programs.

Send your article to [email protected] as attachment by e-mail, in MSWORD for IBM format ONLY . Articles should be single spaced (including references). Submit one original only. Any tables must be in MS-WORD for IBM Format. Please include a clear return e-mail address for the electronic return of any material. Published articles remain the property of the Journal.

E-mailed contributions are reviewed by the Editorial Board. Accepted articles may be revised for clarity, organisation and length.

Style: The content, organisation and style of articles should follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association(Third Edition, 1983). An article written in an obviously deviating style will be returned to the author for revision.

Abstracts: All articles will be preceded by an abstract of 100-200 words. Contributors are referred to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for assistance in preparing the abstract.

Responsibility of Authors: Authors are solely responsible for the factual accuracy of their contributions. The author is responsible for obtaining permission to quote lengthy excerpts from previously published material. All figures submitted must be submitted within the document.

JOURNAL LISTINGSAnnotated and Indexed by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and

Gifted Children for publication in the monthly print index Current Index to Journals of Special Education (CIJE) and the quarterly index, Exceptional Child Education Resources (ECER).IJSE is also indexed at Education Index (EDI).

The journal appears at the website: internationaljournalofspecialeducation.com

The editor can be reached at [email protected]

ii


VOLUME 21 2006 NUMBER 2

I N D E X

Social Problem Solving In Cooperative And Problematic Contexts In Students With And Without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder …………………...……..……….………..1

Thienhuong N. Hoang

Turkish Mothers’ Interpretations Of The Disability Of Their Children With Mental Retardation …………………………...……….…….…………….……..………8

Ibrahim H. Diken

Autistic Spectrum Disorders And Primary-SecondaryTransition.…….…………...…….…...18D. Jindal-Snape, W. Douglas, K. J. Topping, C. Kerr, & E. F. Smith

The Development Of Special Education Services In Thailand ………....…..…………….….32Stacy L. Carter

Programs And Methods To Improve Reading Comprehension Levels Of Reading Resource Special Needs Students At Austin Road Middle School..………..….…...37

Brenton A. Stenson

Educational Services For Students With Mental Retardation In Kenya …...………….….….47Mary W. Kiarie

Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education In Jordanian Schools …….………...……55Mohammed Al-Zyoudi

What Teacher Candidates Need To Know About Academic Learning Time ……….…...…..63Rita Mulholland and Michelle Cepello

Assisting Parents To Facilitate Social Skills In Young Children With Disabilities Through Play ……………………………………………….……….….…74

Yanhui Pang

Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitudes, Concerns And Sentiments About Inclusive Education: An International Comparison Of The Novice Pre-Service Teachers …….…….………….…80

Umesh Sharma, Chris Forlin,Tim Loreman & Chris Earle

Self-Management For Students With Disabilities: The Importance Of Teacher Follow-Up …………………….………...………..….…………94

Margaret E. King-Sears

High-Functional Autism: An Overview Of Characteristics And Related Issues …….…......109Ann X. Huang and John J. Wheeler

It Was Written All Over Him: Classroom Teachers’ Referral Criteria For Special Education Services………..……………………………...……………………. 124

Michael Dunn

A Comparison of Emotions Elicited in Fair and Unfair Situations between Children with and without Behaviour Problems………………………………………………………………...140

Gillian Averill-Roper and Julia J. Rucklidge

iii


SOCIAL PROBLEM SOLVING IN COOPERATIVE AND PROBLEMATIC CONTEXTS IN STUDENTS WITH AND WITHOUT ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER

Thienhuong N. HoangCalifornia State Polytechnic University,

The social problem-solving capacities of students aged 9 to 12 years with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (N=30) were compared to their non-ADHD peers (N=30) in hypothetical cooperative and problematic contexts. In the cooperative science task, the students with ADHD were more non-collaborative and less able to elaborate in response to their leader’s proposal. The students with ADHD were more positive than their ambivalent non-ADHD peers at the prospect of cooperative group participation. When the problematic situation was presented, students were equally aggressive in response, the students with ADHD proposed more positive outcomes for perpetrator of the problem. Such studies of the more complex social and cognitive outcomes of ADHD are essential to progress their educational management beyond the current behavioral focus.

The purpose of this study was to explore the social problem-solving capacities of students with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in hypothetical science investigations that were first cooperative and then problematic. It was predicted that students with ADHD would be impaired relative to their non-ADHD peers because of hypothesized deficiencies in the executive functions of self-regulation and reconstitution that contribute to problem-solving ability.

Theoretical FrameworkStudents with ADHD are characterized by core behavioral symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattentiveness that impact significantly on their learning and social participation in class. Effective management of the behavioral symptoms, through medication and behavior management strategies, leads to improvements in social outcomes and compliance in class (Jensen & Hinshaw, 2001). However, the effects of pharmacological and behavioral interventions on cognitive outcomes are less impressive, with an overall effect size of 0.28 reported in a recent meta-analysis of intervention (Purdue, Hattie, & Carroll, 2002).

The importance of studying cognitive outcomes for students with ADHD is emphasized by theoretical proposals that ADHD is a neuropsychological disorder of response inhibition (Barkley, 1997, 2000). The consequences of impaired response inhibition at a neurological level are particularly significant for the four associated

1


executive functions of nonverbal working memory, verbal working memory, self-regulation of emotion and motivation, and reconstitution. If educators are to understand the implications of ADHD for student achievement, it is essential to extend investigations beyond the behavioral impacts of the disorder, particularly as students move through school grades into more academically demanding contexts.

As students progress from childhood to adolescence, the hyperactivity symptoms of ADHD frequently diminish (Willoughby, 2003) and this is likely to mislead teachers that the disorder has diminished. However, the impairments of response inhibition and executive function are genetically determined to a large extent and are likely to persist, albeit in less conspicuous ways (Levy, Hay, McStephen, & Wood, 1997). Accompanying the transition from childhood to adolescence, the school curriculum also increases in cognitive complexity. From about age 9, students are expected to engage in problem-solving tasks that require self-regulation of actions over extended periods of time. The students with ADHD is therefore placed in a situation of double jeopardy: (1) teachers believe that the combined effects of medication and puberty have ameliorated the disorder, and (2) school tasks simultaneously place higher demands on the executive functions that are most implicated by the disorder.

The current study investigated social problem-solving embedded within a realistic task to explore the impact of ADHD on the responses of students aged 9 to 12 years. Clinical studies of social problem solving have demonstrated that boys with ADHD generate fewer solutions, and boys with combined ADHD and conduct disorders also generated more aggressive responses than peers without ADHD (Matthys, Cuperus, & van England, 2002). However, clinical studies tend to emphasize the most severe aspects of ADHD, which is now viewed not as a qualitatively discrete disorder, but rather as a disorder on a continuum from normal to impaired (Levy et al., 1997). If response inhibition is normally distributed across the population, then there is presumably a grey area along the levels of response. This distinction is important to recognize if teachers are to avoid responding negatively to all manifestations of distinction in students with ADHD, given that a range of disinhibition is expected among all students.

Social problem-solving tasks are particularly challenging for individuals with ADHD because problems require the generation of novel responses and goal-directed persistence (Barkley, 1997). With appropriate levels of inhibition, individuals are capable of analyzing situations into their component parts, and then drawing on previously unrelated units to generate novel outcomes. The creativity of the solution is given in part by the increasing fluency and flexibility of potential response elements. This joint process of analysis and synthesis is reconstitution, the fourth executive function. Goal-directed persistence is given as children learn to self-regulate their levels of arousal. In response to problem-solving tasks, individuals who lack response inhibition are therefore predicted to be (1) less fluent than their non-ADHD peers in generating responses to the problem and (2) more highly aroused in their affective response to new situations.

MethodParticipantsThe study sample (N=60) comprised of 30 students (27 boys, 3 girls) with ADHD and 30 students (27 boys, 3 girls) without ADHD, matched for age and gender, recruited

2


from elementary schools. The mean age of the ADHD group as 135.5 months and for the control group, 135.2 months (SD=12.5, Range=114-151 months, for both groups). Parents consented to allow the researcher to identify students with an ADHD diagnosis from school records. All testing was conducted in group settings during normal school hours, and students with ADHD were medicated with psycho-stimulant medication (Dexamphetamine or Methyl Phenidate).

Data SourcesCooperative TaskIn class groups, students were shown a poster and the accompanying vignette was read aloud to the class: Here are three boys in a science lesson. The teacher is saying to the boys, “I have an interesting science problem for you to solve in your group. On your table you have some straws, two wooden blocks, some pins, a pair of scissors, a bag of weights and a little cart to hold the weights. Your job is to build a strong bridge. You must design the bridge to carry as much as weight as possible. When you have finished the bridge, we will count how many weights it can hold. You must work in groups of 3 and you have 10 minutes to solve this problem. You can’t use any other material. Start now.”

Students were then directed to write responses to four questions printed on the answer sheet:

1. Now imagine you are the blue boy. When the teacher goes away, what will you say?

2. What does the green boy say next?3. How does the green boy feel?4. What does the green boy do?

On completion of this task, the second and third posters were displayed and the second vignette was read: Here are the same three boys in another science lesson. The teacher is saying to the boys, “I have an interesting electrical problem for you to solve in your groups. On your table, you have some batteries and a light bulb joined by electrical wires. The wires have two crocodile clips at the ends. When you clip the end together, the light bulb shines and tells you that the electricity is flowing through the circuit. Over here we have some objects – a piece of candle, a metal strip, some metal rings, a plastic strip, a key. Your job is to find out which if these objects will conduct electricity. You must work in groups of 3 and you have 10 minutes to solve this problem. You can’t use any other material. Start now.” As soon as the teacher goes away, the green boy fiddles with the equipment and breaks the light bulb. In the second picture, he is saying to the blue boy, “Look! I have broken the bulb!”The same four questions were presented and the students wrote their second set of responses. Written responses were analyzed qualitatively by the researcher. They were coded on the basis of the categories that emerged.

Results and ConclusionsTask 1: Cooperative group taskQ1.1 What does the blue boy say? All students responded as if the blue boy was the group leader, and they initiated either No strategy (e.g. How do you make this?), a General strategy (e.g. Let’s get started and make it strong), or a Specific strategy (e.g.

3


Why don’t we put the straws on the blocks and pin them in?). There were minimal differences in the proportions of responses between the two groups.

Table 1.1 Initiation No strategy General strategy Specific strategyADHD 26.7% 40.0% 33.3%Control 26.7% 43.3% 30.0%

Q1.2 What does the green boy say? The green boy’s rejoinder was either non-collaborative (e.g. Stop being bossy, blue boy!), acquiescent (e.g. Good idea!) or elaborative (e.g. If we double the straws up, it could make it stronger). The students with ADHD generated more non-collaborative comments, and fewer elaborative comments than their non-ADHD peers.

Table 1.2 Rejoinder

Non-collaborative Acquiescence Elaborative

ADHD 26.7% 23.3% 50%Control 10% 23.3% 66.7%

Q1.3 How does the green boy feel? The green boy’s affective tone was described as positive (e.g. happy, excited) or negative (e.g. annoyed, worried, unsure). The students with ADHD generated many more positive comments than their more ambivalent non-ADHD peers.

Table 1.3 Affective tone Positive NegativeADHD 72.4% 27.6%Control 43.3% 56.7%

Q1.4 What does the green boy do? The outcomes for the green boy were coded as conflict (e.g. He argues with the blue boy), non-participation (e.g. The green boy gives up and starts playing with the wooden cart) or constructive participation (e.g. He lays the straws over the wood and starts to pin). The two categories (combined) of nonproductive outcomes are slightly more frequent among the non-ADHD students than their ADHD peers.

Table 1.4 Outcomes

Conflict Non-participation Constructive participation

ADHD 6.7% 13.3% 80%Control 3.3% 23.3% 73.3%

The ranked and dichotomous scores for each of the variables 1.1 to 1.4 were then entered into a Linear Discriminant analysis (using SPSS Version 11.5) to determine which of the variables discriminated among ADHD and non ADHD students. Two variables, the Rejoinder (1.2) and Affective tone (1.3), contributed to the analysis and enabled 66.1% of the original grouped cases to be classified correctly.

Task 2: Problematic situationQ2.1 What does the blue boy say? Two dimensions were evident for coding purposes, the leader’s affective response to the green boy’s announcement they he had broken

4


the bulb, and the leader’s capacity to generate a proposal to address the situation. The affective response was coded as neutral (e.g. We’re going to need another one), accusative (e.g. You are such an idiot!) or sarcastic (e.g. You wrecked an assignment! Good on ya!). The majority (80%) of responses from both ADHD and non-ADHD students were aggressively accusative or sarcastic.

Table 2.1 Leader affect Neutral Accusative SarcasticADHD 20% 66.7% 13.3%Control 20% 63.3% 16.7%

The leader’s responses to address the situation were divided between pessimism (no proposal, can’t do task, will get in trouble) and optimism (seeks alternative, tell the teacher, ask for replacement), with the non-ADHD students identifying more optimistic proposals (50%) than the ADHD students (30.1%).

Table 2.1B Leader proposal

No proposal

Can’t do task

Trouble Seeks alternative

Tell the teacher

Replacement

ADHD 43.3% 13.3% 13.3% 6.7% 6.7% 16.7%Control 23.3% 23.3% 3.3% 10% 10% 30%

Q2.2 What does the green boy say? The responses attributed to the perpetrator of the broken bulb varied from reactive (e.g. You don’t have the guts to tell on me) to placatory (e.g. Take it easy, okay, I will get another one), with differences in the distribution of responses for the two groups. The students with ADHD were more likely to be reactive (i.e. highly aroused to respond (e.g. Shut up! Why don’t you do it yourself?) or contrite, accepting responsibility, feeling sorry, but not generating solutions (e.g. sorry, now what?). In contrast, the non-ADHD students dismissed the incident (e.g. Who cares? or It doesn’t matter) claimed more creatively that the breakage was accidental (e.g. I didn’t mean to break it; Whoops, I’m a bit clumsy) or placated the group by proposing solutions (e.g. I’ll get another one; We will just make up our answers).

Table 2.2 Perpetrator response

Reactive Dismissive Resigned Accidental Contrite Placatory

ADHD 23.3% 3.3% 10% 16.7% 33.3% 13.3%Control 3.3% 20% 6.7% 30% 6.7% 33.3%

Q2.3 How does the green boy feel? The student responses to this question were significantly diverse, including angry, anxious, ashamed, disappointed, embarrassed, guilty, sad, and stupid. The majority of responses from ADHD (70%) and non-ADHD (63.3%) students indicated that the green boy acknowledged that he felt…bad about wrecking the assignment.

5


Q2.4 What does the green boy do? The outcomes for the green boy who has caused the problematic situation for the group range from negative (e.g. He cries in a corner) to constructive replacement of the bulb (e.g. He asks the teacher for a new one). The students with ADHD are more likely to anticipate positive outcomes (80%) while the non-ADHD students are divided between negative/passive (46.6%) and more positive outcomes (53.3%).

Table Q2.4 Negative Passive Tries to fix it Tells teacher Replaces bulbADHD 10% 10% 20% 20% 40%Control 33.3% 13.3% 23.3% 13.3% 16.7%

The ranked scores for each of the variables 2.1A, 2.1B, 2.2 and 2.4 were then entered stepwise into a Linear Discriminant analysis (using SPSS Version 11.5) to determine which of the variables discriminated among ADHD and non ADHD students. The single variable Perpetrator Outcome (2.4) contributed to the analysis and enabled 65% of the original grouped cases to be classified correctly.

Educational and Scientific Importance of the StudyThe study confirms that students with ADHD are less fluent in their elaboration of responses to the cooperative group task (Q1.2). They also appear to be more highly aroused in a positive sense, since they responded with positive outcomes both to the prospect of group participation (G1.3) and in their attempts to rectify the problem (Q2.4). However, when confronted with a conflict, some students with ADHD responded initially with higher negative arousal, reacting angrily to the accusation that they had broken the light bulb, while others were contrite, and few of them could immediately generate a verbal responses that deflected blame or placated the group (Q2.2).

The students without ADHD are more self-regulated and possibly more reflective in their affective reactions to aspects of the task. They perceived more sources of uncertainty than the impulsive enthusiasm of the students with ADHD for the first task (Q1.3) and were less likely to imagine that the problem if the broken bulb could be overcome (Q2.4). When confronted with their error, the students without ADHD were less reactive in their initial verbal responses, and more readily deflected the attention of the group, either by dismissing the problems, or by proposing that the breakage was accidental and that they could easily fix the problem. These findings are therefore consistent with Barkley’s model (1997, 2000) of execution dysfunction in ADHD, demonstrating the impulsive high arousal of students with ADHD and their problems in generating fluent responses to problems.

It is also interesting to note the extent of aggressive response among all the students to the problematic social situation. The students responses signaled a high level of distress that the project would not be able to be completed, and demonstrates the unintentional levels of stress that teachers may create through the demand characteristics of learning tasks. From an adult perspective, it would not be challenging to tell the instructor and/or ask for a replacement globe, yet this solution was proposed by less than half (45%) of all respondents (18/30 ADHD students and 9/30 non-ADHD students). It is evident that the attribution of aggressive responses to disorders such as ADHD may be inappropriate without consideration of stressors for

6


all students within many classrooms, particularly when assessment tasks are presented.

The development of the social problem-solving tasks within a familiar classroom context and the qualitative analyses of the student responses have provided valuable insights to the cognitive capacities and emotional responses of students with and without ADHD. The outcomes suggests that students with ADHD may benefit from explicit structured consideration of consequences and deliberate creative strategies to improve the fluency of their ideas, and will assist teachers to promote more considered learning that goes well beyond limited behavioral level of analysis.

ReferencesBarkley, R. (1997). Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention and executive functions: Constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 65-94.Barkley, R. (2000). Genetics of childhood disorders: XVII. ADHD, Part 1: The executive functions and ADHD. Journal of American Academic Child Adolescence Psychiatry, 39, 1064-1068.Jensen, P. & Hinshaw, S. (2001). Findings from the NIMH Multimodal treatment study of ADHD (MTA): Implications and applications for primary care providers. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 22, 60-76. Levy, F., Hay, D., McStephen, M., & Wood, C. (1997). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A category or a continuum? Genetic analysis of a large-scale twin study. Journal of American Academic Child Adolescence Psychiatry, 36, 737-744.Matthys, W., Cuperus, J., & van England, H. (1999). Deficient problem-solving in boys with ODD/CD, with ADHD, and with both disorders. Journal of American Academic Child Adolescence Psychiatry, 38, 311-321.Purdie, N., Hattie, J., & Carroll, A. (2002). A review of the research on interventions for ADHD: What works best? Review of Educational Research, 72, 61-99.Willoughby, M. (2003). Developmental course of ADHD symptomatology during the transition from childhood to adolescence: A review with recommendations. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 88-106.

7


TURKISH MOTHERS’ INTERPRETATIONS OF THE DISABILITY OF THEIR CHILDREN WITH MENTAL RETARDATION

Ibrahim H. Diken, Anadolu University

The purpose of this paper was to understand how Turkish mothers make meaning of the disability of their children with Mental Retardation (MR). Thirteen Turkish mothers who had at least one child with MR were the participants of the study. A qualitative interpretive framework was used for collecting and analyzing the data. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Mothers’ beliefs on the nature, causation, and treatment of the disability of their children were the main focus of the interviews. Some parents did not believe their children had a disability or misunderstood the nature of disability. Although most were aware of their children’s developmental limitations, they, at the same time, perceived the condition of the disability as temporary. Both traditional and modern (bio-medical) beliefs were held by most of the mothers on the causation of the disability. Mothers identified traditional beliefs, especially the religious ones, as the most popular causal agents. Most mothers sought help from both modern and traditional agents. Mothers, who held strong traditional beliefs regarding the causation of the disability of their children, held strong traditional treatment beliefs and valued more traditional treatment practices rather than bio-medical ones. Among the traditional treatment practices, most mothers required help from religious agents. Regarding future expectations of Mothers on the situation of their children, mothers wanted their children be less independent, and for this reason, they sought a more individualized education for their children. Implications, limitations and directions for future studies are also discussed.

The importance of parents’ involvement in the entire process of special education services has been recently recognized in both policy and practice levels in Turkey. For example, recent special education laws, such as KHK-573, highlight and strongly encourage parental involvement in services provided for their children with disabilities. In order for more positive outcomes for children and their parents be achieved, special education practices depend primarily on the quality of the interactions between professionals working with parents and their children with disabilities. At this point, a good understanding of families’ socio-cultural background plays a crucial role on establishing positive interactions between professionals and parents. Among families’ socio-cultural background/characteristics, parents’ beliefs or understanding of the disability of their children seems as the most important factor that directly influences their interactions with professionals and their decisions regarding services provided to their children with disabilities. The current study focuses on understanding Turkish mothers’ beliefs regarding the disability of their children.

8


The impact of socio-cultural influences on child development has been recognized in conceptual models and approaches of child development. Among these models, ecological model (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and transactional model (Sameroff & Fiese, 2000) put a great emphasis on the child within his/her immediate context including family, community, and social services. According to these models, the child’s family context with socio-cultural background is perceived as the most significant factor influencing the child development. There is a strong relationship between the characteristics of the child’s immediate environment and child development. Parents in the child’s immediate environment are the ones who play the most significant role on the child development. In addition to these conceptual models, Relationship-based approaches (Bertacchi, 1996; Moss & Gotss, 1998) enlighten the importance of the relationships between parent and professionals/service providers, between parent and child, and between child and professionals/service providers. According to these approaches, special education services must be provided by considering the socio-cultural background of the family in order to get expected outcomes for the child with disability and his/her family, such as improving parent-child interactions (Burnett & Meares, 2000).

Although parents’ participation in special education practices are currently being valued in Turkey, parents’ involvement and parents’ traditional or socio-cultural beliefs have not been recognized enough while providing services to the children and their parents. Instead, modern/medical explanations and interpretations of the disability have been strongly supported by professionals. In addition, professionals’ decisions have shaped the type of services for children with disabilities and their families. However, several studies reveal and support the fact that parental beliefs play critical role on parents’ choices of services and interactions with professionals who work with them. The results of several cross-cultural studies or literature on parental beliefs on the disability of their children also show that parents may believe, hold, and practice both modern (bio-medical/western) and traditional (religious, folk, superstitions, etc.) beliefs/perceptions regarding the disability of their children (Garcia, Perez, & Ontiz, 2000; Hanson, Lynch, & Wayman, 1990; Mardiros, 1989; McCallion & Janicki, 1997; Nicholls, 1993; Reiter, Mar’i, & Rosenberg, 1986; Ryan & Smith, 1989; Stahl, 1991; Steinberg & Davila, 1997).

Even though the special education services have been provided based on mostly professionals’ perspectives so far in Turkey, it is rational that both professionals and parents might not share all the same values, beliefs, or practices even when they come from the same cultural backgrounds. In order to achieve anticipated outcomes, professionals’ roles have to be changed toward cooperating with families on behalf of the child (Wayman, Lynch, & Hanson, 1990). At this point, understanding, respecting and being sensitive to cultural contexts of children with disabilities and their parents are the essential roles that professionals have to have and show for the success of the special education services. From the cultural contexts of parents, beliefs held by parents about their children affect parents’ behaviors beginning with seeking help, setting goals, and cooperating with the professionals regarding their children. In short, beliefs held by parents shape their behaviors toward the entire process of special education. Therefore, culturally competent professionals who understand, respect, and be sensitive to cultural contexts of children with disabilities and their parents are required for better outcomes of special education services.

9


One of the key factors to get successful outcomes from the services provided to children with disabilities and their families seems to be the establishment of positive relationships between professionals and parents of children with disabilities. Professionals working with children with disabilities and their families play a key role to establish these positive interactions. They are the ones who provide various services, such as assessment, referral and placement, planning, and implementing the programs. Parents’ beliefs regarding the disability of their children directly influence their decisions about beginning with their willingness to seek help, their communication styles, the amount and type of their participation that they choose, goals they may select, and the family members who may be involved. At this point, the lack of knowledge and respect about the parents’ beliefs regarding the disability of their children might negatively affect the communication between parents and professional who gets usually a western-style pre-service education (Stahl, 1991).

As previously indicated, active parental participation in goal setting and implementation of the programs designed for children with special needs is currently highly valued in Turkey. Parents are encouraged to speak out and to put more inputs into the services provided for their children and themselves. As belief systems change very slowly, professionals engaged in caring for children with disabilities have to take the beliefs of parents into consideration in order to see the child and his/her family as a whole and understand better their socio-cultural context. This seems as a must to have more positive interactions between professionals and parents of children with disabilities.

This paper intended to investigate how Turkish mothers make meaning of the disability of their children with Mental Retardation (MR). It provides significant amount of information to put into practice of special education services in Turkey. In addition, by providing an international (Turkish) perspective, it is believed that this study extends the knowledge base of cross-cultural studies regarding understanding parental beliefs on the disability of their children.

MethodParticipantsParticipants of the current study were purposefully chosen 13 Turkish mothers who had at least one child with MR. There were two reasons why mothers who had a child with MR were chosen to be interviewed. First, children with MR were particularly the focus group because children with MR are the largest and the most popular group by getting the most the special education services in Turkey. Therefore, by including this group the beliefs regarding the most popular group in Turkey were addressed in this study. Second, mothers were preferred to be interviewed because it is the mother who has the primary responsibility and plays the most significant role in child-rearing practices as well as homemaking practices in Turkey. Although the socio-economic contexts for women in Turkey have been rapidly changing, more and more women have been attending, continuing, and getting degrees from higher level of educational institutions, still mothers, especially those who have low socio-economic status and have little education, have been expected to stay at home to take care of children in Turkey.

All mothers who had a child with MR in Bolu in Turkey were asked to participate in the study. Thirteen mothers volunteered to participate in the study. Mothers’ age ranged from 29 to 50. Seventy percent of mothers had only elementary school

10


diploma, which was a 5-year basic education, whereas 30 % of mothers had no education. All of the mothers were housewives and majority of them, approximately eighty-percent, had low income. Participants were also identified themselves as Muslim. The ages of children with MR ranged from 4 to 18. Eight of the children were male, five of them female. Only one child was diagnosed with severe MR while six children had mild and six children had moderate MR. Only one child was currently not getting any education and services since he lived in a village with his parents. Two children were attending a self-contained classroom in a regular elementary school. Two children were attending an inclusive classroom in a regular elementary school. One child was attending a private day care center. Seven children were attending a separate public school for students with moderate MR.

Data collection and analysisSince the current study aimed at understanding mothers’ beliefs/views regarding the nature, causation, and treatment of the disability of their children with MR, and future expectations from their children, a qualitative interpretive framework (Miles & Huberman, 1994) was used for collecting and analyzing the data.

To understand mothers’ beliefs and expectations the data were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Each mother was interviewed orally once. Interviews were conducted at the Bolu Research and Counseling Center, a government agent organizes and provides free special education services to children with disabilities and their families. The center is operated by the Department of Education in Bolu. Interviews were conducted by a Psychologist, who has a Masters degree in Special Education and had been working at this center for years providing special education services to children with disabilities and their families. Each interview lasted about 30-45 minutes and was completed in one session. Interview questions were aimed at understanding mothers’ beliefs regarding the nature, causation, and treatment of the disability of their children, and also understanding their expectations from their children and their children’s current educational services.

All interviews were audio-taped by using an audio recorder. Audio-taped interviews were fully transcribed into written texts. These written texts were then inductively analyzed to identify the recurring patterns or common themes that frequently cited by mothers and cut across the data. Children’s individual files were also reviewed and included in the study in order to gather data on children’s demographics, the disability condition, and the past and current special education services.

ResultsInterview questions focused on three fundamental concepts, which have been recognized and studied in several cross-cultural studies regarding parental beliefs on the disability (Garcia, Perez, & Ontiz, 2000; Mardiros, 1989; Reiter, Mar’i, & Rosenberg, 1986; Ryan & Smith, 1989; Stahl, 1991; Steinberg & Davila, 1997). These were the nature, causation, and treatment of the disability. Questions were asked to understand mothers’ beliefs regarding these three essential concepts. After inductively analyzing the interview transcripts, the following common categories under three essential topics emerged. Mothers’ interpretations of the nature of the disabilityMothers were initially asked to describe, define, or characterize the nature of the disability of their children. When asked about the term or medical label for the

11


disability of their children, only four of thirteen mothers identified the specific medical label for the disability of their children. Abilities of Children and No Disability. Almost all of mothers were aware of the difficulties their children had or the disability condition of their children and almost all mothers described the child’s problem in terms of limitations imposed upon the child because of the disability. The disability was not seen as the problem per se by most mothers. The child’s health, ability to communicate, and fulfill basic tasks of self-care were identified problems dealt with by the family. However, interpretations of the beliefs of the mothers regarding the nature of the disability of their children showed that some mothers didn’t believe that their children had a disability whereas some believed that the disability of their children was temporary.

Some of the mothers put a great emphasis on not believing the fact that their children had a disability. Although all of children were diagnosed with MR, four of the mothers didn’t believe that their children had a disability. One of the mothers, who described her child’s developmental delay very well, stated that My child has a good memory; I don’t believe my child has a disability. Another mother, who described her child’s lack of cognitive abilities such as problems with processing the information, expressed that I know my child is a slow learner, lazy and under achieved; but, when you tell him not to do something, he listens to you and stops what he is doing. I don’t believe he is mentally retarded. Another mother by emphasizing only the limitation of her child’s language ability also stated that My child has a normal IQ, but can’t talk only...that’s the only problem my child has.

Language Delay and Temporary condition. Language delay was the most recognized difficulty of their children and seen the source and solution of the other difficulties that their children had. Temporary condition was another key point that some mothers underlined. Most mothers believed that whenever their children start talking, everything will be taken care of. One of the mothers, who recognized the delay on her child’s development early and took to a physician, stated that My child’s current condition is temporary. The only problem my child has is the language. If he starts to talk, he will definitely be okay. Another mother also said that He just can’t talk, that’s the only problem. He has good memory. It is temporary. Doctor also said it was temporary.

Mothers’ interpretations of the causes of the disabilitySeveral questions were asked to understand what causal agents mothers thought that caused the disability of their children. Interpretations of the beliefs of the mothers regarding the nature of the disability of their children revealed that mothers held both bio-medical and traditional beliefs as regards the causation of the disability of their children. Some of the major causal agents indicated by mothers and cut across the interview data are as follows;Bio-medical causes. Bio-medical causes were identified by all of the mothers. Lack of oxygen, which the baby had right after the birth, was given as a cause by three mothers. One of the mothers, who didn’t know she was pregnant until eight-month of her pregnancy, believed that X-rays and shots caused her child’s disability. Another mother stated that I had fears of telling my husband about my pregnancy. I finally told my husband that I was pregnant when I was 5-month pregnant. I was under high depression during my pregnancy. That (high depression) must be the cause. The failure of nurse during delivery, delivering the baby with vacuum, postmaturity, and

12


marriage with someone from close relatives were also seen as other causal agents by mothers.

Religious causal agents. Although all mothers could identify the bio-medical cause of the disability of their children, they also constantly highlighted various religious causal agents. God and Fate, the Spell, the Evil spirit, and becoming pregnant on Holy days were the most stressed causal agents by mothers in the study.

Fate and God. Fate and God were underlined as causal agents by almost half of the mothers. One of the mothers stated It is our Fate. It is God’s decision, and we have nothing to do with it. Another mother also emphasized that We have recognized my child’s developmental delays before he was one-year old. We believed it was our Fate; it was God’s choice for us. Therefore, we didn’t take our child to the doctor.

The Spell. The Spell also was thought as a cause of the disability of their children by some of the mothers. One of the mothers interestingly stated When my daughter was one-year old, he started showing abnormal behaviors such as wakening in the middle of the night, showing too much fear. We took her to a Holy Man, who, we believe, has a strong religious background in Islam and could fix our child. The Holy man said to us that somebody cast a Spell for my husband and me to get us divorced. However, this Spell worked on our daughter instead of us, he stated. In this Spell, person or people who cast the Spell took our daughter’s diaper, prayed and blowed on, then they buried it. When the diaper started to disintegrate, the Spell started showing its power on our daughter. That’s why my child is having all these difficulties.Another mother expressed that We bought a brand new blanket for our newborn when he was born, one of our neighbors ripped down one side of this blanket at the same day while visiting us to see our newborn. We recognized right after our guest left the house. We believe that was a Spell that makes our son has a disability.

The Evil Spirit. Some of the parents put a great emphasis on the role of the Evil Spirit on the causation of the disability of their children. One of the mothers stated that When we recognized the disability of our son, we went to see a Holy man to find out the reasons. The Holy man asked me whether I was going out of house without praying first, without pouring the water which the child was washed, or without pronouncing the formula in Islam. He continued, if so, these are the causes of my child’s disability because I was struck by an Evil Spirit.

The Holy Days. Some parents stressed the power of the Holy days on the causation of the disability of their children. Although they didn’t directly confirmed that having sex on some Holy days might cause the disability of their children, they call attention to this belief by stating it as a common belief held by the society in which they live. One of mothers stated when a mother becomes pregnant on either Monday or Friday, especially Friday, the child will have disability when s/he was born.

Role of Parents. Some parents also believed that parents and their characteristics played important roles on the causation of the disability of their children. Two of the mothers stated that drinking problems of their husbands influenced significantly their pregnancy, so on having a child with disability. One of the mothers underlined that My husband’s alcohol problems made me too scary; I was under too much depression during my pregnancy. That’s why my child had this disability. Two of the mothers, who were above 35 when they had the baby, also concerned their age as a causal agent of the disability of their children.

13


Folk beliefs/Superstitions. Almost half of the parents drew attention to the folk/superstition beliefs on the causation of the disabilities. Most of the parents, who said that they didn’t believe these beliefs, in the interviews still considered them and practiced them in their daily lives as they stated. One of the mothers stated I was too sorry about my neighbor’s child, who had autism, during my pregnancy. I think that might be one of the causes of my child’s disability. Some of other folk/superstition beliefs commonly believed in their society and stated by other mothers in our study were as follows; When a newborn was kissed too much from his mouth, the child shows language problems, and when s/he was kissed too much from under his foot, s/he could not work., or When a pregnant looks at a bunny or eats a bunny, her child will be one with bunny lips, or When a child drinks uncooked milk, the child might become disabled or have academic problems at the school.

Mothers’ interpretation of the treatment of the disabilityMothers were asked to express their beliefs regarding their past treatment practices when they learned their child’s situation, their current treatment practices, and their future expectations about their children and the services their children have been receiving.

Although most of the mothers used modern treatment methods or prescriptions by taking their child to the bio-medical/educational professionals, they gave more emphasis to and sought help form religious agents. These religious agents were, as the mothers in the current study indicated, were a Hodja, a devout Muslim man who is respected for his knowledge of Islam and who may perform a specific duty within an Islamic community, a grave or a tomb where a holy man is buried, and the holy water from Zamzam, a famous well very near the Kaaba in Mecca. Although their children were getting formal education from different educational institutions at the time the study was conducted, most of the mothers in the current study were sought help from the religious agents stated above in the past and were still seeking help from them at the time the study was conducted.

Interpretations of interviews revealed that traditional treatment methods, especially religious ones, were chosen, practiced, and followed carefully by parents. They were thought as helpful agents in recovering their child’s disability. One of the mothers, whose child was in a self-contained classroom for students with MR, stated that When we learned that our son had a disability, we first took our son to a Hodja to cure our son’s disability, specifically to make him to be able to speak. The Hodja, the holy man, put the mosque’s key into our son’s mouth and turned three times while praying special Suras of the Koran. Another mother reported that; In order to make our daughter child to be able to walk, we followed a Hodja’s prescriptions, in which we had to make our daughter drink three sips of water for parakeet, or the water from Zamzam. As Hodja stated, we also have our daughter drink these waters from a bell for cows.

One of mothers believed strongly that a Hodja’s readings of Suras of Koran helped her daughter to walk independently. She cited that We sought help for my daughter from a Hodja as soon as we recognized our daughter’s disability. Hodja gave us a Muska, a written charm, to follow. He started also reading a sura (the sura of Yasin, the thirty-sixth sura of the Koran usually recited either when someone is on the verge of death, or after someone has died) of the Koran for 115 days. After a while, our daughter started walking.

14


Mothers’ future expectations regarding the situation of their childrenMothers were also asked to indicate their future expectations from the educational institutions and from their children’s development, such as what would they like to see in the next future to happen in their children’s life. Almost all of mothers expressed that although they were happy with the current education that their children were receiving, they also indicated the need of more individualized education programs for their children. Almost all of them pointed out that they did want their children be less dependent in their daily life. Most of them stressed out the need of independent life skills for their children, and wanted to see their children know how to walk and talk in a group, how to read and write, how to use money and shop independently, get a diploma and have a job, and finally stand on their own feet with less dependency. Almost all mothers were all worried about the future of their children if something happens to mothers. That was the reason of their desire for the less dependency of their children.

Conclusions The current study aimed at investigating Turkish mothers’ beliefs about the disability of their children. The focus was given to the mothers’ beliefs on the nature, causation, and treatment of the disability of their children. Results indicated on the nature of disability, some parents did not believe their children had a disability or perceived the condition of the disability as a temporary one even though they recognized and identified their children’s developmental limitations such as developing at a slower rate. On the causation of the disability, while both traditional and modern (bio-medical) beliefs were held by most of the mothers, traditional beliefs, especially the religious ones, were the most popular causal agents identified by the mothers. As literature indicated, the relationship between the beliefs on causation and beliefs and practices on the treatment of the disability was seen in the current study too. Although most mothers sought help from both modern and traditional agents, mothers, who held strong traditional beliefs regarding the causation of the disability of their children, held strong traditional treatment beliefs and valued more traditional treatment practices rather than bio-medical ones. Most of the mothers sought help from religious agents. Mothers wanted their children be less independent, and for this reason, they sought a more individualized education for their children.

ImplicationsAs the results of the study indicated mothers held diverse and strong traditional beliefs regarding the disability of their children. The beliefs they held shaped their reactions regarding seeking help or treatment practices. Most parents put a great emphasis on traditional treatment practices because of their strong traditional beliefs regarding the recovery of the condition of their children. It is most likely that a mismatch occurs between professionals and parents’ beliefs or ideas when providing special education services. Professionals’ attitudes and approaches play key roles to reduce the effects of this mismatch. The first step for professionals seems to realizing parents’ beliefs. In order to realize and derive a meaning from them, initial positive communications with parents are required. The home visits, phone or face-to-face interviews with parents by using active listening techniques might be helpful for professionals to recognize parents’ beliefs and to be familiar with family’s home context. Since most parents might try to cover their strong traditional beliefs and practices from professionals, establishing a trustworthy relationship might help professionals to provide parents several opportunities that will bring the most positive outcomes for the child and family.

15


The awareness of professionals on socio-cultural backgrounds of children and their parents might be the starting point for getting positive outcomes from the interactions between parents and professionals. The skills for becoming aware of socio-cultural backgrounds of children and parents must be provided to professionals. However, most of the pre-service programs for preparing professionals to work with children with disabilities and their families seem to be inadequate in preparing professionals to be able to work with diverse groups who might hold diverse bearing beliefs from professionals. Professionals must be prepared well at pre-service level or must get ongoing in-service training to deal efficiently with the barriers when providing services to children with disabilities and their families, especially to those who are with little education, coming from low socioeconomic levels, and held strong traditional beliefs. Encouraging parental involvement more into the decisions regarding the special education services provided to the children and their parents might help to obtain more positive outcomes from the services. Parents could be encouraged by seriously considering their ideas about the current and future educational expectations for their children. When setting goals and preparing individualized education/family service programs for the child and family parents’ expectations or ideas must be respected and reflected in these programs.

Having positive interactions between special education professionals and parents who have a child with disability are considered one of the key elements of gathering positive outcomes from special education services providing children with disabilities and their parents. Parents’ beliefs regarding the disability of their children might be a barrier to having positive interactions and consequently getting successful outcomes from the services. As the current study indicated, mothers might hold both common and diverse beliefs regarding the disability of their children. Understanding these beliefs would bring great insights into the interactions between professionals and parents and would result with more successful outcomes for children with disabilities and their families.

Limitations and directions for future studiesThis study has several limitations. Therefore, these limitations should be considered when results are interpreted. First of all, sample size seems too small. Although the current study is titled as Turkish mothers, results should not be generalized to whole Turkish mothers or culture. Since Turkey is composed of several different cultural groups and can be thought as melting-pot by showing similar cultural characteristics; but, at the same time, still hold different beliefs representing different cultural groups. Therefore, more studies with different groups are needed to understand these difference beliefs.Secondly, almost all participant mothers had little education and all were housewives. This aspect should be carefully taken into account while interpreting the results. Future studies are needed to understand beliefs of mothers who have higher educational degrees. Finally, the level of mothers’ religious practices should be considered while interpreting the results. Although the level of mothers’ religious practices was not considered, it should be included in the future studies.

ReferencesBailey, D. B. (2001). Evaluating parent involvement and family support in EI and preschool programs. Journal of Early Intervention, 24, 1-14.Bertacchi, J. (1996). Relationship-based organizations. Zero to Three, 17, 1-7.

16


Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Brookins, G. K. (1993). Culture, ethnicity, and bicultural competence: Implications for children with chronic illness and disability. Pediatrics Supplement, 91, 1056-1062. Burnett, S. A. & Meares, P. A. (2000). Infants and toddlers with disabilities: Relationship-Based Approaches. Social Work, 45, 371-380.Coll, C. G. & Magnuson, K. (2000). Cultural differences as sources of developmental vulnerabilities and resources. In Shonkoff, J. P. & Meisles, S. J. (Eds.), Handbook of Early Childhood Intervention (p. 94-114). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Danseco, E. R. (1997). Parental beliefs on childhood disability: Insights on culture, child development, and intervention. International Journal of Disability, Development, and Education, 44, 41-52.Ferraro, G. (1995). Cultural Anthropology. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company.Garcia, S.B., Perez, A. M., & Ontiz, A.A. (2000). Mexican-American mothers’ beliefs about disabilities: Implications for early childhood intervention. Remedial & Special Education, 21, 90-102.Groce, N.E. (1999). Disability in cross-cultural perspective: Rethinking disability. Lancet, 354, 756-758.Hanson, M. J. & Lynch, E. W., & Wayman, K. I. (1990). Honoring the cultural diversity of families when gathering data. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 10, 112-131.Lieberman, A. F. (1998). An infant mental health perspective. Zero to Three, 18, 3-5.Mardiros, M. (1989). Conception of childhood disability among Mexican-American parents. Medical Anthropology, 12, 55-68.McCallion, P. & Janicki, M. (1997). Exploring the impact of culture and acculturation on older families caregiving for persons with developmental disabilities. Family Relations, 46, 347-358.Meisels, S. J. & Shonkoff, J. P. (2000). Early childhood intervention: A continuing evolution. In Shonkoff, J. P. & Meisles, S. J. (Eds.), Handbook of Early Childhood Intervention (p. 3-31). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Moss, B. & Gotss, E. A. (1998). Relationship-based early childhood intervention: A progress report from the trenches. Zero to Three, 18, 24-32. Nicholls, R. W. (1993). An examination of some traditional African attitudes towards disability. In B. L. Mallory (Ed.), Traditional and changing views of disability developing societies: Causes, consequences, cautions (p. 25-41). Washington, DC: National Institution on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (ED/OSERS). Reiter, S., Mar’i, S., & Rosenberg, Y. (1986). Parental attitudes toward the developmentally disabled among Arab communities in Israel: A cross-cultural study. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 9, 355-362.Ryan, A. S. & Smith, M. J. (1989). Parental reactions to developmental disabilities in Chinese-American families. Child and Adolescent Social Work, 6, 283-299.Sameroff, A. J. & Fiese, B. H. (2000). Transactional regulation: The developmental ecology of Early Intervention. In Shonkoff, J. P. & Meisles, S. J. (Eds.), Handbook of Early Childhood Intervention (p. 135-159). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Stahl, A. (1991). Beliefs of Jewish-Oriental mothers regarding children who are mentally retarded. Education and Training in Mental Retardation, 26, 361-369.Steinberg, A. G. & Davila, J. R. (1997). “A little sign and a lot of love…”: Attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs of Hispanic families with deaf children. Qualitative Health Research, 7, 202-223.Vincent, L. J. (1992). Families and Early Intervention: Diversity and Competence. Journal of EI, 16, 166-172.Wayman, K. I., Lynch, E. W., & Hanson, M. J. (1990). Home-based early childhood services: Cultural sensitivity in a family systems approach. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 10, 56-75.

17


AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDERS AND PRIMARY-SECONDARY TRANSITION

D. Jindal-SnapeW. Douglas

K. J. ToppingC. Kerr &E. F. Smith

University of Dundee

Transition from primary to secondary school has been a focus of concern regarding pupil anxiety, social integration, lack of progression and under-achievement, particularly for children/young people with special educational needs (SEN). Previous studies often over-depended on data from professionals and treated all SEN as similar. This study gathered data specifically from children/young people with autistic spectrum disorders and their parents (contrasting this with the views of professionals), adopting a more intensive case study methodology. A large number of transition support arrangements were identified. In 4/5 cases the arrangements were delayed and/or incomplete, with a number of specific problems. Despite the size and complexity of their new school, the children/young people were positive about transition, but wanted real inclusion in school activities. Parental evaluations of transition arrangements were considerably lower than those of professionals. Stakeholder perceptions of what worked and did not work were contrasted. Commonalities and differences in the relevant development needs of school staff were identified. Implications for future research, policy and practice are explored.

The transition from primary school to secondary school is a crucial time for children/young people (Jindal-Snape, Douglas, Topping, Smith & Kerr, 2005), and has concerned stakeholders for a long time (Huggins & Knight, 1997). Issues of continuity and progression between primary and secondary schools were highlighted in government thinking in the U.K. as early as the Plowden Report (1967). The transition process involves challenges for all children/young people, and for other stakeholders such as parents/carers and professionals (Johnstone & Patrone, 2003). For children/young people with special educational needs (SEN) in general, and those with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in particular, these challenges are likely to be more complex. There may be additional demands associated with decision-making about appropriate supports and resources in the new educational context. This study investigated the perceptions of transition of children/young people with ASD and their parents in depth.

There is evidence of a decline in performance by some children/young people after transfer to secondary school. Galton and colleagues (Galton & Willcocks, 1983; Galton, Morrison & Pell, 2000) found that although measures of motivation and enjoyment generally remained high during the first year at secondary school (and actually rose in the first few months), some children/young people were achieving less in basic skills by the end of their first secondary year than at the end of their last primary year. Similarly, Croll (1983) found that all children/young people in all stages made some measurable progress in basic skills at primary school, but that some pupils in the first year after transition to secondary school showed losses. Barone, Aguirre-Deandreis, and Trickett (cited in Mizelle, 1999) also reported that as children/young people made the transition into high school, many experienced a decline in grades and attendance. Hertzog, Morgan, Diamond and Walker (1996) found that after

18


transfer some children/young people viewed themselves more negatively and experienced an increased need for friendship. Also, transition to secondary school may be a source of considerable anxiety and emotional impact for children/young people (Shaw, 1995). Delamont (1991) found that children/young people about to make the transition to secondary school had expectations greatly influenced by horror stories communicated by their peers. Lucey and Reay (2000) suggested that children/young people with special educational needs were likely to find the move more daunting. However, they also presented evidence from case studies that this was not always the case, and school transfer could be infused by excitement at the prospect of moving on. This finding is similar to those of Graham and Hill (2003), and Zeedyk, Gallaher, Henderson, Hope, Husband and Lindsay (2003) who reported that transition leads to anxiety but children/young people also positively anticipate the new opportunities. The management of introductory visits had an important role in increasing or reducing anxiety, and children/young people were particularly sensitive to pupil-teacher interactions in the school being visited.

Frank and Jeffrey (1985) found that transition for children/young people with SEN often included three pre-transfer components: contact with senior secondary staff; pupil visits to the secondary school and parental involvement. However, practices often varied widely between feeder primaries to the same secondary school. Some primary schools believed that children/young people should transfer with detailed written records, whereas others preferred a fresh start to avoid the negative social labeling. Frank and Jeffrey advocated the former view - transfer of information from the primary school to all members of staff in the secondary school (not just guidance staff /senior management). The issue of what is then done with such information is a step beyond.

Studying five secondary schools and their feeder primaries, Hobbs, Kerr, Sylvester and Williams (1987) found wide variation in patterns of pre-transfer visits and methods used to share information. Within the secondary schools, they found a lack of continuity, repeating of work, and particular failure to meet the transition needs of children/young people with special educational needs. Needs for more curriculum liaison, social links and joint work were identified. Dee (2005) has explicated many strategies for facilitating successful transition.

However, previous studies have tended to gather data from professionals, by survey and from archival sources, rather than from the service users themselves. Additionally, those studies which addressed SEN issues did so in a general way, even though children/young people with different SEN might face very different transition challenges. No previous study focused upon the perceptions of children/young people and parents (contrasting these with the views of professionals) specifically for children/young people with autistic spectrum disorders. The investigation reported below addresses this gap in the literature, adopting a more intensive case study methodology.

Research Questions1 What are the perceptions of stakeholders with regard to current arrangements to support

the primary-secondary transition of children/young people with ASD?

2 What are the perceptions of stakeholders with regard to development of practice for the effective primary-secondary transition of children/young people with ASD?

3 What differences might be evident between different stakeholders?

METHODSamplingThe psychological service of a large local authority in Scotland is divided into four area teams covering the city, each roughly equal in size. A quadrant was selected on a convenience basis, as known to contain a total of five children/young people with ASD about to make the transition from primary to secondary school (note that pupils transfer to secondary school at

19


the age of 12 in Scotland). This quadrant encompassed a wide range of socio-economic status. All five were male and their SEN has to be documented according to statutory requirements in the U.K. Key stakeholders were defined as the child, his parent(s)/career(s), the child's current primary school or communication support unit head teacher, the current speech and language therapist, the current school/educational psychologist, and a teacher in a position of responsibility from the proposed receiving secondary placement (including: mainstream secondary principal teacher of learning support, mainstream communication support unit head teacher [2], special school head teacher or deputy [2]). As there was some overlap in professional stakeholders across cases, 24 stakeholders participated.

CasesDetails of the cases are shown in Table 1.

Table 1Details of Cases

Case No. Age at time of study (years) Diagnosis age at diagnosis

(years)1 12 Autistic spectrum disorder 82 12 Asperger's syndrome 103 12 Asperger's syndrome 84 13 Asperger's syndrome 75 13 Asperger's syndrome 7

InstrumentationThe core content of the interview schedules used was derived from key issues identified in the previous literature and the current research questions, adapted to create a differentiated interview schedule for each type of respondent containing both relatively closed and open elements. Solution focused approaches (De Jong & Berg, 2002; Wagner & Gillies, 2001) informed the construction and use of the interview schedules employed in the study. In particular, solution focused scaling was used to elicit the perceptions of participants in terms of where they placed themselves on key bipolar constructs related to the transition process for children/young people with ASD. An example item from the interview schedule for primary teachers is given below:

Please rate on a one to ten scale the following possible staff development / support inputs in terms of how useful you think they would be in helping you work even more effectively with children/young people with ASD. Please explain your answer wherever you feel you can.Help in strategies for responding appropriately to autistic behaviour.Not useful 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Very useful

Draft interview schedules were piloted with a set of stakeholders for a child who had special educational needs associated primarily with physical impairment but with some autistic features (who was also about to make the transition from primary to secondary school), and revised accordingly. The complete set of interview schedules is available on request from the authors.Data AnalysisSome interview responses were easy to categorize for the purpose of making comparisons between stakeholders, others were more difficult. Emerging themes were identified, and then all responses subjected to systematic content analysis using those themes, as advocated by Weber (1990). Inter-rater reliability of coding in categories for comparison was undertaken and is reported in context below. Results are given in textual and numerical form, the latter including descriptive statistics where appropriate.

RESULTSDiversity of Transition RoutesFive quite distinct transition routes with associated arrangements were identified (see Table 2).

20


Thus a large number of possible transition arrangements were identified (frequencies >1 in parenthesis):

Child individual pre-placement visit to secondary school, with parents (3) Further child individual pre-placement visits to secondary school (2) Special Liaison/outreach teacher visits to primary class (3) Secondary teacher visits to primary school (2) Primary teacher visits to secondary school Information passed from primary to secondary school Information passed from secondary to primary school Open day at primary school involving many parents and children/young people Open day at secondary school involving many parents and children/young people (2) Induction program (2 days) in secondary school while child still primary age Secondary teacher attended last case review in primary school Secondary teacher home visitTable 2 Transition Routes and Arrangements

Type of Transition Description of Transition Arrangements

Case 1

Mainstreamprimary

Mainstreamsecondary

The Principal Teacher of Learning Support from the receiving secondary school visited the primary school one period per week in blocks of six weeks commencing in the previous October to observe all children/young people and liaise with teachers.The primary school completed a transfer information form for every child; the form had an appendix detailing the target child's special educational needs.The secondary school held an open meeting for parents of all transferring children/young people in May.The secondary school hosted a fully timetabled two-day induction programme for all transferring pupils in first week in June.The Principal Teacher Learning Support from the receiving secondary school attended the statutory review for the child in the summer term.

Case 2

Mainstream primary

Secondary communication support unit

As the placement decision was delayed until mid-May, the normal policy of primary-secondary liaison for the child and parents to visit the secondary school was not implemented.The child was excluded from school on three occasions between March and June, so transition arrangements took place mainly from home.This took the form of informal visits by the outreach teacher from the secondary communication unit to home and school, ahead of formal placement decision.

Case 3

Primary communication support unit

Secondary communication support unit

As the placement decision was not made until mid-May, the normal policy of primary-secondary liaison was both delayed and incompletely implemented.The psychologist accompanied the parent on a pre-placement visit to the secondary communication unit in January.The outreach teacher from the secondary communication unit made only one visit instead of implementing the normal two.The child made two visits to the secondary communication unit but these were delayed until the end of June.The primary-secondary liaison took place on an informal basis, ahead of placement decision.

Case 4


Autism specific day provision

As the placement decision was delayed until mid-May, the normal policy of primary-secondary liaison was both delayed and incompletely implemented.The parent visited the school on 14 May and the child was offered a place on 15 May.Staff from the secondary placement visited the primary placement on 31 May.

21


The child made three brief visits to the secondary placement in June.The child and parent attended the school fete at the secondary placement in late June.Primary-secondary liaison also took place on an informal basis between Head Teachers ahead of placement decision.

Case 5


Autism specific residential provision

The Principal of the residential provision made a home visit in June 2001.As the child then spent nine months with no placement other than home tuition the normal transition procedures were both severely delayed and incompletely implemented.An offer of a temporary placement on an assessment basis was finally made in April 2002.The child and his parent made two visits to the school immediately before the placement commenced in May 2002.

However, visits could be of varying numbers, duration and content. Teacher visits might involve talking to few staff, or might include observing the child in class. Child visits might include cursory inspection of buildings, or lengthier engagement in activity with teachers and children/young people. There was also mention of informal arrangements which were not (or could not be) specified. In 4/5 cases the arrangements for a particular child were delayed or incomplete. This pattern was similar to Frank and Jeffrey’s (1985) findings that actual practice varied widely. However, the professionals involved reported preparedness to implement structured and comprehensive transition programs that were congruent with the best practice nationally and internationally.

Children/young people's Perspectives on their New SchoolThe children/young people's responses to the idea of their new school were generally very positive. All the children/young people reported that they knew which school they were going to, and all except one child had visited the new school at least once at the point of interview. One child reported having visited his new school three times. A theme that emerged repeatedly was that the children/young people particularly valued opportunities for practical participation in school activities.

Asked what they thought their new school would be like, the themes which emerged were that it was big and there would be lots of new rules to learn. One child expressed his regret that his school was at the other side of the city, which he thought might make it hard to play after school with the new friends he would make. The child who was going to a five-day residential placement spontaneously volunteered that he was worried about waking up at night and being afraid, and particularly that this might annoy the teachers there.

Asked how adults could help them when changing school, a dominant theme was to help them feel prepared. One child said he needed help to make friends. Several of the children/young people spontaneously said that they found the visits to their new school very helpful.

Perceptions of Other Stakeholders: Transition ArrangementsConsidering the perspectives of other stakeholders, overall evaluation of the transition arrangements by parents was considerably lower than that of the professional stakeholders (see Table 3). The difference between parents (mean = 2.75) and secondary teachers (mean = 6.25) was particularly striking; while the ratings made by educational psychologists were only a little greater than those of parents (mean = 3.40).

Thus a large number of problems were identified (frequencies >1 in parenthesis): Delay in placement decisions (2) Exclusion from school created further problems (2) Full range of provision not explained/understood Lack of communication between professionals

22


Lack of consistency between local health provider agencies and education department (school district) priorities

Insufficient provision for particular combinations of needs Lack of places in appropriate provision Lack of professional resource/time for supporting transition Case transfer between professionals at transition time

It can be seen from Table 3 (next page) that delays in the transition arrangements emerged as a predominant theme. Indeed, this theme appeared to provide an overarching context for many other perceptions noted by stakeholders. The overarching theme of delay was, therefore, explored more fully. A series of mutually exclusive coding categories were developed as follows: (1) no delay in the transition process noted by participant; (2) delay in transition noted by the participant but no effect on transition process attributed to delay; (3) delay in transition noted by the participant with minor negative effect on transition process attributed to delay; (4) delay in transition noted by the participant with major negative effect on transition process attributed to delay. Coding was done in parallel by a project researcher and an independent researcher. Inter-coder reliability was high (Cohen's Kappa 0.86).

Table 3Mean ratings of transition arrangements by stakeholders (from 1 inadequate to 10 adequate)

Stakeholder mean rating Why did you arrive at that point? What things would need to change

to move you further up the scale?

Parentsn = 4mean= 2.75

Excessive delay in placement decisions held up the transition process and brought a lot of uncertainty and stress. The full range of provision was not explained.Lack of communication between parents and professionals.

Need to make placement decision earlier to prepare child for new school.Professionals should work together to facilitate communication with parents.As a parent I need to challenge the system more.

PrimaryTeachersn = 5mean= 5.40

The delay in the placement decision was horrendous it was difficult to contain everyone's anxietyJune is far too late to make placing decisions.The outreach teacher was proactive and started the communication process before final placement decision.

Need to make placement decision by February in the context of a strategic admissions body to avoid the uncertainty of secondary mainstream placing request availability.Need to fill the current gap in provision for children/young people who have both autistic spectrum disorder and significant learning difficulties.Need parental permission to discuss the child's difficulties with the child openly.

SecondaryTeachersn = 4mean= 6.25

Excessive delay prevented secondary school staff from seeing the child in the context of his primary school.Exclusion from school interfered with the normal transition process.

Need more long term strategic planning of placements in context of a joint assessment team.Need more communication between education service managers and other professionals in placement decision-making.

Psychologistsn = 5mean= 3.40

Being excluded in the transition period compounded other problems.Potential provisions had no free places and there were no meaningful alternatives for the family.A severely delayed placement decision brought anxiety and stress to the family.

Earlier placement decision-making, preferably just after Christmas but by Easter at the latest.More time for assessment during the transition period.

Speech and The speech and language therapist The mainstream school could be even

23


Language Therapistsn = 2mean= 5.50

highlighted the child's needs and the outreach support teacher brought help to a stressed situation.The educational transition process is not currently prioritized.Transfer of cases between speech and language therapists at transition is not good.Lack of consistency between Health Board and education priorities.

more aware of the role of the outreach support teacher.A clearer definition of the role of the speech and language therapist in transition.The placement decision should be made earlier and with greater multi-agency involvement.

Table 4 shows that (taking the mean of both coders), 19.5 (65%) of the 30 sets of data (n=24 participants) featured the perception that the transition procedures were delayed and that this had a major negative impact. This perception of delay was in evidence for all transition routes (with the exception only of the mainstream primary to mainstream secondary transfer route, which of course would have been the default placement for the child concerned).

Table 4 Content analysis of stakeholder interview comments on delay

No delay noted Delay withminor effect

Delay withmajor effect Total

Number % Number % Number % Number %9.5 32 1 3 19.5 65 30 100

In many cases the final placement decision was not made until May or even June. There was evidence that this was associated with high levels of stress and anxiety for some children/young people and their families, and that this presented additional problems for primary school teachers in managing transition arrangements. There was a widespread perception among stakeholders that the delay in transition was attributable to a large degree to postponement in making placement decisions.

Breaks in Schooling owing to Delay and ExclusionBreaks in schooling occurred in two of the five cases studied. In one case a child was out of formal school-based education for approximately ten months owing to extended placement delay. In another case the discontinuity was due to exclusion from school as a result of reported ‘behaviour and conduct difficulties’ on the part of the child.

These discontinuities of educational provision led to negative and disruptive interactions within the transition process. Such discontinuities also seemed to be associated with the highest levels of stress, conflict and negative attribution between the child, parents and professionals. It must be acknowledged that it is difficult to make objective and definitive causal attributions between these factors. However, some parents clearly indicated that they felt that they had to challenge the system to obtain the provision they felt was necessary for their child.

Where an interruption in schooling occurred because of unavailability of a placement that was acceptable to the parent, the parent attributed the difficulty to the fact that educational professionals had not explained the full range of provision (note that parental choice is statutorily embedded in the U.K. Education system). The parents of both children/young people who were subject to breaks in educational provision expressed the view that the full range of provision was not explained to them. Where the discontinuity occurred because of exclusion, the parent attributed the difficulty to negative attitudes and lack of objectivity on the part of teachers about the child's difficult behaviours.

24


Inter-Agency Working and Joint AssessmentSeveral stakeholders suggested that an earlier and more proactive approach to making placement decisions about all children/young people with ASD would be beneficial. Although speech and language therapists seemed to be acutely aware of the importance of their assessment at the transition stage, they felt that transition processes were not a high priority within their formal job remit. Indeed, one speech and language therapist indicated that she would very much welcome a clearer recognition of the need to prioritize more formal input to transition processes within her remit.

Perceptions of What WorksIn order to more closely examine specific issues that arose in specific provisions, what follows focuses on three specific cases, outlined in Tables 5, 6 and 7. Case 1 was chosen to examine perceptions of what was working and not working for a child who was in the process of making an apparently relatively problem free transition from his local mainstream primary to his local mainstream secondary. Case 2 was chosen to search for particular insights into stakeholder perceptions with regard to a child who had a particularly problematic placement in a mainstream primary school and who was making the transition to a communication support unit in a mainstream secondary school. Case 4 was chosen to examine stakeholder perceptions of what was perceived to be working and not working for a child who had an apparently successful placement in a primary communication support unit and who was making the transition to an autism specific day provision after a particularly difficult placement decision-making process.

Table 5Case 1 - Stakeholder Comments on What Works: Summary

Mainstream primary

What was working? What was not working?

Parent's perceptions Enabling the child to take part. Improving his self-esteem.

Parent's perceptionsNothing identified.

Teacher's perceptionsPositive expectations that the child will access the mainstream curriculum. Avoiding him seeing himself as different.

Teacher's perceptionsNothing identified.

Psychologist's perceptionsPlaying to the child's strengths in terms of supporting his ability to access peer support for himself.

Psychologist's perceptionsThe school's approach to playing down the child's autistic difficulties could be construed as controversial.

Mainstream secondary

What will work? What will not work?

Parent's perceptionsGetting the child involved with encouragement and praise

Parent's perceptionsProblems with changing teachers and different teaching styles

Teacher's perceptionsDifficult to predict what will work until the child arrives in school.


Psychologist's perceptionsAbility of the learning support teachers to work with the child and the parents.

Psychologist's perceptionsNothing identified.

Thus, a large number of positive interventions were identified by different stakeholders (frequencies >1 in parenthesis): Positive/normal expectations (inc. by mainstream teachers) + expect surprises (4)

25


Individualized social and communication skills training (3) Close liaison/good relationships between specialist & regular teachers (3) Individual assessment and programming (2) One-to-one teaching (2) Small group teaching (2) Competent and intensive specialist teacher input (2) Working with child's strengths Encouragement and praise Enhancing self-esteem Close teacher/child/parent liaison Outreach support Facilitating pupil engagement in activities Circle of Friends

However, an equally large number of negative factors were identified (frequencies >1 in parenthesis): Peer group relationships (especially large groups) (2) Failure to secure parental permissions (2) Minimizing child's difficulties/lack of objectivity in teachers (2) Changing teaching and learning styles Negative attitudes in teachers Liaison with too many teachers Demanding more time/resource from mainstream teachers Staff illness/absence Failure to use continuum of provision strategically Traveling out of own community Lack of linkage to mainstream/normal environment

Table 6Case 2 – Stakeholders’ Comments on What Works: Summary

Mainstream primary


Parent's perceptionsOne to one working when available.

Parent's perceptionsNegative attitudes on the part of teachers. Lack of objectivity on the part of teachers.

Teacher's perceptionsSmall group work that focused on the child's social and communication skills. The Circle of Friends approach was particularly effective. Outreach support for the child helped when relationships were particularly strained in school.

Teacher's perceptionsStaff illness including teachers and SEN auxiliary, which may have been a result of stress. Failure to negotiate parental permission to discuss the child's difficulties openly with him.


Psychologist's perceptionsConflict in personal relationships including parent-teacher, child-SEN auxiliary, and child with peers, which led to exclusion from school.Failure to negotiate parental permission to discuss the child's difficulties openly with him.

Communication support unit attached to a mainstream secondary school


26


Parent's perceptionsThe child feeling less stressed in this environment.

Parent's perceptionsChild having to travel out of his community.

Teacher's perceptionsIntensive support for social communication skills to allow the child to access mainstream. Close liaison between the communication support unit and the child's mainstream teachers. The communication support unit has now been in existence for two years and we are slowly managing to change the perceptions and practice of the mainstream teachers with regard to children/young people with ASD.

Teacher's perceptionsThe first month will involve some difficult readjustments for all concerned including parents, child and staff.Impinging on mainstream teachers' free time or asking for additional involvement above their normal remit does not work; our approach has to involve lifting burdens on mainstream teachers rather than imposing them.

Psychologist's perceptionsThe outreach teacher has already begun to build a good relationship with the child and his parents.

Psychologist's perceptionsManaging contact with a range of secondary mainstream teachers could be challenging.Possible conflict with other children/young people.

Speech and Language Therapist's perceptionsHigh level of support from specialist teachers and speech and language therapists. Individual and responsive targeting of social skills development.

Speech and Language Therapist's perceptionsFull integration could be problematic.Group dynamics with peers could be difficult.

Table 7Case 4 - Stakeholder Comments on What Works: Summary

Communication support unit attached to mainstream primary school


Parent's perceptionsTeachers have a lot of autism specific experience.


Teacher's perceptionsIndividual assessment and IEP for child.Teachers making good relationships with parents.


Psychologist's perceptionsRecognition of individual profile and personality of the child.


Autism specific day provision


Parent's perceptionsContinuity of approach with previous primary placement.


Teacher's perceptionsIndividual assessment and IEP for each child. Small group work to focus on social skills.

Teacher's perceptionsSchool does not have enough access to mainstream environments and peers.The lack of a strategic overview of the placement process is a problem at the moment

27


with the result the existing continuum of provision is not being used as efficiently as could be.

Psychologist's perceptionsContinuation of individual approach within small groups.

Psychologist's perceptionsLarge groups of children/young people are bewildering for this child; therefore mainstream environments are problematic.

Speech and Language Therapist's perceptionsContinuity of approach with previous primary placement.

Speech and Language Therapist's perceptionsAdolescence will bring particular challenges.

Staff DevelopmentStaff development is often seen as a main enabler for the acceptance and inclusion of children/young people with a diagnosis of ASD into a wider range of provision, including mainstream schools. Thus it might be a key factor in extending the range of provision which may be available to children/young people with autism, as well as in successful transition per se. Mainstream personnel gave opinions on perceived usefulness of staff development inputs, and specialist autism teachers gave opinions on perceived ability to contribute to staff development.

The staff development inputs rated as most useful by primary teachers were: Help in responding appropriately to autistic behaviour; Help in differentiating the curriculum in order to emphasize social and communication

skills; Help with matching an appropriate approach to teaching and learning with the preferred

learning style of a child with autism.

The staff development inputs rated as most useful by secondary teachers were: Help in responding appropriately to autistic behaviour; Help in understanding autistic thinking and behaviour; Help in developing strategies to assess a child with autism in order to determine her/his

learning needs.Among the potential providers of staff development inputs, specialist teachers from the primary and secondary sectors rated themselves significantly higher than other stakeholders in their ability to contribute to the areas of need identified by primary and secondary mainstream teachers. However, with regard to strategies to assess a child with autism, specialist secondary teachers rated themselves considerably higher than their primary counterparts.

DISCUSSIONThe sample size in this study was very small, yet included every relevant child within a geographical area, albeit at one moment in time. Whether the findings can be generalized to other geographical areas is uncertain, as structures, procedures and the effectiveness thereof might be very different in other areas. The data were subjective perceptions, perhaps colored by selective memory, but these stakeholders had real experiences which made them the experts. Additionally, issues raised by stakeholders were congruent with those raised in other parts of the UK (as reported in the literature), providing corroboration.

The finding that delay in transition arrangements was common echoes other studies (Shaw, 1995; Delamont, 1991; Mizelle, 1999). Some authors have suggested that such heightened anxiety may be an adaptive coping mechanism (Lucey & Reay, 2000; Measor & Woods, 1984). However, given the highly specific attributions by stakeholders in this study, the reported anxiety levels here may have been abnormally high.

28


The finding that parents assert that full range of provision was not explained to them is congruent with the results of a larger national survey conducted by Barnard, Prior and Potter (2000), which included evidence that 24% of parents thought they did not understand all the educational options before choosing a place for their child. These authors note that one in five children/young people with ASD is excluded from school at some point. They argue that attention to social and communication skills is crucial if exclusion from school is to be avoided for children/young people with ASD, but that social skills training is often neglected by schools and greater weight placed on academic achievement, which can lead to children/young people with ASD being excluded. However, in the current study there is an indication that teachers did consider social skills training in school to be important - although they might not have been the same type of teacher as in the Barnard et al. (2000) study.

Would inter-disciplinary joint assessment teams have yielded swifter and more effective services? Such a proposition is to some extent supported by research carried out by Jordan and Jones (1997), who found that admissions policy and practice in autism specific provisions varied considerably both within and between different local authorities, to the extent that ostensibly similar children/young people with ASD received different placements and interventions. These authors recommended that each authority draw up criteria to guide admissions to schools and units, which should be linked to criteria to determine when a child should be moved on to a different placement.

CONCLUSIONSA large number of possible primary-secondary transition support arrangements for ASD children/young people were identified. However, in 4/5 cases, the arrangements for particular children/young people were delayed and/or incomplete, and a number of specific problems were identified. Despite the size and complexity of their new school, the children/young people were positive about transition, but wanted real inclusion in school activities. They greatly appreciated transition arrangements when they happened. Parental evaluations of transition arrangements were considerably lower than those of professionals. Stakeholder perceptions of what worked and did not work were contrasted. Commonalities and differences in the relevant development needs of primary and secondary school staff were identified. Specialist teachers in primary and secondary sectors saw themselves as well placed to deliver such development.

The results showed that, despite widespread preparedness to implement planned transition arrangements, in many cases the transition program were delayed and disrupted due to postponement in the placement decision-making process. There was evidence to suggest that this delay might have given rise to increased levels of stress and anxiety in a range of stakeholders. It was suggested by stakeholders that this difficult situation could be avoided in future by more rational, timely, strategic and joined-up placement decisions (perhaps made by a joint assessment body). It was also suggested that this could potentially also lead to more efficient use of existing resources.

Analysis of stakeholder perceptions of what was working and not working revealed a diversity of views in mainstream schools about the extent to which it is appropriate to disclose and thereby highlight a child's difficulties, as opposed to seeking to de-emphasize and normalize them. In more autism-specific provision there appeared to be a more open and consistent view - that it was necessary to have an open dialogue with the child and other stakeholders, including the child and his peers, about the nature of the difficulties.

The results revealed a close match between the staff development inputs rated as most valuable by mainstream teachers of children/young people with ASD and specialist teachers' perceptions of their own ability to deliver such inputs. This suggests that the prerequisite expertise and motivation for a dynamic process of collaboration and mutually determined staff development might already exist within the system itself.

29


Future research in this area could be improved through longitudinal studies with larger samples. The solution-focused interviews in the current study proved a promising technique for deeper exploration of issues. Other methodologies worth exploring might include Personal Construct or Repertory Grid techniques, to investigate the sense that stakeholders make of their own work, organization and objectives - which presumably influences their actions. Future research needs to address knowledge transfer issues and transformation into practice and policy. This implies a need for local authorities to develop reliable and valid reciprocal feedback loops in their administrative systems.

The implications for policy and practice from this small scale study must be drawn with caution, not least as local authority contexts might differ greatly. However, there was abundant evidence that stakeholders suffered stress from delayed decisions, which were not made in a sufficiently strategic way. Informal outreach reduced stress and contributed to better assessment and decision-making. The systemic requirements implied include: Elimination of delay in placement decisions Elimination of exclusions from school Timely, planned, long-term strategic decision-making Better, faster, less formal, more realistic, reciprocal communication between all

stakeholders A full range of provision, with available vacancies, explained/understood by all

stakeholders, catering for combinations of needs rather than singular needs. Professional resource/time available to supporting transition effectively, without key

worker change at transition.

REFERENCESBarnard, J., Prior, A. & Potter, D. (2000). Inclusion and autism: Is it working? London: The National Autistic Society.Croll, P. (1983). Transfer and pupil performance. In M. Galton & J. Willcocks (Eds.), Moving from the primary classroom. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.De Jong, P. & Berg I. (2002). Interviewing for solutions. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.Dee, L. (2005). Transition from school: How can it be improved? In K. Topping & S. Maloney (Eds.), Inclusive Education. London & New York: RoutledegeFalmer.Delamont, S. (1991). The hit list and other horror stories. Sociological Review, 39 (2), 238-259.Frank, S. & Jeffrey, P. (1985). Survey of Primary 7 / Secondary 1 transfer liaison procedures for children/young people who may have special educational needs. Dundee: Tayside Educational Psychology Service.Galton, M., Morrison, I., & Pell, T. (2000). Transfer and transition in English schools: Reviewing the evidence. International Journal of Educational Research, 33, 341-363.Galton, M. & Willcocks, J. (1983). Moving from the primary classroom. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Graham, C. & Hill, M. (2003). Negotiating the transition to secondary school. SCRE, Spotlight 89. Available online at: www.scre.ac.uk/spotlight/spotlight89.html (accessed 18 May 2005).Hertzog, C. J., Morgan, P. L., Diamond, P. A., & Walker, M. J. (1996). Transition to high school: A look at student perceptions. Becoming, 7(2), 6-8.Hobbs, S., Kerr, J., Sylvester, A. & Williams, G. (1987). What happens to children/young people when they go to the big school? In Regional Psychological Services Professional Development Initiatives 1986/87. Edinburgh: Scottish Education Department.Huggins, M. & Knight, P. (1997). Curriculum continuity and transfer from primary to secondary school: The case of history. Educational Studies, 23 (3), 333-348.Jindal-Snape, D., Douglas, W., Topping, K. J., Smith, E. & Kerr, C. (2005). Effective education for children/young people with autistic spectrum disorder: Perceptions of parents

30

http://www.scre.ac.uk/spotlight/spotlight89.html


and professionals. International Journal of Special Education, 20 (1), 77-87. Available online at: http://www.internationalsped.com/documents/v20no1%202005%20complete1.doc [accessed 1 May 2005].Johnstone, R. & Patrone, P. (2003). What are the most effective ways of managing transitions for pupils who have an autistic spectrum disorder? In Autistic spectrum disorders and inclusion. Edinburgh: Professional Development Programme ASPEP/SEED.Jordan, R. & Jones, G. (1997). Educational provision for children/young people with autism in Scotland. Interchange No.46. Edinburgh: Scottish Education and Employment Department.Lucey, H. & Reay, R. (2000). Identities in transition: Anxiety and excitement in the move to secondary school. Oxford Review of Education, 26 (2), 191- 205.Measor, L. & Woods, P. (1984). Changing schools: Pupil perspectives on transfer to a comprehensive. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.Mizelle, N. B. (1999). Helping middle school students make the transition into high school. ERIC Digest. ED432411. Available online at http://ericir.syr.edu/plweb-cgi/obtain.pl [Accessed August 2, 2002].Plowden, B. (1967). Children/young people and their primary schools. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Shaw, J. (1995). Education, gender and anxiety. London: Taylor and Francis.Wagner, P. & Gillies, E. (2001). Consultation: A solution-focused approach. In Y. Ajmal & I. Rees (Eds.), Solutions in schools. London: BT Press.Weber, R. (1990). Basic content analysis. Newbury Park: CA, Sage.Zeedyk, M.S., Gallagher, J., Henderson, M., Hope, G., Husband, B., & Lindsay, K. (2003). Negotiating the transition from primary to secondary school: Perceptions of pupils, parents and teachers. School Psychology International, 24, 67-79.

31

http://ericir.syr.edu/plweb-cgi/obtain.pl%20%20%5BAccessed%20August%202,%202002%5D.%0D

http://ericir.syr.edu/plweb-cgi/obtain.pl%20%20%5BAccessed%20August%202,%202002%5D.%0D

http://www.internationalsped.com/documents/v20no1%202005%20complete1.doc


THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES IN THAILAND

Stacy L. CarterMississippi State University

The government of Thailand has historically provided a limited number of educational opportunities for individuals with disabilities but has recently demonstrated movement toward a more comprehensive educational system. The educational policy has not only begun to expand the incorporation of services for children with disabilities but has also introduced efforts to include children with disabilities in regular education classrooms. This paper examines the development of the education system in Thailand with an emphasis on the development of special education programs.

Thailand is a Southeast Asian country bordering the Andaman Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and the northern tip of Malaysia. Until 1939, the country was known as Siam, with the current formal name being the Kingdom of Thailand. Thailand is comprised of 76 provinces that are ruled by a constitutional monarchy. Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been overtaken by a European power. The economy of Thailand has demonstrated a slow but full recovery from the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis, although the economy has been negatively impacted by a tsunami which occurred in December 2004. The tsunami resulted in approximately 8,500 deaths and substantial property destruction in the southern provinces.

The existence of special education services within the country has been evident for several years but is currently still expanding and attempting to train qualified individuals to provide educational services. The culture of Thailand has historically promoted mixed feelings regarding children with disabilities. The Buddhist religion in Thailand considers good and bad fortune in a current life to be based upon the attainment of merit through actions considered good in a previous life. This traditionally promotes a belief that knowledge is associated with age, position and current status which is bestowed because of actions in a previous life.

Attitudes toward children with disabilities may range from some Chinese-Thai considering a child with Down Syndrome to a be a sign of good luck to parents of a child with a disability considering themselves to be punished for their actions in a previous life (Fulk, Swerdlik, Kosuwan, 2002). Other factors that have impacted attitude toward disability are level of education, socioeconomic status, and rural versus urban geographic location. In addition, because Asian culture typically does not value individualization, education in Thailand was not designed to produce independent thinkers or support for student-centered learning. (MOE, 1996; ONEC, 1997a, 1998a). Educational reform in Thailand has struggled to keep pace with rapidly changing demands that may sometimes require changing cultural paradigms regarding perceptions of children with disabilities (Fullan, 1993; Hallinger, 1998a, 1998b).

Over the past ten years, the educational policy within Thailand has addressed issues regarding children with disabilities. The educational policy in Thailand appears to have rather quickly moved to a more inclusive practice toward individuals with disabilities. The rather rapid pace

32


at which these policies have been implemented appear to have resulted in some difficulties associated with the provision of qualified educators, provision of appropriate services, and overcoming outdated practices. The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of special education practices in Thailand along with the barriers to progress experienced with the development of appropriate services for children with disabilities.

Demographics of ThailandThe population of Thailand is estimated at over 64 million with approximately 5 million at or between 10 and 14 years of age and approximately 5 million at or between 15 and 19 years of age (Institute for Population and Social Research, 2005). Within the age range of o to 64 years, the distribution of males to females is very closely matched. The infant mortality rate is reported at 20.48 deaths per 1,000 live births. Based on estimates from 2003, the prevalence of adults infected with HIV/AIDS was 1.5%. Archavanitkul (1999) reported the approximate number of child prostitutes working within Thailand during 1997 at 20% of the estimated 90,916 prostitutes. The literacy rate as defined by those over the age of 15 years who could read is reported at approximately 92%. Approximately 10% of the population is considered to be below the poverty line.

Overview of educational system and reformsThe history of education in Thailand initially developed to support religious and royal household objectives. Education was provided by Buddhist monks to boys in an effort to sustain the religious functions of Buddhism. Education was provided to boys from royal households and noble families in order to train individuals to govern various provinces within the country. In an effort to increase the pool of trained individuals to work in governmental affairs, the 1898 Education Proclamation made education more available to the general public with academic and vocational education paths. Education in Thailand has a strong tradition of teacher-directed, rote learning, while recent policy change has focused toward more student-centered learning approaches. This has resulted in implementation difficulties due to resistance by educators to accept or change teaching strategies as well as modify strategies to meets the needs of children with disabilities. Additional educational reform has continued with a primary focus on expanding educational opportunities, implementing compulsory education, and including children with disabilities (refer to Table 1).

Table 1Dates of relevant educational reform

Date Title Description1898 Education Proclamation Education made more available to general public with

academic and vocational tracks 1932 Educational Plan First formal education plan included four years

elementary and eight years secondary education1951 Educational Plan Programs for the deaf started by the government1960 Educational Plan Development of teacher training institutes to meet

demands of extended compulsory education and population growth

1991 Report of the Health and Welfare Survey

Surveyed the population to identify the prevalence of children with disabilities

1992 7th National Plan for Social and Economic Development

Raised compulsory education level to grade nine; children with disabilities were exempt from compulsory education

1995 Education for All Intended to ensure that no child should be discriminated from attending school because of physical, mental, social, or economic reasons

1999 Towards the New Century of Learning

Mandated that all schools provide children with disabilities the opportunity to be included in regular education programs.

Source: Adapted from Amatyakul, Tammasaeng, & Punong-ong, 1995; National Education Act, 1999.

33


Special education programs for the deaf were started in Thailand in 1951 by the Thai government and additional programs were developed in the 1960’s. A movement toward the provision of educational rights to individuals with disabilities was implemented in 1991 with The Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons Act of Thailand. This act stated that individuals with disabilities have the right to pursue the same opportunities as those without disabilities. Although efforts have been made within Thailand to provide educational opportunities for some children with disabilities, the movement toward ensuring nondiscriminatory educational practices was enacted as recently as 1995. As of 1999, the government mandated a movement toward inclusion of students with disabilities in regular education programs. The government ministries from which the disabled receive support and services are as follows: Ministry of Communication, the Ministry of the Interior, The Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, and the Ministry of Education.

The National Statistics Office (1991) provided information on the prevalence of disabilities within the country. A survey estimated the number of people with disabilities to be 1,057,00 (1.8% of the total population of 57,046,500). Disabilities were most prevalent among people 60 years of age and older, followed by teenagers and adolescents. Traffic accidents were said to be among the major causes of disabilities among teenagers and adolescents. The most common types of disabilities were limb disability, hearing impairments, and intellectual disability. The northeast and north regions were considered to have the highest prevalence of people with disabilities representing 38.6% and 23.5% respectively. These two regions are also the most populated and have the highest incidence of poverty. These two regions have high populations of refugees from neighboring countries Myanmar and Laos. A study by Chitchupong (2004), reported approximately 2.9 million children in Thailand were considered poor with half of this population located in the Northeastern region of Thailand. This study also reported that approximately 7.9% of children from 6 to 14 years of age and 48.7% of those from age 15 to 21 years of age did not have formal schooling. The reasons for the lack of formal schooling included a lack of resources, entering the labor force to provide additional income for their family, and sickness or disability.

Amatyakul, Tammasaeng, and Punong-ong (1995) reported that the majority of children in the country do not progress beyond a sixth grade level of education. Additionally, more than 85% of children with disabilities are from families considered at or below the poverty level and/or from families with little or no formal education. Educational opportunties for chidlren with disabilities may be limited due to specialized schools primarily being located in mostly metropolitan areas. These schools may offer limited opportunties for children with disabilities to interact in more inclusive settings among regular education peers. Also, parents of children with disabilities may be reluctant to send their child to a school, which can result in a child with a disability beginning school at a later age than typical peers.

Table 2:Five most prevalent disabilities

Percentage Number of Disabled Category19.6% 207,172 Limb disability13.2% 139,524 Hearing impairment10% 105,700 Intellectual disability5.4% 57,078 Speech impairment1.9% 20,083 Visual impairmentSource: National Statistics Office /1991.

Difficulties with educational reformThe difficulties with educational reform within Thailand appear to stem primarily from the implementation of special education services rather than the introduction of educational policy. During the 1990’s, Thailand introduced several educational policies addressing special education services and has promoted education for all individuals regardless of disability. Although educational policy has changed quickly, the actual implementation of services has

34


several barriers to overcome. The provision of training to teacher of students with disabilities has been limited and many teachers feel unprepared to teach students with disabilities. The allocation of resources to support the development of training programs for teachers has been less than adequate to provide well prepared educators. The Ministry of Education proclaimed after the first year of its education reform law that 60% of the reforms had been implemented in the first year (Hallinger, 1998a). Although these claims seem to show significant progress, the implementation of new educational policies have not been supported but have rather been monitored by supervisors using checklists to look for evidence of policy implementation (Hallinger, Chantarapanya, Sriboonma, & Kantamara, 2000). A study by Chitchupong (2004) reported that although the government had developed programs to provide scholarships, loans, free food, and nutrition supplements, very few children actually received any of these resources. A large number of children were reported to enter into the labor force in order to provide additional income to their family.

Summary and ConclusionThe Thai monarch has expressed a concern to provide education for those with disabilities. It appears that governmental policies within Thailand have quickly moved toward less discriminatory education practices and are recognizing the need to educate all citizens regardless of disability. These policies promote more inclusive practices for children with disabilities in regular education programs as well as specialized schools providing services to children with specific disabilities. At present, the policy appears to have had different levels of implementation depending on the evaluation processes used and the individuals reporting on progress. Because Thailand is ruled by a constitutional monarchy, the tendency to criticize the government or the monarchy is greatly impeded due to fear of possible governmental reproof. Additionally, the country also struggles with limited facilities outside major cities, high poverty rates, and resistance to change in long-standing traditions. With these difficulties to overcome, the country has made movements toward improving the quality of special education services, but needs to continue efforts to expand availability of services and ensure implementation of governmental policies.

Some general strategies that could be beneficial toward the improvement of special education services could involve the development of financial incentives for special educators willing to provide services within rural/disadvantaged areas of the country. These incentives would also need to be supported by funding to improve on the facilities within these rural areas which many times are extremely limited on such as textbooks and writing materials. Another strategy which might be beneficial toward overcoming resistance to methods of providing special education services, such as movements toward inclusion of special education students in regular education classes, could involve increased in-service for all teachers and training on collaborative techniques between special and regular education teachers. Additionally, mentoring programs could be advantageous toward retaining newly certified special educators.

Criticism can be directed toward the effectiveness of special education services and the availability of these services, but the opportunities for children with disabilties does appear to have improved substantially over the past 20 years. The level and quality of special education services in Thailand have been well addressed in government policy and seem to be progressing toward the actualization of these policies. It would seem that progress would continue to be slow towards improving special education services within the country until both government policy, provision of funding, and attitudinal change can take place.

ReferencesAmatyakul, P., Tammasaeng, M., & Punong-ong, P. (1995). Sectoral Survey on Special Education in Thailand: Education for Children with Disabilities. Salaya, Nakorn Prathom, Thailand: Mahidol University Press.

35


Archavanitkul, K. (1999). What is the number of child prostitutes in Thailand? Journal of the Institute for Population and Social Research, 7, 1-9.Chitchupong, N. (2004, November) Access to education of poor children and youth in Thailand. Paper presented at the meeting of the Thai Population Association, Bangkok, Thailand. Fullan, M. (1993). Change forces. London: Falmer Press.Fulk, B. M., Swerdlik, P. A., & Kosuwan, K. (2002). Special education in Thailand. Teaching Exceptional Children, 34(5), 73.Hallinger, P. (1998a). Educational change in Southeast Asia: The challenge of creating learning systems. Journal of Educational Administration, 36(5), 492-509.Hallinger, P. (1998b). Educational reform in the Asia Pacific. Journal of Educational Administration, 36(5), 417-425.Hallinger, P., Chantarapanya, P., Sriboonma, U., & Kantamara, P. (2000). The Challenge of Educational Reform in Thailand: Jing Jai, Jing Jung, Nae Norn. In T. Townsend and Y.C. Cheng (Eds.), Educational Change and Development in the Asia-Pacific Region: Challenges for the Future (207-226). Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger.Institute for Population and Social Research (2005, January). Mahidol Population Gazette, Mahidol University, 14, 1-2.MOE. (1996). Education reform at the Ministry of Education Thailand. Bangkok, Thailand: External Relations Division, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education.ONEC. (1997a). Education in Thailand 1997. Bangkok, Thailand: Office of the National Education Commission.ONEC. (1997b). Formal education statistics and indicators: Academic year 1988-1993. Bangkok, Thailand: Office of National Education Commission.National Education Act, (1999). National Education Act of B.E.2542. Retrieved June 1, 2005, from http://www.moe.go.th/English/edu-act.htm.National Statistics Office (1991). Report of the Health and Welfare Survey. Retrieved April 23, 2004, from http://www.nso.go.th/eng/index.htm.

36


PROGRAMS AND METHODS TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION LEVELS OF READING RESOURCE SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS

AT AUSTIN ROAD MIDDLE SCHOOL

Brenton A. StensonGeorgia State University

This action research project made an attempt to increase the reading comprehension levels of special education reading resource students by raising academic efficacy through public acknowledgement of improvement, scaffolded instruction through the use of differentiated teacher created matrices, and graphic organizers to solidify the relationships between events in the reading passages. Academic efficacy increased 21% P<.001. The mean reading increased .88 grade equivalents and 6% NCE score on the STAR reading test.

School profileAustin Road Middle School is a part of the Henry County School System, serving students in grades six through eight. Students attending Austin Road are 74% minority, largely middle class, with professional parents. The free and reduced population is 34%. Last year Austin Road made annual yearly progress (AYP), with students scoring 93% pass rates in reading, 90% in language Arts, 82% in math on the Georgia Criterion Reference Competency Test (CRCT). Students at Austin Road have a high rate of attendance. Last year the attendance rate was 95%. At times last year our attendance rate was better than all other schools in the county.

The majority of students at Austin are African-American. The African-American population has increased from 54% two years ago to 74% this school term. This population of students is largely middle class with the median house price being $150,000. Many of these students have moved into the area recently from neighboring counties, and from out of state. Recent controversy in the governance of Clayton and Dekalb counties has brought an influx of students whose parents have moved into Austin Road’s attendance zone. Austin Roads students are high achieving. Test scores have increased the last two years, with Austin Road meeting AYP for school year 2003 – 2004.

Austin Road Middle School is attempting to reach its mission: to aid each child in his/her academic, aesthetic, physical, emotional, and social development in a secure environment where high achievement for students and staff will be attained and recognized. To reach that mission and to meet the requirements of the AYP portion of The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) a disaggregating of the data of last year’s CRCT test scores and this year’s results of the Iowa Test of Basic skills (ITBS) results were undertaken. The following chart illustrates how the different groups at Austin Road performed on the spring administration of the CRCT in the area of reading, by demographic group, and the school as a whole represented by the percentage passing the reading portion of the test.

The data in Table 1 is from the 2003 – 2004 administration of the CRCT, and it shows that while the special needs students achieved well enough to make AYP, however the margin was dangerously thin.

Table 1.CRCT reading scores 2003/4

School wide Males Females Black White Special

37


scores needs92 88 95 90 94 61

The ITBS, administered to eighth graders in September of 2004 showed similar discrepancies in scores. See Table 2.

All Students

Black White Free/Reduc. Lunch

Male Female Special Education

Number Tested 306 +-231 +-86 +-75 +-163 +-169 +-28

Reading Total 8.2 7.6 8.9 7.3 7.7 8.2 5.7

ReadingVocabulary

7.8 7.4 8.4 7.0 7.6 7.8 6.5

ReadingComprehension

8.5 7.9 9.1 7.5 7.9 8.6 5.1

Table 2.ITBS reading scores 2004

In the reading category, reading comprehension showed the greatest difference, 3.2 grade equivalents, between students as a whole and the special needs students. In order to meet AYP special needs students must pass the CRCT test at the 60% level. These 15 students that are currently enrolled in eighth grade special education reading programs are the lynch pin in the effort for Austin Road to continue to make AYP.

Problem statementIn order to ensure that Austin Road Middle School fulfills its mission and meets the requirements for AYP of NCLB, the reading comprehension levels and the reading scores of special needs students must be improved.

IntroductionThe research problem of this action research project was to identify strategies, and methods to improve reading comprehension levels of special needs students at Austin Road Middle School. The primary topics covered in this review of literature are academic self-efficacy and its relationship to academic achievement, scaffolding as a method of differentiated reading instruction, and concept maps as a method of improving retention and therefore reading comprehension.

Self-efficacyIn studies of students’ performance there was a strong link between perceived self-efficacy and cognitive development and functioning (Bandura, 1993). Bandura (1993) discussed how efficacy beliefs have an effect on all aspects of one’s behavior, and specifically in three areas: cognitive processes, motivational processes, and affective processes (Bandura, 1993).In Bandura’s studies, students who had a strong sense of self-efficacy perceived themselves as having the necessary skills and competencies to successfully complete assigned academic tasks. Students who doubted their ability tended to visualize themselves as failures, although they may have had ability levels equal to students with strong efficacy beliefs. When students saw themselves as being successful, self-efficacy levels increased and performance improved. Another important concept discussed was the evaluation of achievement. If individual progress is emphasized, self-efficacy improves. However, if a student’s evaluation only consists of discussions of shortcomings, this results in a decline in self-efficacy. Teachers should describe ability as a skill that can be developed rather than a finite level of intelligence that cannot be improved. By doing this, self-efficacy in students could be improved (Bandura, 1993).Special education students often have low academic efficacy levels. Many of these students have engaged in a persistent pattern of low achievement, resulting in academic failure. This phenomenon has also been referred to as learned helplessness (Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2003).

38


Tabassam and Grainger ( 2002)also reported in their study comparing the efficacy of students with learning disabilities to students with learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that their subjects had much lower scores for reading, math, and composite efficacy beliefs than of normally achieving students. Students with learning disabilities scored in the 27th percentile for academic efficacy as compared to the 50 th

percentile for normally achieving students.There are, according to Linnenbink and Pintrich (2003), several ways to improve academic efficacy in special education students. One way is for teachers to provide specific feed back to students about their work. This feedback should be directly related to the skills, and the improvement seen in those skills that the child is working on. Teachers must be careful not to provide false praise to students. False praise doe not improve efficacy beliefs. Students must be challenged by the tasks assigned to them. Task should be difficult enough to challenge the student, but not so difficult that the task reaches the frustration level of the student. Student efficacy levels will rise when they truly achieve at higher levels. Teachers must reinforce the concept that ability to complete a task can change as a result of hard work and effort. Teachers also should promote the concept of specific efficacy beliefs. They can do this by not worrying about the global sense of self-esteem, but instead reinforce task specific efficacy by developing task of increasing difficulty in which students can be successful (Linnenbink & Pintrich, 2003).Jinks and Lorsbach (2003) also offer some tips for teachers to increase academic efficacy of their students. Students need to be taught using materials with incremental increases in difficulty. These students must have frequent success even if these successes show only very small increases in achievement. Students with low efficacy beliefs need to be provide much more structure in instruction and they need their instruction in much smaller units so that a since of accomplishment can be developed. In an action research project, evolving at-risk middle school children, efficacy levels were increased and academic achievement levels, measured by teacher made test, was achieved by combining a goal setting program, publicly praising students for improvement in test scores, and a poster hanging in the classroom that showed improvement points. In this study students were publicly praised for any improvement shown, regardless how small. Students set goals at the beginning of the program and evaluated them at the midpoint and at the end of the treatment period (Stenson, 1999). ScaffoldingScaffolding is a means of instruction whereby students receive assistance in completing academic tasks until they possess the skills to accomplish these tasks on their own (Graves & Avery, 1997); (Martin & Martin, 2001, p. 85) ;(Fournier & Graves, 2002). Scaffolding activities would include discussing vocabulary and concepts students may have difficulty with prior to reading the selection. Activities to hook students into the content of the reading selection by relating the text to common life experiences is also very helpful. While reading students may take notes, complete graphic organizers, and engage in other activities that will help them remember the content that they are reading. One such activity would be to fill in a matrix of key ideas contained in the text. The teacher can provide hints by partially filling in some of the details as a means to differentiate instruction to meet individual students’ needs. After reading is completed the instructor would conduct a discussion based on the details that should be contained in the matrix (Graves & Avery, 1997); (Larkin, 2001); (Fournier & Graves, 2002). According to Fournier and Graves (2002) students who use a scaffolded reading experience (SRE) had a 19% increase in reading comprehension as opposed to students that did not.Learning disabled students often need this type of instruction. Many of them have decoding and comprehension problems. If some of the difficult vocabulary and key concepts can be pre-taught before reading takes place, and a structure is in place to focus students on what information is important in the reading passage, comprehension will improve (Martin & Martin, 2000). Many of these students have also been in a cycle of failure. Scaffolding provides these students with a method of being successful. It allows special educations students to have enough support to accomplish the task. Gradually as students begin to

39

http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001034996










achieve on their own the amount of teacher assistance can be reduced. In this process special education students can become more independent, as their skill levels improve (Larkin, 2001); (Warwick & Maloch, 2003).

Graphic organizersGraphic organizers (GO) make use of boxes, lines and other devices to categorize and prioritize information so that students can retain more knowledge thus improve reading comprehension (Guastello, Beasley & Sinatra, 2000); (Hoffman, 2003); (Ae-Hwa Kim, Vaughn, Wanzek, Shangjin Wei, 2004); (DiCecco & Gleason 2002). Graphic organizers have improved the reading comprehension levels of both students with learning disabilities and those without. According to Guastello, Beasley & Sinatra (2000) in their study students who use concept maps, a form of graphic organizer, reading scores improved six standard deviations above those students who where taught in a traditional manner using worksheets and teacher discussion. The graphic organizers allowed students to translate concepts into visual blueprint that could more easily be understood and retained. Graphic organizers also tended to focus students attention to the most important parts of reading passages.

Learning disabled students who where taught reading using graphic organizers scored much higher on reading comprehension test than those same students who were taught using standard methods of instruction (Ae-Hwa Kim, et al. 2004). Several types of graphic organizers were used in the study. These were semantic organizers, cognitive maps with and without mnemonics and framed outlines. Students performed much higher when they used any one of the graphic organizers than those students who did not. Guastello, Beasley & Sinatra (2000) also suggest that graphic organizers facilitated a drastic improvement in performance of low achieving students. A group many learning disabled students fall into.

In DiCecco & Gleason’s (2002) study of middle school learning disabled students, they found that graphic organizers helped students to gain relational knowledge from the expository passages that they read. Graphic organizers link concepts so that relationships can be inferred by the student. This is extremely important to learning disabled students, because they often get bogged down in irrelevant details. Graphic organizers help LD students because the enable them to see the important parts of the text especially if the framework of the organizer is given to the students prior to reading (DiCecco & Gleason 2002).

Graphic organizers should be constructed so that the main ideas are represented by a consistent geometric shape and the supporting concepts whether they are implied or explicit should have corresponding shape to the degree of their relationship to the main topic. According to DiCecco and Gleason students knowledge gains were apparent when they had to write essays about the topics. The graphic organizers helped students build the relational bridges of the information so that they could in tern write essays explaining the topic that they had read.

According to Merkley and Jefferies (2000) that graphic organizers are an excellent pre-reading tool. When teacher verbally discuss the elements that are in graphic organizers it helps students to connect the inferences that the organizers represent. Students should be allowed to input information into the graphic organizers. Teachers should ask open ended questions to make sure that students understand the relationships represented by the graphic organizers. One precaution teachers should take is to make sure that their graphic organizers are not so detailed the students can avoid reading the passage.

SummaryThe improvement of academic self-efficacy is an important step in the increased academic performance of students (Bandura, 1993). Tips and practices to increase self-efficacy of special education students were offered by Jinks and Lorsbach (2003), Jinks and Lorsbach (2003), and Stenson (1999). Among these are that students need to perceive real achievement

40






for efficacy to improve and that students need to be started at a level where they can achieve without being frustrated.

Scaffolding is an effective method for providing students with the support they need until they can accomplish the task on their own (Graves & Avery, 1997); (Martin & Martin, 2001, p. 85) ;(Fournier & Graves, 2002). Student can be presented with vary degrees of assistance through differentiated learning by the use of matrices to guide reading will improve reading comprehension.

Finally the use of graphic organizers helps students to draw inferences and to organize information so that reading comprehensions can be improved (Guastello, Beasley & Sinatra, 2000); (DiCecco & Gleason 2002); (Hoffman, 2003); (Ae-Hwa Kim, et al., 2004). If methods to improve efficacy are used in combination with the use of scaffolding and graphic organizers, reading comprehension should improve.

This review of literature has provided a grounding for the prospect of improving reading comprehension of learning disabled students through the use of public praise and recognition for improved performance in resource reading classes, scaffolding as a means of differentiated instruction to meet the needs of students, and the use of graphic organizers to organize and represent the concepts of reading passages. The initial self-efficacy of students was measured to establish a base line of academic self-efficacy using an academic self-efficacy instrument. Initial reading comprehension levels were reported on the 2004 administration on the Georgia CRCT. The 2005 administration of the CRCT will be used to measure the gains during the treatment period

MethodIntroductionThe research problem of this action research project was to find programs and methods to improve reading comprehension levels of reading resource special education students at Austin Road Middle School. The primary components of the action research project were the relationship of academic efficacy, scaffolding as a means of differentiated instruction, and the use of concept maps to reinforce relational structures and concepts in reading passages. The primary focus of using these components together was to improve reading comprehension skills through differentiated instruction and to increase efficacy levels as a means to improve student effort and resilience.

Design of the studyAt the initial outset of the study, the reading resource students were given Albert Bandura’s Children Self-Efficacy Scale (Bandura, 1995). The students were also administered the STAR test. This instrument is an individual technology based test that measured the reading level of students recorded in NCE scores and grade equivalents. Students then were informed that an improvement block would be colored in on the class improvement roster every time their score improved on reading comprehension activities. They also were informed that once they reached a 90% score on their daily assessments and that grade was maintained from one day to the next, they would continue to receive improvement blocks as evidence of satisfactory effort and mastery of the material. At the end of each three-week period the students that demonstrated adequate improvement were rewarded with an extrinsic reward. Student improvement on weekly CRCT practice book activities would also be recorded.

Teachers in the study scaffolded their instruction based on the initial scores of students on the STAR test, and if available the 2004 CRCT scores. The scaffolding method was to have students fill in a matrix of information as they read passages. The amount of information supplied by the teacher in the matrix would be determined by the student’s individual reading level. As student comprehension skills improved the amount of teacher supplied information gradually was decreased.

41








Prior to reading passages students would be exposed to concept maps with different shapes for different levels and sub-levels of information. Then students read the passages and filled in the previously discussed matrix. After reading the passages students discussed the passages with teachers and filled in the concept maps with teacher’s assistance if necessary. Teacher assistance was reduced or removed as student’s skill levels improved. Students engaged in discussions of the relationships between events in the story.

At the end of the treatment period students were re-administered the Children’s Academic Efficacy Scale and the STAR reading test to measure improved performance. Students 2005 CRCT reading comprehension scores were also examined to insure that adequate yearly progress was made for this group of students. The teachers involved in implementing this study were resource teachers and collaborative reading teachers at Austin Road Middle School. The researcher completed the analysis of the data.

SummaryThe improvement of reading comprehension skills is vital to the academic success of special education students of Austin Road Middle School. It is also vitally important that these students score at the 60% pass rate on the Georgia CRCT exam, so that Austin Road Middle School will be eligible to achieve adequate yearly progress, measured by the No Child Left Behind Act.

ResultsIn this analysis of the data, this researcher described the results of the pretreatment surveys, the pre and post treatment scores on the STAR reading test, the mean score on daily reading comprehension activities, improvement on bi-weekly CRCT practice exercises, and the improvement of scores on the April 2005 reading CRCT test, as compared to the April 2004 reading CRCT test. The research problem of this action research project was to find programs and methods to improve reading comprehension levels of reading resource special education students at Austin Road Middle School and implement them as practice.

The pre- and post treatment survey was Albert Bandura’s Children’s Self-Efficacy Scale (Bandura, 1995). The survey was given to all reading resource students prior to treatment and was re-administered to the same students following the completion of the treatment period. Data was collected form the special education reading resource teachers regarding improvement on daily comprehension activities, improvement on bi-weekly CRCT practice test, for the period between February 21, 2005 and April 19, 2005. Also anecdotal evidence was gathered for analysis of the students’ attitude towards reading activities. A comparison was also made between students’ 2004 CRCT reading scores and their 2005 reading CRCT scores.

The first results to be examined are scores by students on the Children’s Self-efficacy Scales, which was given as a pre-treatment survey. The mean score of students on the pretreatment survey was 80.6. Fifteen students were surveyed, with the range of scores was between 50 and 97. The post treatment survey mean was 103.9. The scores ranged between 64 and 130. The gain on the efficacy scale survey was 21.5%. This gain was significant p<.001.The second results to be discussed are the gains on the STAR reading test. Students tested averaged .88 grade equivalents of gain and 6.6% gain in NCE scores. Five students gained as much as a whole year’s in grade equivalent and 10% in NCE score in the eight-week treatment period. One student gained 3.7 grade equivalents during the treatment period. The scores of students are listed on the following table. However when a t test was applied to the scores in both categories the difference was not statistically significant. (see Table 3 below).The third piece of data to be reported was the improvement of daily reading comprehension activities. The chart at Figure 1 (below)shows how the mean scores of these activities generally tended towards improvement.

Table 3.Pre and post test scores on the STAR reading test

42


Figure 1Mean scores on reading comprehension activities

The first activity was relatively easy, so that the students could get used to the format of the activities and so that they would have some initial success. The remainder of the scores shows a gradual increase in the mean of student scores of students on daily comprehension activities. The fourth piece of data to be reported is the CRCT practice test. The mean of the first activity was 77.5, the second was 76, and the third was 84.5. By the third activity the performance was much higher than the first test. This would be expected because the test were given roughly two weeks apart, giving the students ample time to make gains in their reading skills. The last piece of data to be analyzed is the difference in score between the 2004 CRCT reading test and the 2005 CRCT reading results. Table 4 (below) shows the scores of the 15 students in the study.Only seven of the fifteen students passed the reading portion of the CRCT. One student’s individual education plan (IEP) called for an alternative assessment. This pass rate was disappointing. It did not meet the criteria of 60% required for NCLB.The observed behavior of students in the resource classes during the treatment period was extremely encouraging. The students were very excited about the reward system in which they were engaged. Teachers noted that students eagerly waited to see if they qualified for an improvement sticker. These same students who had previously shown little interest in reading

Pre Pre Post PostGE NCE GE NCE

1 6.0 30.7 7.2 40.72 2.1 1.0 2.5 1.03 2.7 1.0 4.9 21.84 3.6 10.4 4.6 18.95 3.2 6.7 3.3 13.16 1.9 1 1.9 17 6.3 34.4 6.0 30.78 6.1 33.0 6.2 33.09 11.3 59.9 12.4 62.310 6.4 35 10.1 55.911 3.0 1 2.5 112 6.0 35.8 6.4 40.113 3.4 6.7 3.3 6.714 3.6 10.4 4.6 18.915 2.7 1 4.9 21.8

Average gain.88 GradeEquivalents

Average gain6.6% NCE

43


or the process necessary to improve their reading skills were working extremely hard to show that they could succeed.

Table 4.CRCT Reading test Results

2004 CRCT Reading Test 2005 CRCT Reading Test1 325 3002 320 3953 286 2954 290 2715 307 2906 No score 3107 282 2858 326 3509 Alternative assessment Alternative assessment10 No score 34311 278 32012 307 29513 327 33114 290 28515 No score 271

The data gathered and analyzed for this study suggested that there was an increase in academic self-efficacy for the participants as demonstrated by the increase in scores on the Children’s Self-efficacy Scale. Students reading performance improved as measured by the increased in grade equivalents and the increase in the average NCE scores on the STAR reading test. The students showed gradual improvement on reading comprehension activities that were created by their reading teachers. Their eventually was substantial improvement on the scores of practice CRCT tests. The 2005 CRCT results were not a positive as the researcher had hoped, but improvement for some students was substantialDiscussionThe research problem of this action research project was to find programs and methods to improve reading comprehension levels of reading resource special education students at Austin Road Middle School. The treatment program of differentiated instruction through the use of scaffolding and the use of concept maps as a way to reinforce the relational structures within reading passages was conducted during a 9 week period between winter break and the beginning of CRCT testing. The analyzed data reported in Chapter 4 of this document suggested that academic self-efficacy levels were increased and reading ability was increased as tested using the STAR reading test. Students’ achievement also improved on in class reading comprehension assignments and practice CRCT reading tests. Seven of 15 students passed the 2005 reading CRCT exam.

ConclusionsThe level of academic self-efficacy of the students, increased by 21.5% and was significant p<.001 as measured by Albert Bandura’s Children’s Self-efficacy Scale (Bandura, 1995). This was largely due to the recognition of individual improvement. Bandura, (1993) stated that if individual progress was emphasized efficacy levels would improve. This was accomplished by issuing stickers that were placed on the Hall of Fame Poster in the classroom. The recognition of students for improving their individual scores on reading comprehension assignments emphasized personal improvement rather than class competition. By teaching the skill necessary for students to improve their reading comprehension ability, through the use of scaffolding and graphic organizers, students became more confident in their ability as their skills increased. According to Linnenbink and Pintrich (2003), teachers should provide specific feed back about student improvement. The stickers on the Hall of Fame poster did exactly that.

The reading level of students in the study increased. The mean grade equivalent, of students reading levels increased by .88, and the NCE percentage rose by 6.6% in a nine week period.

44


The scaffolded instruction allowed students to improve their skills no matter what level they were starting from The students involved in the study started from reading levels in the first percentile, as measured on the STAR reading test, up through the fifty-ninth percentile. The scaffolding allowed for differentiated instruction so that the needs of all the children in the class could be meet. Scaffolded instruction was a multiplier of efficacy building. Students could accomplish the task increasing their efficacy and skill level. As the skill level improved scaffolding could be reduced. Students can recognize decreasing levels of teacher help. From that, they can internalize increase in their own abilities to master the material.

The graphic organizers helped students to remember the relationships of events in the story. As they filled out the graphic organizers based on the material from the matrix they completed during reading, they were able to conceptualize visually what they had read. Special education students according to DiCecco & Gleason’s (2002) need the graphic organizers to help the link the events in the story so that they can infer meaning from them. The concept map acts as a blueprint that helps students visualize the material (Guastello, Beasley & Sinatra 2000).

The students’ performances on the 2005 reading CRCT exam were not positive as the researcher had hoped. Of the fifteen students in the study only seven of those had passing scores on this years test. One of the students was given an alternative assessment. This was below the 60% required by NCLB. However, four of the seven students of which we had previous scores, improved their score on this years administration of the test.

Implications for practiceThe conclusion developed from this action research project indicated that there are teaching practices that can lead to the development of higher levels of academic efficacy and higher levels of reading comprehension in special education students. The first is that students need to be publicly recognized for their improvement in achievement no matter how incremental that achievement is. This recognition for achievement helps to develop efficacy. The recognition needs to be specific to the task and should not be patronizing. Another teaching method that should be implemented for all special education students in scaffolded instruction. Scaffolding allows the students to be taught where his or her abilities are. As skill levels increase the scaffolding can and should be reduced so that the students work more and more on their own. A key ingredient to the scaffolded instruction is the use of a matrix. This allows students to file the information learned into many categories so that retentions and recall of the information will be easier. A third implication for practice is the use of graphic organizers for all special education students. This helps students visualize the information in a picture form.

Questions for further researchThis action research project was a study of how to increase the reading comprehension levels of resource special education reading students by increasing academic efficacy, use of scaffolded instruction, and through the use of graphic organizers. This combined a motivational aspect as well as individual differentiated instruction. An interesting question for further research would be can this method of instruction work as well with other groups of students who’s reading achievement is not up to grade level. This study required intensive planning for proper implementation by the special education teachers and the researcher. Special educations classes are small so that individualized instruction can be given. Is there a way that the elements of this study could be replicated on a larger scale so that other low achieving students could benefit from the instructional tools that were developed in this study?

SummaryThe research problem of this action research project was to identify strategies to increase the reading comprehension levels of resource special education students at Austin Road Middle School. The strategies developed were to increase academic efficacy through the use of public recognition of achievement, scaffolded instruction, and the use of graphic organizers. The

45


mean academic efficacy levels of the students in the study increased by 21.5%. Reading levels increased on the STAR reading test by .88 grade equivalents, and 6.6% NCE scores. The program developed during the course of this action research project improved academic efficacy and reading comprehension of resource special education students at Austin Road Middle School.

ReferencesAe-Hwa Kim, B, Vaughn, S., Wanzek, J., Shangjin Wei, J. (2004). Graphic organizers and their effects on the reading comprehension of students with LD: a synthesis of research. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37(2), 105-119.Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28(2), 117-148.Bandura, A. (1995). Manual for the construction of self-efficacy scales. Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2130.DiCecco, V., Gleason, M. (2002). Using graphic organizers to attain relational knowledge from expository text. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35(4), p306-331.Fournier, D. N., & Graves, M. F. (2002). Scaffolding Adolescents' Comprehension of Short Stories: This Article Describes an Approach to Assisting Seventh-Grade Students' Comprehension of Individual Texts with a Scaffolded Reading Experience or SRE. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 46 (1), 30+. Retrieved January 30, 2005, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.Graves, M. F., & Avery, P. G. (1997). Scaffolding Students' Reading of History. Social Studies , 88 (3), 134-138. Guastello, E. F., Beasley, T. M., & Sinatra, R. C. (2000). Concept Mapping Effects on Science Content Comprehension of Low-Achieving Inner-City Seventh Graders. Remedial and Special Education, 21 (6), 356. Retrieved February 8, 2005, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.Hoffman, J. (2003). Student-Created Graphic Organizers Bring Complex Material to Life. College Teaching, 51 (3), 105. Retrieved February 8, 2005, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.Jinks, J., Lorsbach, A. (2003). Introduction: Motivation and self-efficacy belief. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 19(2), 113-118.Larkin, M. (2001). Providing support for student independence through scaffolded instruction. Teaching Exceptional Children, 35(1), 30-35.Linnenbrink, E., Pintrich, P. (2003). The role of self-efficacy beliefs in student engagement and learning in the classroom. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 19(2), 119-138. Martin, S. H., & Martin, M. A. (2001). Using Literature Response Activities to Build Strategic Reading for Students with Reading Difficulties. Reading Improvement, 38 (2), 85. Retrieved January 30, 2005, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com.Merkley, D. & Jefferies, D. (2000). Guidelines for implementing a graphic organizer. Reading Teacher, 54(4), 350 – 358. Stenson, B. (1999). Identification of Methods and Strategies to Improve Academic self-Efficacy in At-Risk Middle School Students. Unpublished education specialist thesis, Valdosta State University, Valdosta.Tabassam, W., Grainger, J. Self-concept, attributional style and self-efficacy beliefs of students with learning disabilities with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Learning Disability Quarterly, 25(2), p141-147.Warwick, P., Malock, B. (2203) Scaffolding speech and writing in the primary classroom: a consideration of work with literature and science pupil groups in the USA and UK. Reading, 37(2), 54-64.

46
















EDUCATIONAL SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH MENTAL RETARDATION IN KENYA

Mary W. KiarieSouthern Connecticut State University

Research pertaining to issues on educational services for individuals with disabilities in developing countries is scarce. The purpose of this article is to two fold: first, to contribute to the already existing literature, and, secondly, and perhaps more importantly, to provide a foundation for prospective readers to better understand literature regarding educational services for students with mental retardation. This article guides the reader to understand the perspectives towards students with mental retardation, discusses the definition and causes of this condition, and discusses issues pertaining to the identification, assessment and evaluation of these students in Kenya. The core of the article contains a discussion of the various placement options available for this population along with the curriculum in operation in the various settings. Existing barriers to effectively serving this population in Kenya and in other developing countries is also discussed.

The concept of mental retardation is continually changing and these changes can be seen as a reflection of a change in the perspective of individuals with mental retardation based both on research and a clearer understanding of the issues involved in defining the concept. For example the American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR), a professional organization founded in 1876, recently drafted a new definition of mental retardation which not only maintains a functional perspective on retardation but also focuses on the relations among capabilities, environments, and functioning (Luckasson, Coultier, Polloway, Reiss, Schalock, Snell, Spitalnik, & Stark, 1992). According to this definition, mental retardation refers to substantial limitation in present function. It is characterized by significantly sub-average intellectual functioning existing concurrently with related limitations in two or more of the following applicable adaptive skill areas: Communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure and work. Mental retardation manifests before age 18 (1992). In addition to the perception of mental retardation with respect to a person’s functioning in daily life according to his or her practical, social, and conceptual intelligence, the AAMR lists four essential assumptions to be carefully considered in the application of this definition. Without going into a lengthy elaboration of this definition, it is important to note that it has far reaching implications which have not been addressed. The more widespread definition of mental retardation is the AAMR’s sixth definition used in the American-based Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Under IDEA mental retardation is defined as significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period (Grossman, 1983 p.11) that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Significantly sub-average intellectual functioning is defined as a score that is at least two standard deviations below the mean on a test of intelligence. Based on the American Association on Mental Retardation (Grossman, 1983) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) and using intelligence

47


(IQ) test scores, mental retardation occurs on the four levels of mild (score 50 through 55 to approximately 70), moderate (score 35 through 40 to 50 through 55), severe (score 20 through 25 to 35 through 40), and profound (20 through 25).

Adaptive behavior is an indication of independence and social competence. It refers to an individual’s ability to meet the social requirements of his or her community that are appropriate for his/her chronological age. Standardized tests such as the AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scale (Lambert, Nihira, & Leland, 1993) and the Vineland Adaptive Scales are used to determine an individual’s adaptive skills. Using the sub-average intellectual functioning and the adaptive behavior skills deficits an individual would only be identified as having mental retardation if their IQ scores and their adaptive behavior skills scores were below average.

In Kenya a mentally handicapped child is one who has a limited level of intelligence and deficits in adaptive behavior. This condition usually arises between conception and 18 years of age (Ministry of Education, 1995, p.6 ). The Kenya Ministry of Education, in its handbook on how to handle children with special needs goes on to note that mentally handicapped children are usually categorized according to severity of mental impairments as mildly, moderately, severely, or profoundly handicapped; or as educable, trainable, severe, and profound in terms of their measured intelligence scores on IQ tests. The classifications of educable and trainable are referred to by other authors (e.g.,Bernie-Smith, et. al., 1998). It would appear that the definition of mental retardation used in Kenya has some parallels with the IDEA definition used in the United States.

CausesThe various factors associated with incidences of mental retardation in Kenya as well as most other countries are pre-, peri-, and postnatal, and environmental. Although research (e.g., McDermott, 1994) indicates that a majority of incidences of mental retardation are attributed to environmental factors, environmental factors need to be viewed as interacting with psychosocial and genetic or biological factors (Office of Special education Programs, 2000 & Schettler, Stein, Reich, Valenti, & Wallinga, 2000). Hence, such factors as lack of early exposure to intellectually stimulating experiences, inadequate health care, adverse living conditions, and nutritional problems when, associated with mental retardation can not be said to cause the condition but individuals who are exposed to these factors are at a greater risk for demonstrating low cognitive abilities.

Prenatal factors include disorders associated with chromosomes, metabolic disorders, and infections of the mother during the period of pregnancy. An initial infection of cytomegalovirus (CMV), for example, can be potentially very dangerous to the unborn child posing risks for brain damage, hearing impairments, and mental retardation. Toxoplasmosis, (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2003), another maternal infection, may be contracted through consumption of undercooked or raw meat and eggs or exposure to cat feces. Initial infection during pregnancy puts the unborn baby at risk for very serious complications including blindness, jaundice, cerebral palsy, enlarged liver and spleen, microcephaly, and mental retardation. Sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, and the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are other causes of mental retardation and other problems. These viruses are able to cross the placenta and attack the fetus’s central nervous system. Along with attacking the central nervous system of the developing fetus, the AIDS virus also damages the fetus’s immune system leaving it at risk for opportunistic infections. Research indicates that pediatric AIDS is both the fastest growing infectious cause of mental retardation (Baumeister, Kupstas, & Klindworth,1990) and the single most preventable type of infectious mental retardation (Cohen, 1991).

German Measles (Rubella) is another infection that has been linked to mental retardation and other birth complications such as low birth weight, heart defects, and vision and hearing

48


problems especially if infection occurs during the first trimester of pregnancy. The Rhesus factor, a disease caused by blood group incompatibility between a mother and her unborn child (Beirne-Smith, Ittenbach, & Patton,1998 & March of Dimes, 1997d), often leads to serious complications for the unborn fetus. These include mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy. Incidences of German measles infections have greatly decreased since the introduction of a rubella vaccine in 1969. An injection of the Rh immune globulin within 72 hours of delivering an Rh positive baby, greatly reduces problems in any future pregnancies.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) and galactosemia are two inborn errors of mentabolism associated with mental retardation and whose effects may be greatly reduced by dietary restrictions (Dyer, 1999 & Koch &De la Cruz, 1999). Galactosemia is a disease that results from an infants inability to process galactose, a form of sugar that is usually found in products such as milk. Phenylketonuria results from an inability to process phenylalanine, a protein found in milk and other products. An accumulation of phenylalanine in the blood stream leads to brain damage and mental retardation which is often severe. Galactosemia is manifested by cognitive impairements, vision problems, vomiting, retarded development, liver damage, jaundice, and greater risks for infections (Drew, Hardman, & Logan, 1996).

About 5 percent of all people with mental retardation have Down syndrome. While some individuals with Down syndrome may have almost average intelligence, most have mild through profound mental retardation and others have associated conditions such as leukemia, vision and intestinal problems and a susceptibility to thyroid problems (March of dimes, 1997a). Distinctive physical characteristics are also often observed in individuals with Down syndrome (March of Dimes, 2003). These include short fingers, reduced muscle tone, an enlarged and protruding (sometimes) tongue, flat nose, short stature, and an upper slant of the eyes. While people without Down syndrome have parallel lines, people with Down syndrome have a single crease-called a Simian crease- on the palms of their hands.

Fragile X, one of the leading inherited causes of mental retardation, results from a weakness or fragility in the structure of the X chromosome of the twenty-third pair. More at risk for this condition are males because, unlike females who have two X chromosomes, they have one X and one Y chromosome in each pair (Kozma & Stock, 1993). This condition affects 1 in 750 males and 1 in 1250 females (Kozma & Stock, 1993). Individuals with Fragile X syndrome may have autism and they may manifest attention disorders (Beirnie-Smith, et al., 1998 & Santos, 1992), speech and language problems, and self-stimulatory behavior. Distinctive physical characteristics for these individuals may include prominent forehead, large head circumference, a long narrow face and large ears, and enlarged testicles at puberty (Rogers & Simensen, 1987).

Mental retardation may also result from unsafe behaviors of mothers during pregnancy. Consumption of alcohol before or during pregnancy can lead to severe effects on the baby, a condition referred to as Fetal alcohol syndrome (Bauer, 1999 & Jones, Smith, Ulleland, & Streissguth, 1973). Infants with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), now a leading cause of mental retardation in the United States could have a damaged central nervous system and brain damage. These infants have mild to moderate mental retardation, attention deficits, behavior problems, physical deformities, heart defects, low birth weight, and motor dysfunctions. Fetal alcohol effects (FAE) are milder forms of the effects of a mother’s alcohol consumption during pregnancy on the infant. These include mild learning disabilities and problems paying attention (Melner, Shackelford, Hargrove, & Daulton).

Some prenatal causes of mental retardation are unknown. Conditions such as encephalocele, anencephaly, microcephaly, and hydrocephalus can not be explained. All these conditions affect the brain in some way. Encephalocele involves an opening in the skull from which part of the brain material protrudes. Anencephaly is a condition in which a large portion of the brain fails to develop properly. An unusually small head and severe mental retardation

49


characterize microcephaly. In hydrocephalus, a large amount of cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain area leading to an enlarged cranial cavity and compression of the brain with dire consequences for the affected infant. A shunt inserted into the cranial cavity removes the excess fluid from the brain area and minimizes the impact of the consequences.

Among the perinatal factors associated with mental retardation are low birth weight, prematurity, and other neonatal complications. Low birth weight (less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces) and premature birth (birth prior to 37 weeks of gestation) are two gestational disorders associated with mild to severe mental retardation. It is important to keep in mind that not all infants with gestational disorders will have a disability or even have learning difficulties. Other perinatal events include neonatal complications neonatal complications which can result from prolonged and difficult deliveries or damaged umbilical cord. These events can result in a fetus being completely or partially cut off from oxygen. Indeed, anoxia has been implicated in as many as one out of every five births that result in mental retardation (McLaren & Bryson, 1987). Breech presentation, quick deliveries (lasting less than two hours), hypoxia, and birth trauma are all perinatal factors that may lead to various degrees of mental retardation.

In breech presentation, rather than the typical head-first birth procedure, the fetus exits the birth canal rear first. This increases the risk of damage to the umbilical cord and a greater risk of injury to the infant’s head resulting from the greater intensity of uterine contractions later in the birth process. These risks also exist when a rapid short duration birth process occurs. Drew et al 1996--notes that a rapid birth precludes the chances for the gentle molding of the head increasing the risk for tissue damage and mental retardation. Improper use of forceps and application of vacuum procedures during the delivery process can cause brain damage to an infant and the possibility for mental retardation exists. Mental retardation may also result from factors occurring postnatally. These include infections, such as meningitis and encephalitis, intoxicants, environmental factors. Lead poisoning (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2003), which results from ingesting lead, can affect the central nervous system and cause seizures and mental retardation. Meningitis is a viral infection that causes damage to the meninges or tissues covering the brain. Meningitis can result from typical childhood complications such as mumps and measles. This infection causes seizures, damages the brain, and has a possibility of resulting in mental retardation. Encephalitis, on the other hand, is an inflammation of the brain tissue and may also result from complications of infections associated with childhood. This infection can cause brain damage and has the possibility of leading to varying degrees of mental retardation. As in other parts of the world, the above factors are major causes of mental retardation and other developmental disabilities in Kenya.

Identification of Mental Retardation in KenyaIf mental retardation is very severe, a child may be identified as having mental retardation very early in his/her life. In some cases, determination of this condition is made at the moment of birth. Less severe cases of mental retardation may not be that easily identified. Earlier in this paper, it was mentioned that children with mental retardation in Kenya are usually categorized according to severity of mental impairments as mildly, moderately, severely, or profoundly handicapped or as educable, trainable, severe, and profound in terms of their measured intelligence scores on IQ tests.

It would appear that intelligence tests are used in determining the level of mental retardation of students suspected of having intellectual disabilities in Kenya. However, whether these tests are actually used with children who have mental retardation in placement decisions is not clear. It is important to understand that in Kenya, students who are labeled as having mental retardation are those who have such significant and obvious limitations in their cognitive and

50


adaptive behaviors that administration of standardized tools may not be deemed necessary. Such students may also have other disabling conditions.

Given that at least 10% of a population have disabilities according to United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO,1994) it would appear that there are many more students with mental retardation than the ones currently receiving services. A majority of students with mental retardation are those with mild mental retardation. Identification of these students may consist of observations for pointers of low intellectual functioning and deficits in adaptive behavior. These characteristics may be indicated by an impaired ability to learn, acquire and generalize concepts, process, understand and respond to information, and apply knowledge in various settings such as school and community. It is also important to note that the learning and social behavioral characteristics of students with mild mental retardation, learning disabilities, and those who are unmotivated low achievers are often so similar to observers that misdiagnosis occurs often. In any case, services for students with learning disabilities and mild mental retardation are not yet developed in Kenya and in many cases these children may not be recognized as having a disability.

The Kenya Ministry of Education, in its guidelines on students with disabilities (1995), notes that children with mental retardation: develop more slowly than other children, learn more slowly than people of the same age, have low attention abilities, lack motivation, have poor memory, have problems with language and other social skills, experience low academic achievement, have personality and behavioral problems, experience low academic achievement, are withdrawn and experience difficulties in making friends, lack self-help skills, lack work adjustment skills, may be aggressive, may have physical defects and associated disabling problems such as autism, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy (p.6-7). This may be another way in which students with mental retardation are identified.

Placement OptionsGiven that their condition is in most cases never identified or recognized as a disability, children with mild mental retardation in Kenyan schools are educated with students without disabilities in regular schools and classrooms (Mutua & Dimitrov, 2001) with no supports, adaptations, or modifications. Students with moderate to severe forms of mental retardation are educated mainly in units in regular education schools and in special schools and residential settings for children with mental retardation (Kiarie, 2005 & Mutua & Dimitrov, 2001). Whether they are in the units, special schools, or residential settings, their educational services are specialized in that they do not follow the academic curriculum. Services for these individuals in specialized settings date back to 1948 when two schools, later merged into the Jacaranda Special School, were established. Programs for these students have continued to grow as enrolment has continued to increase. In the mid 80s, students with mental retardation were served in 52 programs which included 17 schools, 30 units, three pre-vocational schools, and one sheltered workshop (Ndurumo, 1993, p. 20).

As was the case in the United States before the enactment of the Education for all Handicapped Children Act (1975), (Ryndak & Alper, 1996), it is very likely that majority of children with profound mental and other disabilities do not receive any educational services in Kenya. These are the children and youth most likely to be denied access to the schools as they are deemed unlikely to benefit from any education or be hidden away (Dorothy, 2003) by their parents. The absence of a zero reject principle, the equivalent of the one embodied in the American-based Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) means that even though parents may recognize education as a right for every child and rise above society’s negative attitudes, they can not require that schools open their gates to all children. Schools can still decide that some children are ineducable and therefore do not belong in the school environment.

51


CurriculumIn the general education settings, students curriculum is very academic oriented and all students are exposed to the same subjects. This orientation illuminates the disadvantage at which students with mild mental and other intellectual disabilities are placed. As Mutua and Dimitrov further note Kenya’s educational system is characterized by entrance examinations that are used to predict academic success. Non-successful students are often retained in grades until they are deemed successful, drop out, or are too old to stay in the same grade (p.178).

One of the government’s objectives in educating students with disabilities is the acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills. However, in the separate settings, other than very elementary basic skills, the curriculum is geared towards functional education and life skills training (Mutua & Dimitrov, 2001). Teachers for individuals with mental retardation in separate facilities for students with mental retardation focus on teaching their students how to communicate their needs, employ self-care skills for basic hygiene, maintain appropriate behavior, employ functional academics, be safe, and employ appropriate social skills (Mwangi, Kerre, Wabuge, & Mugo, 1989). To realize their objectives, teachers are required to use task-analysis in which they break learning tasks into smaller sequential skills which they systematically teach to the students until they master. These are recommended in a guidebook on handling students with special needs published by the Kenya Ministry of Education (Kenya Ministry of Education, 1995). Other instructional considerations recommended by the Kenya Ministry of Education for use with this population include: Modeling, drills and practice to promote over-learning, attention to relevance and applicability to the students’ lives, short learning activities, generous use of prompts and rewards, use of concrete materials as much as possible, use of visuals to promote understanding of concepts, and explicit teaching of such self-care skills as toileting, dressing, and grooming.

Teachers of students with mental retardation in Kenya can benefit from exposure to current literature on meeting the needs of these students. This literature emphasizes the need for teachers to plan their materials well, have clear goals and objectives, teach to their objectives, and assess students directly and frequently. Since individuals with mental retardation experience difficulty in maintaining the skills and knowledge they have acquired, they require frequent opportunities to practice new academic and functional skills. Not only must curriculum focus on skills that these individuals need to use frequently in school, at home, and in the community but teaching functional skills in the natural contexts in which they are performed is necessary.

It is important to note that the curriculum in units and separate schools and residential settings for students with mental retardation in Kenya does not seem to be consistent. Muuya (2002) found that rather than the more appropriate curriculum combining literacy and numeracy with functional academics and life skills training discussed earlier, programs for these children focused more on behavioral control and containment and moral behavior. Due to certain factors, the curriculum orientation of a certain program, although guided by the need for the children to acquire skills in self-reliance among others, are largely dependent on the goals and orientations of the funding religious, private, or other organization.

ConclusionsIssues affecting other areas of special education services in Kenya also affect the area of services for students with mental retardation. Foremost among this is lack of vital human and material resources (Kiarie 2005). Another is the lack of a law that mandates funds and enforces educational and other services for all students with disabilities. In the education of students with disabilities a law is needed to provide and enforce services for this population. Without laws and national mandates, and ways for ensuring that schools abide by these laws, many students with disabilities are likely to be locked out of the educational arena.

52


Development of a transition-based service provision model is vital especially for students with severe mental retardation. Students with disabilities need to be taught with attention to what, where, and how they are going to live and work as adults. This aspect is lacking in the education of students with disabilities in Kenya.

In view of the above and other barriers quite evident in the education of students with disabilities in Kenya, it is safe to say that although a lot remains to be done, Kenya is making steps in the right direction with regard to services for students with disabilities. With awareness of the rights of individuals with disabilities being raised by the most recent act, the Persons with Disabilities Act passed in 2003, it is reasonable to expect that services for children, youth, and adults with disabilities in Kenya will continue to improve, albeit very gradually.

ReferencesBauer, C.R. (1999). Perinatal effects of prenatal drug exposure: Neonatal aspects. Clinics in Perinatology, 26, 87-106.Baumeister, A., Kupstas, F., & Klindworth, L.(1990). New morbidity: Implications for prevention of children’s disabilities. Exceptionality, 1(1), 1-16.Beirne-Smith, M., Ittenbach, R., & Patton, J. (1998). Mental Retadation (5 th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. (n.d). What is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/ncbdddd/adhd/what.htm.Cohen, H. (1991).The rehabilitation needs of children with HIV infections and associated developmental disabilities. Physical medicine and rehabilitation State-of-the-Art Reviews, 5(2), 313.Dyer, C. A. (1999). Pathophysiology of phenylketonuria. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 5, 104-112.Dorothy, O. (2003). Handicapped children hiding no more. Retrieved from the East African Standard of Nov. 19, 2003. Retrieved from wwww.eastandard.net on Nov. 20, 2003.Drew, C., Hardman, M., & Logan, D. (1996). Mental retardation: A life circle approach (6th

ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall.Jones, K., Smith, D., Ulleland, C., & Streissguth, A. (1973). Pattern of malformation in offspring of chronic alcoholic mothers. Lancet, 1, 1267-1271Kenya Ministry of Education.(1995). How to handle children with special needs: Guidelines for teachers, parents, and all others. Author.Koch, R., & De la Cruz, F. (1999). Historical aspects and overview of research on phenylketonuria. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 5, 101-103.Koch, R., Friedman, E., Azen, C., Wenz, E., Parton, P., Ledue, X., & Fishler, K.(1988). Inborn errors of metabolism and the prevention of mental retardation. In F. Menolascino & J. Stark (Eds.), Preventive and curative intervention in mental retardation (p. 61-90). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes. Kozma, C., & Stock, J. (1993). What is mental retardation? In R. Smith (Ed.), Children with Mental Retardation (p.1-49). Rockville, MD: Woodbine House.March of dimes, (1997a). Public health education information sheet: Down Syndrome: White Plains, NY: Author.March of Dimes.(1997d). Public health education information sheet: Rh disease. White Plains, NY: Author.March of dimes, (2003).Quick reference: Birth defects and genetics_Down Syndrome: (fact sheet). NY: National Down syndrsome society. Retrieved from www.marchofdimes.com/printableArticles/681_1214.asp?printable=trueMelner, J., Shackelford, J., Hargrove, E., & Daulton, D. (1998). Resources related to children and their families affected by alcohol and other drugs (3rd ed.). Chapel Hill: NC.

53

http://www.marchofdimes.com/printableArticles/681_1214.asp?printable=true

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbdddd/adhd/what.htm


McDermott, S. (1994). Explanatory model to describe school district prevalence rates for mental retardation and learning disabilities. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 99(2), 175-185.McLaren, J., & Bryson, S. (1987). Review of recent epidemiological studies of mental retardation: Prevalence, associated disorders, and etiology. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 92(3), 243-254.Ministry of Culture and Social Services, Department of Social Services (1989). 25 years of rehabilitation in Kenya: Author. Mutua, D.M., & Dimitrov, N.K. (2001). Parents’ expectations about future outcomes of children with mental retardation in Kenya: Differential effects of gender and severity of MR. The Journal of Special Education, 35(3), 172-180.Muuya, J.(2002). The aim of special education schools and units in Kenya: A survey of headteachers. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 17(3)229-239.Mwangi, D.P., Kerre, B.W., Wabuge, R.N., & Mugo, P.M. (1989). Special education for the mentally handicapped children in Kenya: Its management, administration, and curriculum. Kenya Institute of Education. Nairobi, Kenya.Office of Special Education Programs. (2000, December). Prenatal exposure to alcohol and nicotine: Implications for special education. Twenty-second annual report to congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (pp.1-34). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Rogers, R., & Simensen, R.(1987). Fragile X syndrome: A common etiology of mental retardation. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 91(5), 445-449.Ryndak, D.L., & Alper, S. (1996).Curriculum content for students with moderate and severe disabilities in inclusive settings. Needham, Heights, MA: Allyn & BaconSantos, K. (1992). Fragile X: An educator’s role in identification, prevention, and intervention. Remedial and Special Education,13(2), 32-39. Schettler, R., Stein, J., Reich, F., Valenti, M., & Wallinga, D. (2000). In harm’s way: toxic threats to child development. Cambridge, MA: Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility. Retrieved from www.igc.org/psr.UNESCO (1994). The Salamanca statement and framework for action on special needs education. Paris: Author.

54

http://www.igc.org/psr


TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION INJORDANIAN SCHOOLS

Mohammed Al-ZyoudiMu’tah University

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in Jordan, and the factors that influenced such attitudes. Qualitative research was used to gather information from all general education and special education teachers. The sample consisted of 90 teachers at 7 schools. The results of this study showed that teachers’ attitudes were found to be strongly influenced by the nature and severity of the disabling condition presented to them, the length of teaching experience, and training.

In the last few decades, the view of special education has changed in all societies. Instead of segregating students with special needs in special classes and schools, the ideology of inclusive education is about fitting schools to meet the needs of all students. The educational system is responsible for including students with special needs for appropriate education for all. The idea of inclusion seems to be a major challenge in many countries (Flem & Keller, 2000; Haug, 1999; Snyder, 1999; Hughes, Schumm & Vaughn, 1996).

Several laws have proposed to open doors of public schools to students with special educational needs. The first one, that provided these services tochildren with special educational needs in the USA, was Public Law 94-142, the Education for All the Handicapped Act (1975). This law features two provisions:

All handicapped children should be provided a free appropriate public education This education must take place in the least restrictive environment.

The previous law went through several revisions and in 1990 was renamed Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the law states that a continuum of placement options be made available to meet the needs of students with special needs. The law requires that:

To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities are educated with children who are not disabled, and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from regular environments occurs only when the nature or severity of disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be attained satisfactory (IDEA, Sec 612 5B).

Section 4 of the Jordanian Law for the Welfare of Disabled Persons states that a person with disability must be provided an appropriate education according to his/her disability. The term of students with special education needs was defined as students with medical diagnoses (i.e. movement problems, visual or hearing problems, intellectual disabilities) as well as students with learning problems that affect, for example, reading, writing or arithmetic, students with behavior problems and students with speech and language problems (Al-Rossan, 2003, Al-Khatteeb 2002).

Teacher’s attitudes towards inclusion vary across the education field. Numerous studies have involved teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion, in the review below some of the studies referred to have used the term integration or mainstreaming, while others have used the term inclusion. In spite of using different terminology, they all seem to refer to a situation in which

55


a class, a school, or an educational system tries to meet the needs of students with special needs. In this study the term inclusion is used. The present study explored teachers' attitudes. According to Gall, Borg, and Gall (1996) an attitude can be defined as an individual's viewpoint or disposition toward a particular object (a person, a thing or an idea, etc) (p.273). An attitude may include cognitive, effective and behavioral components. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in Jordan. The result of this study can be used as a guideline to enhance special education services in a developing country, like Jordan. Literature review As mentioned earlier, numerous studies have involved teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion and the results vary. The majority of the teachers surveyed had strong negative feelings about inclusion and felt that the decision makers were out of touch with classroom realties (Snyder, 1999). Leyser, Kapperman and Keller (1994) conducted a cross-culture study of teachers’ attitudes towards integration in the USA, Germany, Israel, Ghana, Taiwan and the Philippines. Their findings showed that there were differences in attitude to integration between these countries. Teachers in the USA and Germany had the most positive attitudes. Teachers’ attitudes were significantly less positive in Ghana, Philippines, Israel and Taiwan. The authors reasoned that this could probably be due to limited or non-existent training to acquire integration competencies, the limited opportunities for integration in some of these countries, teaching experiences and experience with students with special education needs. Scruggs and Mastropieri (1996) in their meta-analysis of 28 survey reports from 1958 until 1995, reported that two thirds of the respondents agreed with the general idea of integration, and a little more than half of them expressed a willingness to teach students with special educational needs in their classrooms. Another study by Vaughn, Schumm, Jallad, Slusher and Saumeel (1996) examined special education teachers’ perceptions of inclusion using focused group interviews. The majority of these teachers, who were currently participating in inclusive programs, had strong negative feelings about inclusion. The teachers identified several factors that would affect the success of inclusion, such as class size, inadequate resources and lack of adequate training.

Research has suggested that teachers attitudes might be influenced by a number of factors, these are discussed below. The nature and the severity of the disabilities: The nature and the severity of the disabilities influence the attitudes of the teachers. Florin (1995) found that acceptance of inclusion was lower for children with an intellectual disability than children with a physical disability. This seems to be a tendency also in other studies (Sodak, Podell and Lehman, 1998, AL-khatteeb, 2002, Al-Khatteeb, 2004, Al-khatani, 2003). Whereas, in the Clough and Lindsay (1991) study, the majority of teachers surveyed ranked the needs of children with emotional and behavioral difficulties as being most difficult to meet, followed by children with learning difficulties, followed by children with visual impairment, and followed by children with a hearing impairment. They attributed the low ranking of children with sensory and physical impairments to the relatively infrequent existence at that time of these children in mainstreams classes.Teachers’ attitudes appear to vary with their perceptions of the specific disability, as well as the demands that students’ instructional and management needs will place on them.

Teaching experience: Teaching experience is cited by several studies as having an influence on teachers’ attitudes, Clough and Lindsay (1991) found that younger teachers and those with fewer years of experience have been found to be more supportive of inclusion. Florin’s (1995) study, showed that acceptance of a child with a physical disability was less than six years of teaching for those with sex to ten years of teaching. The most experienced teachers more than 11 years of teaching were the least accepting. Similar results found by Leyser et al., (1994) also found that teachers with 14 years' or less teaching experience had a significantly higher positive score in their attitudes to inclusive than those with more than 14

56


years. They found no significant differences in attitudes to integration among teachers whose teaching experience was between four, five and nine years and ten and 14 years. In the Roberts and Lindsell (1997) study, teachers who taught students with physical disabilities in their classes were more positive in their attitudes than teachers with no experience of inclusion. Teachers’ attitudes appear to vary with their perceptions of the inclusion according to teaching experience; the above studies regarding teaching experience indicated that younger teachers and those with fewer years of experience are more supportive of inclusion. However, although the above studies indicated that younger teachers and those with fewer years of experience are more supportive of inclusive, other investigators have reported that teaching experience was not significantly related to teachers' studies (Avramids et al., 2000).

Training: Another factor that has attracted considerable attention is the knowledge about children with special education needs during pre-and in-service training. This was an important factor in improving teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion. The importance of training in formation of positive attitudes towards inclusive education was supported by the findings of Al-Khatteeb (2002) and Beh-Pajooh (1992). Marchesi (1998) found that professional training of teachers was reported to be one of the key factors of successful inclusion. In the Siegel and Jausovce (1994), in-service training was highlighted as an effective way of improving teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion.

Factors related to the school: Schroth, Moorman and Fulllwood (1997) suggested that teachers' concerns about moving towards inclusion can be minimized using a number of strategies. They suggested that teachers should be empowered to initiate changes in their lessons and teaching plans, and they should have opportunities to visit settings where inclusion is practiced. Factors external to the school that affect the working conditions of teachers, such as financial rewards, status in the society and professional expectations, have also been found to influence the teachers’ motivation and dedication (Marchesi, 1998).

Gender: In the Beh-Pajooh (1992) and Leyser et al., (1994) found that female teachers expressed more positive attitudes towards the idea of integrating children with behavior problems than male teachers. However, Hannah (1998) did not mention that gender was related to attitudes.

Grade level taught: Leyser et al., (1994) found that high school teachers displayed more positive attitudes towards integration than elementary schools. This was supported by Alvramdis, Bayliss and Burden (2000) and Hanwi (2003) who found that high school teachers showed more positive attitudes towards integration than primary school teachers.

The present study The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in Jordan and to gain more knowledge about the factors that may influence the implementation of inclusive practices in a school system in the making; the results of this study can be used as a guideline to enhance special education services in a developing country like Jordan. The research questions were:1. What are the teachers’ opinions about inclusion of students with special education

needs? 2. Which factors influence teachers’ opinions about inclusion?

Method Participants The participants were Jordanian teachers who had experience with teaching students with special educational needs in public and special schools. The schools were selected based on these criteria:

57


The school should have students with special education in regular classes, The study should include an equal distribution of rural and urban schools.The school sample consisted of 90 teachers (54 female and 36 male) at seven schools. The distribution of participants across schools was as follows: three of the schools (one for boys, one for girls and one is mixed for boys and girls0 were public urban schools (34 participants), tow for boys and girls were public village schools (24 participants), and two (one for boys and one for girls) were private schools (35 participants). The procedure for the selection of schools did not aim at recruiting a representative sample of schools, but rather a sample of schools with teachers who might be expected to be willing to share their opinions with the researchers about inclusion and their experiences regarding students with special needs. This may have resulted in a skewed sample of teachers. It’s worth mention that the number of schools and the number of teachers participating in this study were low, and thus the results are an inadequate basis for generalization.

Instrument A questionnaire was developed and based on the previous studies. The questionnaire sought the following information: Grade levels and types of subject of the participants; Descriptions of the disabilities; Physical and educational adaptations that had been made to meet the special educational needs for their students; The teachers’ opinions about whether or not students with special needs should have a chance to attend public schools and how to organize their education; The teachers’ views as to the extent that the schools were suitable for students with disabilities; The teachers’ wishes regarding the additional knowledge and skills they would like to have to meet the needs of students with disabilities or special needs.

ProcedurePreparations for the study involved obtaining permission from the local authorities in the Government and from the principals of the seven schools. The collection of information was performed separately in one school at a time, after school hours, with the teachers gathered in a group.

Analysis In order to respond to the research questions, the following analyses of the data were undertaken. First, the information from the closed-ended items in the questionnaire was entered into the SPSS 7.0 statistical package. In addition an interpretational approach was applied to identify categories and subcategories in the answers and comments given to the open-ended items in the questionnaire, thus enabling to entry of this information into SPSS as well. Second, an exploratory analysis approach was applied to all data, providing frequency distributions as well as graphical displays of data. Descriptive statistical analyses indicated some not statistically significant (chi-square), interdependency between teacher or school factors and teachers opinions about inclusion. Finally, the information extracted was analyzed on the basis of the assumption that teachers’ beliefs about and acceptance of inclusive education are significant predictors of the degree to which they carry out inclusive practices. Three main themes were generated and discussed: opinions about inclusion and factors associated with teachers’ opinions, preferred models inclusion and present classroom practices.

Results Opinions about inclusion and factors associated with teachers’ opinions Fifty-four of the 90 teachers were of the opinion that students with disabilities or special needs should have a chance to attend public schools, A closer inspection of the data indicated

58


that several factors might be associated with the participants’ opinions towards inclusion, they will be discussed below.

Nature of disability Twenty-three of the teachers mentioned that students with specific disabilities should be included. The most frequently mentioned were students with physical disabilities, mentioned by 21 of the 90 participants. Students with sensory disabilities were rarely mentioned; students with visual impairments were mentioned by 12 of the participants. The students considered least includable were the students with mental retardation and behavior problems that may affect reading, writing and arithmetic. Seven teachers specifically mentioned that students with mental retardation should not be included in public schools.

Teachers’ experiences with students with special needsThirty-six of the 90 teachers had students with special needs in their classes. Each one identified at least one student with special needs that he or she taught. Twelve of the participants reported that they taught students with physical disabilities, 7 taught students with visual impairments, 5 taught students hearing impairments, 6 taught students with behavior problems, and 6 taught students with speech and language impairment. The students with special needs had been mainstreamed in the regular classroom in manner rather than as a result of a plan for inclusion. The analysis indicated that exposure to and experience with students with special needs had an influence on teacher attitudes. Teachers who taught students with visual impairments were more positive towards including students with visual impairments than those who did not teach students with this kind of disability. The same tendency was identified for teachers of students with speech and language impairment, hearing impairment and physical impairment. Regardless of experience, all participants showed negative attitudes towards inclusion of students with mental retardation that affected reading, writing and arithmetic especially moderate and severe mentally retarded students.

Number if subjects taughtThe participants could be divided into four groups according to the number of subjects they taught. Forty seven teachers taught one subject, 18 teachers taught two subjects, 9 teachers taught three or four subjects, and 14 teachers taught all subjects that were offered to the students. The data suggest that the acceptance of inclusion increased as the teacher taught more subjects.

Characteristics of the schools The opinions about inclusion varied from one school to another. The data suggest that the acceptance of inclusion increased as school buildings were made accessible to students with special needs. All participants who had these facilities in their schools were positive towards inclusion than other teachers.

Gender of the teachersThere was little difference between the opinions of female teachers and male teachers. The data suggest that female teachers were more positive than male teachers.

Models of inclusionThe participants were asked to indicate which of the models they would prefer. The three models were: all lessons in special classes, all lessons in regular classes, and some lessons in resource rooms and some in regular classes. Among 49 participants in favor if inclusion; the most preferred model was to provide some lessons in resource rooms and some in regular classes. This was suggested by 27 of the participants in favor of inclusion. Seven preferred that the students should be taught in regular classes. Twelve of the participants preferred that the students should be taught in special classes. Three of the participants did not express an opinion about a preferred model. Frankly specking, some teachers mentioned that there was a need for either special classes or special schools when the disability was severe.

59


Changes needed in public schools Eighty-one of the participants were of the opinion that the public schools should change to meet the needs of students with special needs. They were asked to describe what kinds of changes they had in mind, 70 of them suggested that the schools buildings must change and there was a need for a special equipment such as making the schools accessible for wheelchairs, supply special desks and other furniture, have bigger classrooms, have electricity to provide light and heating. Thirty-five of the participants mentioned the need to train teachers to manage the challenges of having students with special needs in public schools. Fifty-one mentioned changes like the establishment of special classes, fewer students in the classes, changes in the curriculum, and access to transportation for those students who might need these modifications.

TrainingThe participants mentioned five topics of future training. The topic with highest priority was parent-teacher collaboration. The next four preferred topics pf concerned differentiation in the classroom and ways of organizing special needs education such as preparing individual education plans, individual instructional plans and behavior modification plans and curriculum adaptations.

Discussion Inclusion in public schoolAlthough inclusive education has not been fully implemented in Jordan, many teachers have experience with the inclusion of students with special needs. In this study more than half of the participants supported the idea that students with special needs should have a chance to attend public schools. This is a lower percentage that reported by Scuggs and Mastropieri (1996) in their meta-analysis of 28 survey reports concerning teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. They found, however, that only a little more than half of the teachers in the studies they analyzed had expressed a willingness to teach students with special needs in their classrooms. There is a reason to believe that the teachers in the present study answered questions relating to this topic under the assumption that they referred to their opinion regarding students with special needs in their classrooms.

Nature and severity of disabilitiesThe study indicates a greater willingness among the participants to includes students with certain types of disabilities such physical disabilities rather than students with mental retardation that affect reading, writing and arithmetic, behavioral problems. In addition to the type of disability, the severity of the disability also seemed to have an influence on acceptance levels. These results are consistent with other studies (Al-Khateeb, 2002; Forlin et al., 1996, Soodack et al., 1998; Clough and Lindsay, 1991).

Teaching experience Teaching experience with students with special needs influenced participant opinions about inclusion. Those teachers, who had experience with students with special needs in mobility and other physical disabilities, were most supportive of the idea of including students with the same disabilities. This result supported by Leyser et al., (1994) and Roberts and Lindsell (1997). It may seem surprising that the teachers were more negative to the idea of including students with behavior problems that affect reading, writing, as those with problems have always been in the public schools, as usually within he regular classrooms.

Teachers’ competenceTeachers were asked to describe in their own words how the public schools would have to change in order to meet the needs of students with special needs, 51 of the participants mentioned that teachers needed better qualifications. In addition, when they asked to selected preferred topics for future in-service training, parents-teacher cooperation, curriculum

60


adaptations, individual education plans, classroom management and adaptation of material were given high priorities. The teachers’ focus of interest was not on the impairments of the students but in the knowledge and skills that could empower them as professionals. Knowledge and skills in this study were considered to be more important that any other factor, have been highlighted as conductive to positive attitudes towards inclusion (Soodak et al., 1998; Leyser et al., 1994).

Conclusion The present study investigated the opinions of selected teachers in Jordan, who had experience with students with special needs in regular schools. Due to the sampling procedure of the study and limitations of the instrument, the result must be interpreted with caution. Teachers’ beliefs and acceptance of the policy and philosophy of inclusive education are significant predictors of the degree to which they carry out inclusive practices. The affective and behavioral components pf teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion should be subjective to future studies. In addition, factors that in this study have been identified as potentially influencing the opinions of the teachers, such as the nature and severity of their students’ disabilities, teachers’ previous experience with students with disabilities and contextual factors related to the individual schools, should be included in future investigations.A majority of the teachers who participated in this study expressed a need for changes in public schools in order to meet the needs of students with disabilities, and they particularly emphasized the importance of increased knowledge and skills that could empower them as professionals. For the purposes of future initial and in-service training for teachers, it may be of interest to know to what extent such priorities are shared by other teachers in Jordan.

References Al-Khatani, A. (2003). Teachers’ attitudes towards integration in Saudi Arabia. Unpublished M.A. Dissertation, University of Jordan. Amman.Al-Khatteeb, J. (2002). Teachers’ Perceptions of the inclusive school concepts in Jordan. Educational Journal, 65, 19-39.Al-Khatteeb, J. (2004). Teaching students in inclusive schools. Dar Waal. Amman, Jordan. Al-Rossan, F. (2003). Introduction to Special Education. Dar Al-fker, Amman, Jordan.Avramidis, E, Bayliss, P and Burden, J (2000). A survey into mainstream teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion of children with special educational needs in ordinary school in one local educational authority. Educational Psychology, 20, 193-213.Beh-Pajooh, A. (1992). The effect of social contact on college teachers’ attitudes towards students with severe mental handicaps and their educational integration. European Journal of Special needs Education, 7, 231-236. Clouch, P and Lindsay, G. (1991). Integration and the support service. Slough: NFER.Education for all handicapped Act of 1975, Pub. L. No. 94-142.Flem, A and Killer, C. (2000). Inclusion in Norway: a study of ideology in practice. European Journal of Special Needs Education. 15, 2, 188-205. Forlin, C. (1995). Educators’ beliefs about inclusive practices in Western Australia. British Journal of Special Education, 22, 179-185. Forline, C, Douglas, G abd Hattie, J. (1996). Inclusive practices: How accepting are teachers? International Journal of Disability, 43, 19-133. Hannah, M. E. (1998). Teacher attitudes toward children with disabilities: an ecological analysis. In: YUKER, H. E. (ED) Attitudes toward persons with disabilities. New York: Springer, pp. 154-171.Hanwi, J. (2003). Parents’ attitudes towards integration of their children in public schools. Unpublished M.A. Dissertation, University of Jordan. Amman.Haug, P. (1996). Teacher education towards a school for all. Oslo. Abstract forlag as. Hughes, M, Schumm, J and Vaughn, S. (1996). Preparing for inclusion: roles, responsibilities, and instructional practices. IARLD, A Journal of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities. 15, 2, 12-22.

61


IDEA. Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1990. Section 612 (5) (b).Jordanian Law for the Welfare of Disabled Persons of 1993. Section 4 (2) (b). Leyser, Y. Kapperman, G, and Keller, R. (1994). Teacher attitudes toward mainstreaming: A cross-cultural study in six nations. European Journal of Special Needs Education. 9, 1-15.Marchesi, A. (1998). International perspectives on special education reform. European Journal of Special Needs Education. 13, 116-122.Roberts, C and Lindsell, J. (1997). Children’s attitudes and behavioral intentions towards peers with disabilities. International Journal of Disability, Developmental and Education, 44, 133-145.Schhorth, G, Moorman, M and Fullwood, H. (1997). Effects of training teachers' stages of concern regarding inclusion. In D. Montgomery (ED), Promoting progress in times of change: Rural communities leading the way-Conference Proceedings of he American Council on Rural Special Education (pp.67-74). Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University, American Council on Rural Special Education. Scruggs, T, and Mastropieri, M. (1996). Teacher perceptions of mainstreaming/ inclusion, 1958-1995. A research synthesis. Exceptional Children. 63, 59-74. Siegel, J and Jausovec, N. (1994). Improving teachers’ attitudes toward students with disability. Paper presented at the Conference of the International Council for Teaching, Istanbul, Turkey.Snyder, R. (1999). Inclusion: A qualitative study of in-service general education teachers’ attitudes and concern. Chulavista. Project Innovation. 173-180. Soodak, L, Podell and Lehman, L. (1998). Teacher, students and school attributes as predictors of teachers’ responses to inclusion. The Journal of Special Education, 31, 480-497.Vaughn, J, Schumm, J, Jallad, B, Slusher, J and Saumell, L. (1996). Teachers’ views of inclusion. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 11, 96-106.Villa, R, Thousand, J, Meyers, H and Nevin, A. (1996). Teacher and Administrator perceptions of heterogeneous education. Exceptional Children, 63, 29-45.

62


WHAT TEACHER CANDIDATES NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ACADEMIC LEARNING TIME

Rita Mulhollandand

Michelle CepelloCalifornia State University

A model assignment was designed and tested to enhance special education teacher candidates’ skills and understandingin order to improve student learning. The model includes university and school-site activities that develop teacher candidates’ awareness of the relationship between on-task learning time and student achievement. Teacher candidates (N=90) systematically gathered data on their own teaching behaviors and the learning behaviors of their students to measure the level of engaged teaching and learning. The process of guiding teacher candidates through the gathering, graphing, and analysis of student data is presented. Findings, as documented by candidates’ responses to the data, indicate the proposed assignment was successful in developing candidates’ understanding of the relationship between student achievement and on-task learning.

Academic learning time (ALT) has been viewed by educational researchers and legislators as a critical element in the academic achievement of American students. Although states began increasing the number of days that schools served students, subsequent research began to show little or no relationship between the increase of time a student spent in school and student achievement (Cotton & Wikelund, 1990; Walberg & Fredrick, 1993). The case for lengthening the school day as a means of improving academic achievement was further eroded by the exorbitant cost of maintaining an expanded school year. It is not surprising that researchers and legislators determined that the costs of lengthening the school day did not justify the small achievement gains made by our nation’s students (Levin, 1984; Hossler, Stage & Gallagher, 1988). In a 1991 briefing report presented to the National Association for Year-Round Education (Copple, Yane, Levin & Cohen, 1992), it was estimated that lengthening the school year would cost states between $2.3 and $121.4 million for each additional day of instruction. A year later, it was reported that it would cost the nation between $34.4 and 41.9 billion annually to expand the traditional school year (Picus, 1993).

Given the budget concerns, educational researchers began to focus on the relationship of allocated time and learning. In response to public outcry for increased academic achievement, the 1994 National Commission on Time and Learning was formed to specifically examine the amount of time students were actively engaged in learning. The Commission’s subsequent report, Prisoners of Time (Kane, 1994), chronicled how American students were wasting most of their school day engaged in non-academic activities and strongly recommended that the American classroom experience be redesigned to include a minimum of 5.5 hours of core subject matter instruction (Kane, 1994).

This disconnect between allocated time and learning was further amplified when research showed that a vast portion of subject matter instruction was typically eroded by factors such as inefficient classroom management, time spent in maintaining discipline, ineffective

63


instructional techniques and inappropriate curriculum and that only 38 % of a typical school day was allocated to engaged learning (Aronson, Zimmerman, & Carlos, 1999).

In light of both the expense of extending academic calendars and the weak relationship between allocated time and improved academic achievement, schools began to focus on maximizing student learning and increasing effective teaching methods (Metzker, 2003). Researchers began to see educational time as a vertical continuum, with the number of hours in a school year at the top of the continuum. At the bottom of the time continuum, the most difficult to measure along with the most challenging for legislatures to influence, were those instances when students successfully learned core content (Aronson et al, 1999). This level of time is defined as Academic Learning Time (ALT). A high level of ALT exists when: 1) students are covering important (tested/evaluated) content; 2) students are on-task most of the class period; and 3) students are successful in most of the assignments they complete (Carroll, 1963).

CSU’s Chico Special Education Intern Program instructors have been exploring meaningful methods of incorporating course assignments that address candidates’ accountability for student achievement. In an era of increased teacher accountability for effective use of instructional time, and federal mandates for institutions of higher education to prepare highly qualified teacher candidates, our faculty are embedding curriculum and instruction courses with assignments that provide teacher candidates with tangible strategies for measuring their proficiency in establishing high levels of academic learning for their students. In order to address the specific curricular needs of the participants, the instructors met with the interns and their administrators at their school sites and obtained information regarding the specific regional needs of the intern.

ParticipantsThe participants were 90 special education intern teachers in curriculum and instruction classes, were employed as special education teachers at both the elementary and secondary levels, but were not credentialed in special education. These interns who ranged in age from late twenties to early fifties, typically had no teaching experience at all, with less than 10 individuals having taught as general education teachers. The interns were enrolled in California State University Chico’s special education alternative certification program which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Personnel Preparation grant. Upon acceptance into the alternative certification program, participants were issued internship credentials, which allowed them to teach in special education classrooms while completing required coursework for their clear Special Education Credential. Grant funding provided critically needed stipend incentives to assist the interns in overcoming major obstacles to obtaining special education teaching credentials. Many participants lived in remote and isolated rural regions of Northern California and were often the only special educators teaching in their district. In order to provide the support necessary to alleviate the region’s serious and persistent shortage of fully credentialed teachers of students with special needs, district and university staffs cooperated to provide joint support, local mentoring, and supervision throughout the interns’ preparation period.

Two instructors in this study, both of whom have doctoral degrees with credentials in special education, have over twenty years of experience teaching students with special needs from preschool to secondary levels, as well as over 7 years experience each teaching special education teacher candidates.

MaterialsIn addition to research articles, the instructors provided a checklist (Appendix A), adapted from the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study (Scandoval, 1976), for the teachers to use when analyzing their tapes and documenting specific teacher, class and targeted student behaviors. The teachers used their own video cameras and tapes.

64


Method Because interns assume the responsibility of a classroom teacher without the benefit of prior teaching experience or pedagogy in the field of special education, the need for relevant and meaningful course content was considered by the instructors to be especially critical to the academic progress of the interns’ students. To guide the special education teacher candidates in understanding the link between the time students are engaged with content and their academic achievement, the instructors presented several studies (Kane (1994), Prator (1992), Metzker (2003), & Black (2002)) on Academic Learning Time as an assignment in the curriculum and instruction classes. The instructors provided the teacher candidates with the articles four weeks before the class sessions to familiarize them with this research. Since the classes for the teacher candidates were whole day classes, several class hours were devoted to the discussion of ALT in the first class and several hours in a follow-up class after completion of the assignment.

Following a discussion of these studies, the teacher candidates shared variables they felt may have interfered with their own students’ academic learning time. These variables included the time teacher candidates spent dealing with inappropriate behaviors, classroom intrusions, and a broad range of students’ needs.

As a follow-up to this discussion, instructors presented the teacher candidates with the process for monitoring their own teaching behaviors, whole class activities, and the activities of one student who was not academically successful. The teacher candidates were provided with a checklist that explained pertinent terms needed to document their findings (Appendix A).The instructors explained each of the terms and discussed how these behaviors presented themselves in their classrooms. Before leaving class, they were given the opportunity to practice documenting behaviors and creating charts by observing some role-play by both the instructors and their colleagues. They were also guided through an in-depth discussion regarding teacher behaviors that promote and interfere with students’ engagement in learning.

Over the course of the following weeks, the teacher candidates made several videotapes. They selected which subject to tape, so the length of each of their tapes depended on how much time their specific schools allotted for the teaching of that content. For elementary level teachers, the tapes may have been 30 minutes in length, while for secondary teachers, the tapes may have been 45 minutes in length. Teacher candidates were asked to select a taped session that provided them with insights into how they were spending instructional time and their students’ responses in their classrooms. After analyzing their videotapes, teacher candidates created charts showing teacher behaviors, class activities, and the behavior of their targeted students. In addition to creating charts, the teacher candidates also provided a written reflection to demonstrate their understanding of the correlation between their behaviors and engaged students’ time. This information was then shared with their colleagues during the next class session.

ResultsA month later when the next class was held, the teachers transferred the information from their own three charts (instructor behaviors, class activities, and targeted student behaviors) onto three whole class charts to summarize the findings for all to see. The instructors guided the group discussion by having them view these three charts as if they were summary charts of a whole special education program in a school district. The teachers commented then about what recommendations they would provide to a program that showed these engaged and not-engaged behaviors. This whole group discussion was followed by the teacher candidates sharing their specific written reflections and charts with their colleagues in small groups of five.

The following three graphs represent a compilation of the tape submissions of 90 teacher candidates: Teaching Behaviors, Class Activities, and Targeted Students’ Behaviors.

65


Appendix B contains specific comments from the teacher candidates. The first graph represents Teacher Behaviors. The codes used by the teacher candidates to document teaching behaviors are as follows:OP = Organization, PlanPI = Provide InstructionPE =Provide further explanationsOA= Observe Academics (checks work)AQ = Ask Questions of StudentsPAF = Provide Academic FeedbackOT = Observe to see if students are on taskPBF = Provide Behavior FeedbackNI = Not interacting with students

Teacher Behaviors

OP15%

AQ17%

PAF15%

PI6%

PE11%

OT10%

PBF5%

NI8%

OA13%

The instructors began the discussion of the group results by focusing first on the data showing teacher candidates not interacting (NI) with students eight percent of the instructional time. Many teacher candidates acknowledged that this lack of teacher-student interaction would greatly impact the effectiveness of their teaching. When reviewing the data, several teacher candidates reflected that their instruction was often interrupted by classroom demands. These demands included responding to paraprofessionals’ questions, answering phone calls, or stepping outside of the classroom to speak with colleagues.

When discussing the results of the data that tracked teacher candidates’ monitoring their students’ on-task behavior (OT), teacher candidates acknowledged that the 10 percent of their instructional time devoted to this tracking behavior could be turned into more interactive teaching that would contribute to the students’ success in the content and reduce the amount of student time on independent work. They also stated that some students’ behaviors might decrease if teacher candidates were more actively involved in the learning process.

Following this discussion, the instructors addressed the data regarding teacher candidates’ observing the academic work (OA) their students were doing. Teacher candidates were not surprised that the data showed they spent 13 percent of their instructional time in this area. As

66


teacher candidates though, some shared that many of their students’ off-task behaviors might be correlated to their spending too much time with individual students at the expense of the whole group.

In addressing the data on providing further explanation (PE, 11 percent) for students, the teacher candidates agreed that more effective instruction would eliminate many of the questions asked by the students. Guided discussion of the data resulted in the teacher candidates’ understanding of how many valuable instructional hours might be wasted on answering questions that could have been avoided through clear and effective instruction.

Much discussion centered on the time teacher candidates spent in creating an organizational plan (OP). Data indicated that 15 percent of their instructional day was spent providing students with the structure for the lesson at the beginning of class. Several teacher candidates reported concerns about students arriving late from other classes or coming in for short periods of assistance, often eroding the positive effects of spending time on establishing the structure of the day. Many teacher candidates felt that these disruptions interfered with their efficient use of instructional time with the rest of the class.

The teacher candidates debated the value of providing behavior feedback (PBF, percent) versus feedback on academic performance (PAF, 15 percent). The instructors emphasized the importance of consistently providing feedback to students regarding how they are academically performing, in addition to general comments about work habits to assist the students’ successful academic engagement.

Instructors then directed teacher candidates’ attention to the graph indicating time teacher candidates were providing instruction (PI, 6 percent) and involving students in the content through questioning (AQ, 17 percent). Following the overall discussion of these teacher candidates’ behaviors, the teacher candidates agreed they needed to adapt some of their teaching behaviors to improve the learning environment for students. The teacher candidates expressed interest in developing lessons that actively engaged and encouraged their students to take responsibility for their own learning. They also concluded that there more probing was needed before students worked independently on a lesson.

This second graph represents Class Activities. After analyzing the teaching behaviors, the instructors focused the class on the results showing what was happening with their classes. The codes used by the teacher candidates to document Class Activities are as follows:FT = Free TimeCB = Class businessNCA = Non-Content ActivitiesT = TransitionNA = No activity, students finished workCI = Content instruction

Class Activities

When analyzing their tapes, the teacher candidates reported they are pleased with the results showing the amount of time spent on content (CI, 80 percent). Simultaneously, they would like to decrease the time spent on class business (CB, 2 percent), non-content activities (NCA, 2 percent), free time (FT, 2 percent), and transition (T, 12 percent) to increase the time students are engaged in the content. Instructors shared with these teacher candidates that as they become more experienced in teaching, they should be able to minimize time lost with transitions and non-academic activities.

67


FT2%

CB2%

NCA2%

T12%

NA2%

CI80%

Instructors encouraged discussion as to what teacher candidates should do with students who finish their work and are waiting for further information or for academic feedback (NA, 2 percent). Teacher candidates shared that they need to focus more on varying assignments depending on each student’s ability level to keep the students academically challenged. They were aware that behavior problems can arise when students are not academically engaged. In discussing their classes, they pointed out the difficulty of scheduling time to work with each student.

This third graph represents the Targeted Students’ Behaviors. After analyzing whole class behaviors, the instructors focused the teacher candidates’ attention on the targeted students. These students were the ones selected because the teacher candidates were looking for more information on what was interfering with their learning. The codes used by the teacher candidates to document their targeted student’s behaviors are as follows:SQ = Student QuestionsSS = Student SpeakingSW = Student WritingSLE = Student Looks EngagedSGD = Student Getting DirectionsSGR = Student Getting Ready for activitySNH = Student Needs HelpSOT = Student Off Task

Targeted Students’ BehaviorsTeacher candidates commented that after charting their students’ behaviors, they were more aware of the many ways a student can be engaged. Teacher candidates expressed dismay about the amount of instructional time lost as a result of a student simply being off task (SOT, percent). Teacher candidates were then encouraged to reflect on the teaching behaviors they were engaged in when the targeted students were off task. Their responses ranged from working with other students, to answering phones, to speaking with teacher candidates or paraprofessionals, and monitoring their classes.

68


SLE19%

SGD11%

SGR10%

SNH1%

SOT9%

SQ6%

SS14%

SW30%

Teacher candidates shared their surprise that one-third of the class time their students spent on independent writing assignments (SW, 30 percent). Again they expressed concern that their students were spending too much time with independent work and would benefit from more teacher-interactive work.

In small group discussions, teacher candidates brainstormed ways to reduce the amount of time some students were spending while getting ready for work (SGR, 10 percent), and the time wasted while students were waiting for assistance (SNH, 1 percent). Most teacher candidates agreed that improving their skills in classroom management and being prepared to meet each of their students’ needs would improve their students’ engaged time on tasks assigned.

The instructors also encouraged the teacher candidates to share their data regarding students looking engaged (SLE, 19 percent). Teacher candidates commented that the limited work they received from these students can not account for the time spent on the tasks. They expressed a desire to see a balance with direct teaching, giving directions (SGD, 11 percent), responding to questions/comments (SS, 14 percent), and students asking questions (PQ, 6 percent). Teacher candidates further commented that they thought that if they created more engaging interactive activities, students would be spending less time on just receiving directions and possibly more time successfully engaged in the work. Instructors reminded the teacher candidates that they selected these students to monitor because they were not being successful in the classroom. Since other assignments in the course required teacher candidates to develop lesson plans, the instructors suggested that in each lesson plan submitted, the teacher candidates record what they would be doing for these targeted students to keep them engaged. In addition, they would submit grade sheets on several of their students to document how the students were progressing.

DiscussionTeacher training programs are mandated to produce highly qualified teacher candidates who will translate textbook knowledge into learning environments that support their students’ academic success. The results of this study suggest the teachers’ heightened awareness of the correlation between teacher behaviors and student on task behaviors, which impact

69


achievement. Although ALT was a specific assignment in the curriculum and instruction courses, the teachers were being guided throughout the program in developing lessons that met the IEP needs of their students in an actively engaged environment, where teachers and students were demonstrating behaviors that support learning.

The findings represent a snapshot of beginning teachers’ behaviors, class activities, and targeted student behaviors. Their results are consistent with previous studies documenting behaviors that do not support learning. Overall, teachers saw that they were not spending enough time teaching or interacting with their students, repeating the same assignment explanations to individual students, and not providing feedback. When looking at their whole class charts, their comments indicated they were aware they had not planned well for some students who finished early, had not challenged some students, and saw that they needed better behavior management plans. The teacher’s comments regarding their targeted students provided much discussion around the value of using ALT charts to analyze the students’ behaviors, planning for learning, and the connection between behavior and students remaining on task.

Since intern teachers enter the university’s program throughout the year, there is no sequence of coursework they can follow. Information about ALT is presented in the curriculum and instruction course which means some teachers in this alternative education two-year program take it in their first semester while others might not have the course until the third semester of their program. While these instructors have not measured teachers’ on-task behaviors and student growth as an independent factor in these teacher candidates’ classrooms, the teachers do provide monthly students’ progress reports to show what they are teaching and how their students are performing. This combination of focusing on teacher behaviors and students’ on-task behaviors, along with the progress reports provide documentation of how effective the teachers are in relation to supporting their students’ academic growth.

Instructors in this university’s special education program chose to highlight this connection by suggesting to teacher candidates that they systematically and regularly document their students’ work and behaviors, in order to gather the type of feedback that will assist them in developing more effective learning environments. Teacher candidates were encouraged to tape themselves regularly so that they could monitor their students’ academic engagement, and create classrooms showing a direct relationship between student achievement and academic learning time.

The ALT information provided by the teacher candidates supports previous studies pointing out the correlation between teachers’ behaviors and students’ behaviors. This ALT assignment allows for teachers to analyze their classroom learning environment to improve their teaching practices and enhance student performance. Although this study was specifically conducted with special education teachers, this type of learning environment analysis would benefit all teachers in improving their instructional program. Because no research exists in ALT with special education programs, this project may generate interest in exploring this connection through university special education training programs.

ReferencesAronson, J., Zimmerman, J. & Carlos, L. (1999). Improving student achievement by extending school: Is it just a matter of time? Retrieved January 2, 2001 from: http://www.wested.org/cs/we/view/rs/95Brewster, C. & Fager, J. (2000). Increasing student engagement and motivation: From time-on-task to homework. Retrieved January 2, 2001 from: http://www.nwrel.org/request/oct00/textonly.htmlBlack, Susan (2002). Time for learning. American School Board Journal 189, 58-62.Retrieved January 2, 2001 from: http://www.asbj.com/2002/09/0902research.html

70

http://www.asbj.com/2002/09/0902research.html

http://www.nwrel.org/request/oct00/textonly.html

http://www.wested.org/cs/we/view/rs/95


Carroll, J. (1963). A model of school learning. Teacher candidates College Record, 64, 723-733.Copple, C. Yanne, M., Levine, D. & Cohen, S. (1992). Briefing paper on effective practices. Washington, D.C: Pelavin Associates, Inc. Cotton, K. & Wikelund, K. (1990). Educational Time Factors. Retrieved January 2, 2001 from: http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/4/cu8.htmlFisher, C.W. &Berliner, D.C., (Eds.) (1985). Perspectives on instructional time. New York: Longman.Hossler, C., Stage, F., & Gallagher, K. (1988). The relationship of increased instructional time to student achievement. Policy Bulletin: Consortium on Educational Policy Studies. Kane, C. (1994). Prisoners of time: research. What we know and what we need to know. Washington, D.C. National Education Commission on Time and Learning. (retrieved January 2, 2001 from ERIC Document Reproduction Service EJ 6 493).Levin, H.M. (1984). Clocking instruction: A reform whose time has come? The California Institute for Research on Educational Finance and Governance. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University.McIlath, D., & Huitt, W. (1995). The teaching/learning process: A discussion of models. Retrieved May 1, 2002 from: http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/files/modeltch.htmlMetzker, B. (2003). Time and learning. Retrieved December 10, 2003 from: http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/digests/digest166.htmlMurphy, J. (1992). Instructional leadership: Focus on time to learn. NASSP Bulletin, 76, 19-26.Picus, L. (1993). Estimating the costs of increased learning time. Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern California.Prator, M.(1992). Increasing time-on-task in the classroom. Intervention in School and Clinic 28, 22-27. Retrieved January 5, 2001 from http://www.cpt.fsu.edu/tree/onstask.html.Sandoval, J. (1976). Beginning teacher evaluation study: Phase II, 1973-1974, final report: Volume III.3. The evaluation of teacher behavior through observation of videotape recordings. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED127368).Walberg, H. & Frederick, W.C. (1993). Instructional time and learning. Encyclopedia of Educational Research, 917-924.

71

http://www.cpt.fsu.edu/tree/onstask.html

http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/digests/digest166.html

http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/files/modeltch.html

http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/4/cu8.html


Appendix A : Information/ChecklistTeacher BehaviorsOP Organization, PlanPI Provide InstructionPE Provide further explanationsOA Observe Academics (check work)AQ Ask Questions of StudentsPAF Provide academic feedbackOT Observe to see if students are on taskPBF Provide behavior feedbackNI Not interacting with students

Class ActivitiesFT = Free TimeCB = Class businessNCA = Non-Content ActivitiesT = TransitionNA = No activity, students finished workCI = Content instruction

Target Student BehaviorsSQ = Student QuestionsSS = Student SpeakingSW = Student WritingSLE = Student Looks EngagedSGD = Student Getting DirectionsSGR = Student Getting Ready for activitySNH = Student Needs HelpSOT = Student Off Task

Instructions: While viewing your tape, you may need to write a description of the actual behaviors you are observing and then later, after matching the behaviors with these codes, complete the chart. You then create three separate charts (teacher, whole class, targeted student) using the codes to show the number of times you observed each of these behaviors. After studying your own charts, reflectively respond to what correlations you noticed between your behaviors and those of your students. This information should provide you with insights on the relationship between on-task behaviors and student performance.Example:Time Teacher Behavior Whole Class Activity Targeted Student Behavior9:00 OP CB SOT9:01 PBF CB SOT

72


Appendix B: Teacher Comments

I felt there was too much time where I wasn’t actively teaching.I began to see that every time the phone rang it took one of my aides or me away from direct instruction with small groups of students.I have many interruptions.A fair amount of time is spent consulting at the beginning or the end of the class period with the general education teacher.I was immediately struck by how much of my time was spent in repeating explanations.Some of my students have become very skilled in looking busy although very little is being accomplished.I feel that I am more of a facilitator than a teacher.I wasn’t providing any feedback.There are so many times when I am not interacting with my studentsI don’t always wait for students’ responses to my questions.Some students finished the task and were up socializing, pulling other students off task.I need to properly challenge the more gifted students.I failed to communicate expectations that promote proper use of classroom time.I got so involved in an assembly and explanations that I neglected to keep an eye on the behavior of my students.

The ALT graph gave me measurable data that can be used to make changes in instruction and classroom management for my students.The ALT graph provided detailed information on a specific student and gave me a way to show their behavior in comparison to the rest of the class as well as what I was doing when the behavior occurred. I am glad to know about ALT and will add it to my toolbox full of ideas for improving instruction for my students.My targeted student was off task more than anything else but the positive way to look at it is that he is showing mastery and I do not plan well to challenge him.I believe the success of my target student was due to a consistent schedule and routine. I may have been a little more diligent during taping in terms of keeping my student on task because I knew I would be critiquing myself. I saw that my targeted student remained on task and well-behaved. It seems she has become more motivated! I’d like to clone her.Student was off-task due to my failure to adequately monitor his behavior.When he/she was not engaged, he was jumping up and down with excitement.Student sharpened his/her pencil and showed off.Student was skilled in looking busy.I did not circulate to his/her desk as often as othersStudent was off task and socializing.Student seemed to daydream a lot.Student took a lot of time getting started with his work.

73


ASSIST PARENTS TO FACILITATE SOCIAL SKILLSIN YOUNG CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH PLAY

Yanhui PangTennessee Technological University

This article introduces the negative effects of disabilities on young children’s play skill development, which also adversely affects their social interaction with peers and their independence. Strategies recommended by studies in addressing young children’s social skill improvement through play activity are introduced. Applicable and practical tips are summarized and provided for parents to use and help their young children improve social skills in natural environment together with real examples.

Vignette David, a two and half year old boy, has a vision impairment and has worn glasses since age 2. He is used to wearing glasses but his peers. They like to grab his glasses away, which leaves him confused where he is or where he should go to get his glasses. Except to make fun of him, the other children seldom play with him because he is too slow. David, himself, prefers to play alone both indoors and outdoors. Often, he plays in the sandbox during outdoor time. Indoors, he likes to build blocks by himself. If others come to join him, he will take the blocks away from a peer and fight with them.

What Does Research SayYoung children spend most of their time playing. Play skills open the first and a very important window through which young children interact with the outside world. Jordan and Lifter (2005) found that children’s social and play behaviors are closely related. If children have difficulty with typical play skills, their development of relationships with peers, teachers or other community members will be impeded. According to Owen (1998) impairments in physical, cognitive, communication, sensory, emotion and behavior, and medical disabilities as well as cultural and social class issues all hinder children’s typical play skills establishment, which are directly connected with children’s social skills development. For example, physical impairments hinder children ability to move to materials or areas available for play, which limits the children’s play activity with their typically developing peers. Children with cognitive impairment need more time to learn to imitate and learn special play skills than typically developing children, thus they usually find it difficult to engage in complex socio-dramatic play.

Play is considered the most effective means to improve social interaction with the outside world for children with disabilities (Jordan & Lifter, 2005). Through peer imitation, peer modeling, and peer meditation, children with disabilities can master some basic play skills and improve play behaviors. Garfinkle & Schwartz (2002) did a study on the effects of peer-imitation on child’s play skills using a previously examined protocol such as teaching typically developing children to imitate the target child and providing effective and efficient prompts to the target child. They also measure the effectiveness of the intervention in different settings, e.g., the peer imitation and social interaction in training and generalized session. Results show that although participants differed in their behaviors, all target children could imitate the peers’ behaviors to some extent and they can imitate without intervention for a period of time.

74


Peer-mediated intervention, such as taking turns and cooperating, also can improve children’s play skills and social interaction (Kohler & Strain, 1999). Robertson, Green, Alper, Schloss, and Kohler (2003) studied how effective the peer-meditation intervention on children’s behaviors in routine activities in inclusive settings. Children participating in Robertson et al.’s study are those with developmental delays such as inability to attend to routine activities and difficulty developing friendship, and their typically developing peers. Three skills were targeted at the participating children including the engaged and on-task behaviors and interactive play during free play, and appropriate participation in circle and story time activities. Results indicated that the children’s with disabilities targeted behaviors were successfully improved. Several activities were recommended during the peer-mediated intervention such as the fingerplay and song.

The strategies/interventions used to improve children’s social skills through play also include the peer training, promotion of friendship and increasing the early social-communicative skills of very young children. Kamps, Royer, Dugan, Kravits, Lopez, Garcia, Carnazzo, Morrison, and Kane (2002) initiated a study to facilitate social interaction for young children with autism and their peers through peer training. Two studies are made in evaluating whether the peer training can initiate peer interaction. Through the two studies, the peer training formats that have included the use of modeling, prompting, and reinforcement strategies within the context of activities, and those that included multiple peers over time, have shown notable changes in interaction skills for students with autism. These acquired skills can be generalized when the target children were put in situations with novel peers, though the social interaction is not as frequently as with the familiar peers.

Other strategies were also recommended to improve children’s with disabilities social skills. Paraprofessional training is such a strategy, introduced by Causton-Theoharis and Malmgren (2005). The paraprofessional training that were recommended in the study consists of enhancing paraprofessionals’ perspective, establishing the importance of peer interaction, clarifying the paraprofessional’s role in facilitating interactions, and increasing the paraprofessional’s knowledge base of strategies for facilitating interactions. After the training, it is known that most paraprofessionals improved their facilitative behaviors and a relatively small change in these paraprofessional behaviors yielded a substantial increase in student interaction.

However, if the paraprofessionals’ intervention in children with disabilities is inappropriate, it will lead to unexpected outcomes. This is from another study made by Causton-Theoharis and Malmgren (2005) on strategies to help paraprofessionals promote peer interaction. The inappropriate paraprofessional intervention includes, for example, the unnecessary close paraprofessional proximity, overprotection, and paraprofessionals’ dominating the conversation. The close proximity may result in children’s with disability overindependence on adults and a reduction in the number of peer interactions. The paraprofessional’s overprotection usually rebuffs the student helper. The children’s with disabilities social interaction with peers were impaired as paraprofessionals dominate the conversation or replace the child to answer the peers’ questions. Causton- Theoharis and Malmgren recommended that paraprofessionals should ensure student with disabilities is in rich social environment, that is, these students should participate in as much school activities together with peers as possible. Paraprofessionals should help the students with disabilities find similarities with peers. In this way, these students can find similar interests or have more conversations with peers. On the other hand, paraprofessionals can teach peers strategies and assist them practice interaction skills with students with disabilities.

Computer use is another strategy that establishes social interaction between children with disabilities and the typically developing peers. Hobbs, Bruch, Sanko, and Astolfi (2001) initiated a study to validate this assumption. Computers were instructed in structured and free

75


play time to targeted children, both with and without disabilities ranging in age from 3.5 to 12 years old. Results showed that the percentage of inclusive computer play time in structured time exceeded 90%, and that in free play time ranges from 46% to 67%. Children are more willing to choose inclusive computer play in the free play time at the end of Hobbs et. al’s study.

As previously stated, peer imitation, peer-mediated intervention, peer training, paraprofessional training, and inclusive computer activity can increase children’s with disabilities social interaction with typically developing children by improving play and social interaction skills. It is believed that there is a strong relationship between social interactions and play skills. Some studies focus on this topic. For example, Jordan & Lifter’s (2005) study conducted a study on the interaction of social and play behaviors in preschoolers with and without pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). Results indicated that children’s social behaviors are closely related to play behaviors. An inverse relationship was found between social complexity and play complexity, that is, the more complex the play activity is, the fewer social interaction between the children with disabilities and their peers. It is true to all children regardless whether they have PDD or not, because “both social behavior and play behavior use cognitive resources, and when these behaviors occur at the same time, they compete for these cognitive resources.” (p. 46) Therefore, in order to improve social behaviors/interaction between children with and without disabilities, those play activities that children have already mastered are recommended rather than those new games or those that children are still in the process of learning.

Parents Can Help Build Social InteractionThe above studies recommend some effective strategies that can be used to facilitate social skills in children with disabilities. Parents can use these strategies to help their children’s with disabilities build social interaction with peers, although these strategies did not mention the parents’ function in the process of social skill promotion, because parents spend most of time with their young children, parents know the child best, and different families have different culture backgrounds which may impact the child’s play behaviors. The following are some tips summarized from the above strategies that can be used by parents in helping their young children with disabilities to improve their social interaction with the outside world and maximize their independence. Some real examples (real names are avoided) are provided to illustrate the tips that are applicable in the natural environment. Create More Play OpportunitiesParents can help create more opportunities for their young children with disabilities to play with the typically developing peers. For example, parents can create more opportunities for their children to attend community activities rather than keep their children at home all the time. Even for some children with challenging behaviors, they can be brought to community activity, field trip with assistance and supervision, and other recreation activities like sports, museum, and zoo.

Jake, a seven-year-old boy with autism, seldom has had opportunities to attend community or church activities since age five. He is always kept at home with a babysitter. The parents said they tried to bring Jake and his sister out with them before but every time Jake freaks out everybody. He was not cooperative at all. He cannot sit quietly for a while. He always wanders around, punching the table making noises; he screams sometimes. The parents said they felt worn out to keep Jake with them. After listening to their complaint, one of the authors asked them whether they brought Jake’s favorite book or toys with him, or whether there is somebody accompanying Jake at the activities. The mom said they brought Jake’s favorite books with him once. The book was grabbed away by a peer as he did not want to share with others. After a deep thought, one of the authors suggested one of the parents or anyone else that Jake feels comfortable with accompany him at community or church activities and explain to Jake’s friends that sometimes he does not want to share. Rather than grab the book and run away, probably they can try to ask Jake what the book is about.

76


Later, one of the authors went to a church activity with Jake’s family. The mom went to a discussion about autism. The father and the author accompanied Jake and other children, most of whom are children with autism and their siblings. The father politely invited Jake to the basketball game, his favorite one. He joined us running around actively but cannot catch the ball. We slowed down and tried to throw the ball more frequently to Jake. When other children felt bored with that and complained about Jake’s slow speed, we tried to explain to them and most of them agreed to wait and applauded for each of Jake’s successful catch, throw. Jake was very pleased at the applause and peers’ encouragement. He played the basketball for about twenty minutes without screaming, punching, pointing, kicking, or biting.

Encourage Independence and Avoid OverprotectionParents can encourage more independent play and avoid overprotection. Sometimes, parents substitute children to perform their daily tasks like self-care tasks, to answer questions if the children are asked, stop the peers from interrupting their children, and prevent their children from being involved in some challenging activities.

Michael’s parents usually will bring him to a friend’s house swimming during summer time. The children’s pool is not really deep and reached only Michael’s chest. The parents were scared, though, and tried to hold his hands and stay around him all the time. Other kids talked, played without “bothering” Michael and his parents. Later, the parents agreed to let Michael be together with his peers more during swimming but they put floating arm and body supports on Michael. At first, Michael felt scared but his parents shouted at him, We are right here. You are safe. Mommy is here. He was secure and tried to reach the ball and played with the other children. Before he could reach it, all of a sudden the ball was taken away by another boy. Jake swam after the boy and tried to get the ball. The boy mocked at Jake, You, mommy’s baby. We have to stop both of them at last because they scrambled and fought in the water. But since then, Jake was more comfortable in the pool with his peers and without parents being close by. There were no more fights.

Parents Need to Spend Time Playing with the ChildrenParents need to spend time playing with their young children everyday. Some parents spend a lot of time taking care of their children’s special needs, helping them with self-care tasks, sending them to schools or hospitals. But, not all of parents make time to play with their children every day. Sometimes parents feel very tired after work or the extra trip to hospital or the meeting with teachers, therapists, early interventionists. Other parents are grieving too much to deal with the children’s special needs. Still other parents overlook their children’s play needs. Actually, children with disabilities can play, need play, and will benefit from play only if their parents spend a small amount of time reading to them or playing a game with them every day. Then, in their childcare centers or classrooms, the children with disabilities may be more able to share their favorite toys or play their favorite games with their peers. Often, children with disabilities are left out of play by peers because they do not know any games that they can play with peers, they do not have similar interests as peers, or they do not have play abilities they can match with those of their peers. Helping children master some basic play skills and learn common games can help them make new friends, maintain friendships and enjoy their free time, as well as enhance their social and emotional competence. Conner, a preschooler in a university-based childcare center, has challenging behaviors in circle time and during large group activities. Since one of the author got from his mother that she and her husband seldom has any time play with their sons, the author encouraged them to play with Conner because the author found what Conner needs to know is that he really does not know how to play some games and how to share with peers. When he was told that he violated the rules, he always argued with others. He would feel so angry that he can bite others as well as poke others, which are the challenging behaviors termed by the classroom

77


teachers. His mother admitted that although they purchased a lot of toys for Conner, they seldom could spare any time every day play with him. They accepted the author’s suggestion and took turns every day to spare about fifteen to twenty minutes playing with Conner. Gradually, Conner mastered some game rules that he usually played at school, and he formed skills of turning over pages, reading books, and sharing with others. Since then, he showed decreased behavior problems. He also felt heightened self-esteem after he can tell a story to his peers and this self-esteem maintains. When his mom delivered a baby girl, he feels very proud and tells his teachers and his other friends that he can play with his baby sister and can rock the rocking chair for his baby sister. The self-esteem really promotes him to be a fast learner as he intends to tell what he learns to his baby sister as well as his friends.

Celebrate Parties TogetherParents can help young children with disabilities make friends and increase their social interactions. However, parents of children with disabilities sometimes are unwilling to invite the children’s friends and celebrate parties at home. They either think it will cause too much trouble or they consider it unnecessary. Megan, a toddler with decreasing vision and hearing, is another child in the childcare center. She learns new skills quickly, enjoys outdoor activities, and is always willing to follow the teachers’ instruction. Unfortunately, she always plays alone. One of the author learned that her vision and hearing impairment interfere with building up relationships with her peers. Therefore, other children are unwilling to play with her because she is slow in running and slow at mastering some circle time skills. Thus, she usually plays alone. When other children have birthday parties, they are unwilling to invite Megan, and Megan’s parents never invite her friends’ home. Before Megan’s third birthday, one of the authors suggested Megan’s mother inviting her friends to their house. At first, Megan’s mother was startled because she never knew that Megan could have friends. The author then explained to her that Megan could have build relationship with other children if they have more contacts. The mother agreed to try to help Megan make friends and invited the whole class for her birthday. To the mother’s surprise, all the children came and had very good time together. Megan, for the first time, smiled so happily. Now, whenever other children have parties, they invite Megan as well. Megan started some conversation with other children although sometime she was still left alone when her peers started to play a new game. At age three, Megan transferred to a new school and she made some new friends there.

Facilitate Sibling Interaction One of the authors also encouraged Megan’s mother to invite other children to play with Megan at home. Megan has three sisters; her twin sisters are one year older than Megan and another sister is one year younger than her. Megan’s parents have difficulty accepting Megan when she was born and her sisters have the same attitude towards Megan. They do not play with Megan much, forming a group of three instead. After Megan’s teachers and personnel from an Infant and Parents Service and from an Early Intervention System showed Megan’s parents how smart and adorable a girl she is, they realize their neglect of Megan at home. They since then have more family time after dinner. One or both of the parents or their grandparents help Megan build blocks with her sisters, play cards, or play physical activities, which are Megan’s favorites. Gradually, Megan’s sisters like to share games with Megan. Parents also bring Megan with them whenever they have a trip, and they no longer leave Megan at home with her grandparents.

Conclusion All parents love their children. It is also true to parents of children with disabilities. Parents’ love is unconditioned. Sometimes the love is not true love though. It is indulgence, overprotection and parents themselves are not aware of that. Professionals, practitioners as well as social workers can help parents realize the problem in their love and help them guide the children to be more exposed to the outside activities, secure interaction and friendship

78


with peers, establish play skills, develop their interests, and facilitate partnership among siblings. All of these strategies are very practical and applicable that parents can implement in community and home environment and thus young children’s social interaction and competence can be well improved.

References Causton-Theoharis, J., & Malmgren, K. (2005). Building bridges: Strategies to help paraprofessionals promote peer interaction. Exceptional Children 37(6), 18-24.Causton-Theoharis, J., & Malmgren, K. (2005). Increasing peer interactions for students with severe disabilities via paraprofessional training. Exceptional Children 71(4), 431-444.Garfinkle, A.N., & Schwartz, I.S. (2002). Peer imitation: Increasing social interactions in children with autism and other developmental disabilities in inclusive preschool classrooms. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education 22(1), 26-38.Hobbs, T., Brunch, L., Sanko, J., & Astolfi, C. (2001). Friendship on the inclusive electronic playground. Teaching Exceptional Children 33(6), 46-51.Jordan, S.F., & Lifter, K. (2005). Interaction of social and play behaviors in preschoolers with and without pervasive developmental disorder. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education 25(1), 34-47.Kamps, D., Royer, J., Dugan, E., Kravits, T., Lopez, A.G., Garcia, J., Carnazzo, K., Morrison, L., & Kane, L., G. (2002). Peer training to facilitates social interaction for elementary students with autism and their peers. Exceptional Children 68(2), 173-187.Kohler, F.W., & Strain, P.S. (1999). Maximizing peer-mediated resources in integrated preschool classrooms. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 19(2), 92-102. Owen, M. (1998). Retrieved April 12, 2006, from http://www.pediatricservices.com/parents/pc-28.htmRobertson, J., Green, K., Alper, S., Schloss, P., & Kohler, F. (2003). Using a peer-mediated intervention to facilitate children’s participation in inclusive childcare activities. Education and Treatment of Children 26(2), 182-197.

79


PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES, CONCERNS AND SENTIMENTS ABOUT INCLUSIVE EDUCATION: AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON OF

NOVICE PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS

Umesh SharmaMonash University

Chris Forlin,Hong Kong Institute of Education

Tim Loreman,and

Chris EarleConcordia University College of Alberta

This study investigates the nature of concerns and attitudes held by pre-service teachers regarding inclusive education and their degree of comfort on interaction with people with disabilities. Pre-service training may be the optimal time to address educators’ concerns and alter any negative attitudes about inclusive education. This paper reports the perceptions of pre-service teachers prior to their involvement in units of work focusing specifically on inclusive education in universities located in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Results indicate significant differences exist between the students in the eastern countries of Singapore and Hong Kong, and those in the western countries of Canada and Australia. Participants in the Western countries tended to have more positive sentiments and attitudes towards students with disabilities, and more concerns than their Eastern counterparts. The study also suggests that in most instances pre-service teachers have more positive attitudes towards people with disabilities and inclusion, and more confidence in implementing inclusive practice when they have had additional training and / or experience with people with disabilities.

Inclusion is an educational practice based on a notion of social justice that advocates access to equal educational opportunities for all students regardless of the presence of a disability. Inclusion involves students with disabilities learning with their peers in regular schools that adapt and change the way they work in order to meet the needs of all students (Foreman, 2001; Loreman & Deppeler, 2001; Sailor & Skrtic, 1995). Inclusion requires commitment from a range of stakeholders including governments, teacher training institutions, schools, teachers, and the school community if it is to be successful. As we move towards an inclusive future it is teacher training institutions that will become pivotal in ensuring teachers have the appropriate attitudes and skills to further this agenda.

Preparing teachers for regular class teaching has undergone a major pedagogical shift in recent years. Training institutions are now required to ensure that pre-service teachers are competent to cater for the needs of an increasing range of diverse learners. This move has been furthered by international recommendations (now more than 12 years old) from UNESCO to include content on inclusion as part of teacher training programs (UNESCO,

80


1994). In preparing teachers for inclusive classrooms their attitudes, beliefs, expectations and acceptance of people with diverse needs may well be challenged.

Although this is such an important area, limited international studies have been carried out to understand pre-service teachers’ concerns and preparedness for teaching diverse learners (see Forlin, Douglas, & Hattie, 1996; Forlin, 2001; Forlin, Jobling, & Carroll, 2001; Loreman, 2002; Sharma, Ee, & Desai, 2003). Indeed, this was also highlighted by the Salamanca Statement that emphasized a need for collaboration and networking amongst member nations in research and teaching on inclusive education. Research examining attitudes and similar constructs (e.g. concerns about implementing inclusion, and sentiments towards persons with disabilities) within an international framework may shed lights on role of factors that are context specific (example policy/legislative framework or cultural context). This may have useful implications both for teacher trainers as well as policy makers.

The importance of having positive attitudes toward inclusive education amongst in-service educators has been long recognized. If educators hold positive attitudes towards inclusive education it may allow and encourage practices that will guarantee, to a large extent, successful inclusion of all students (Hobbs & Westling, 1998; Wilczenski, 1992, 1995). Highlighting the need for positive attitudes Murphy (1996) states that if teachers leave from university with negative attitudes then those attitudes are difficult to change. Positive attitudes can be and need to be fostered through both training and positive experiences with students with disabilities (Hobbs & Westling, 1998). Specific studies investigating the concerns of educators and in particular pre-service teachers’ concerns about inclusive education and their degree of comfort with persons with disabilities, though, are limited. Yet pre-service training may be the best time to address educators’ concerns and possibly modify their negative attitudes about inclusive education as well as toward persons with disabilities. This study is the second in a series of studies from a range of international perspectives (see also Loreman, Sharma, Forlin & Earle, 2005), that report on the attitudes, concerns and sentiments of teachers in training who are preparing to teach in regular schools This study reports data prior to pre-service teachers having any exposure to university training on special education. The aims of this research are to identify pre-service teachers’ concerns, attitudes towards persons with disabilities and levels of discomfort in interacting with people with a disability prior to involvement in training for inclusive education; to identify demographic variables that may account for differences in attitudes; and to determine whether attitudes towards inclusive education differ significantly in a sample of international programs (Western Australia; Victoria, Australia; Hong Kong; Singapore; and Alberta, Canada).

BackgroundIn order to understand the context of the study a description of pre-service teacher education in each of the selected countries is necessary. The description that follows also provides information about some of the key legislation and/ or policies in each country that have direct relevance to the education of students with disabilities.

AustraliaPre-service teacher education in Australia, involves more than 400 programs across 36 universities that serve the needs of approximately 35 000 students (Louden Rohl, Gore, Greaves, Mcintosh, Wright, Siemon, & House, 2005). Each training institution prepares teachers for one of eight different Departments of Education, some of which require teacher registration in order to be employed (eg. Queensland, Western Australia, and New South Wales). Most jurisdictions rely on each institution making their own decision about the content of their courses (Carroll, Forlin, & Jobling, 2003). For a significant number of newly graduated pre-service teachers, though, they report that on completion they do not have the necessary skills to meet the diverse needs they face in their classrooms (Cambourne, 2002). While training institutions are increasingly updating their content, a review of 73 pre-service

81


teacher training courses offered by 16 universities across Australia in 2002, highlighted the relatively small number (45.5%) that included compulsory units of work on special or inclusive education (Loreman, 2002).

In addition, many national and state reports in Australia have referred to the insufficiency of training to prepare teachers to successfully include children with disabilities in regular classes. This lack of appropriate training has repeatedly been seen as a barrier to establishing more inclusive classrooms (e.g. Andrews, Elkins, Berry & Burge, 1979; Beazley 1984; Gow, Ward, Balla, & Snow, 1988; Inquiry into the Education of Students with Disabilities, SEETRC, 2002; Ministerial Advisory Council on the quality of teaching, 1997; National inquiry into rural and remote education, 2000; Shean, 1993, among others).

The enactment of Federal Legislation in the form of the Disability Discrimination Act (1992) and the release of the standards for education under the Act (draft, 2004) are ensuring that children with disabilities have greater opportunities to enroll in their local schools. It is posited by the government that the standards will: … clarify the obligations of education and training service providers under the DDA, and the rights of people with disabilities in relation to education and training. The Standards will apply to all students with disabilities in all sectors of education and training in both public and non-Government educational institutions (retrieved 31.1.2005, http://www.ag.gov.au/DSFE).

Educational authorities and in particular regular class teachers are now required to support students with disabilities to ensure they are able to access the curriculum. Regular classrooms in Australia contain students with a range of diverse needs, thus it is essential that teachers are prepared to accept the role of being an inclusive educator and have positive beliefs and attitudes towards this. As the new standards will also establish the obligations of teacher training providers there is a pressing need to identify the issues for current undergraduate teachers in order to ensure that these providers assist teachers in acquiring the required attitudes towards inclusion.

Western AustraliaPre-service teacher education courses are offered at three institutions in Western Australia (WA). Prior to 2005, there were no general registration requirements for teachers, however, at the start of the year a newly formed College of Teaching commenced which requires teacher registration for WA. As part of the legislated mandate they will Confer and collaborate with employers and universities in relation to the standards of teaching education courses (Retrieved 1.3.2005 from http://www.collegeofteaching.wa.edu.au). Although existing undergraduate teacher preparation courses in WA include a compulsory unit of work on educating children with diverse needs it remains to be seen what impact the College of Teaching will have on re-directing this focus, especially in the area of post-graduate teacher training where such units are not generally offered. A major review of educational services for students with disabilities in government schools in WA has also led to the Department of Education and Training being more focused on the need to better prepare teachers for inclusion (DET, 2004).

In the early 1990s in WA, the attitudes of teachers towards inclusion were being reported by both regular class teachers and those from Education Support Centres as being less than positive (Forlin, Douglas, & Hattie, 1996). Acceptance visibly decreased as perceptions of the severity of disability increased. The low levels of approval recorded by WA teachers at this time did not seem to auger well for a strong promise of inclusion. In 2004, the DET reported a loss of up to 27% of new teachers within ten years of graduation and that 70% of teachers reported that during their pre-service training they were not much or not at all prepared for understanding or implementing educational policies relating to inclusion (DET, 2004). The DET has initiated a number of policies in recent years along with a variety of strategies such

82

http://www.collegeofteaching.wa.edu.au/

http://www.ag.gov.au/DSFE


as the Building Inclusive Schools and Building Inclusive Classrooms strategies enacted in 2004 to support a stronger move towards inclusion. Any changes in the willingness of teachers to implement such policies and strategies remains to be determined.

Victoria, AustraliaIn Victoria, six universities offer pre-service teacher training programs. All teachers working in government, Catholic and independent schools in Victoria, are required by law to be registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching(VIT). It is not a requirement of the VIT for registering teachers to have completed a unit in the area of special education. It is, therefore, not surprising to see that not many universities offer units in special education in undergraduate programs. However, the situation has changed slightly in last few years. While in some universities a unit in special education is mandatory (e.g. The University of Melbourne), other universities offer such a program as an elective unit (e.g. Monash University) in their pre-service teacher training programs. Anecdotal evidence indicates that while the number of students enrolling in special education programs is decreasing, the demand for a subject in special education in general education preparatory program has been increasing. This is very much in line with an increasing trend of inclusive education in Victoria. The number of students with disabilities attending regular schools has risen dramatically over last few years. For example, in 1985 only 500 students with disabilities attended regular schools compared to 5421 who attended special settings. In contrast in 2001, over 10,500 such students attended regular schools compared to 5,761 who attended special schools (DEET, 2001). It is, however, important to note that none of the six universities in Victoria, as in WA, offer a unit in special education at graduate or post-graduate level teacher training programs.

CanadaThe practice of inclusive education in Canada varies considerably from region to region, with some regions actively supporting, and indeed mandating the approach, and others doing little to encourage the practice (Hutchinson 2002; Raymond & Loreman, 2005). The responsibility for education in Canada is primarily delegated to the individual Provinces. While the Federal government does have some minimal involvement in education in a broad, national sense through Constitutional guarantees of non-discrimination (Government of Canada, 1982), it is the Provinces that oversee, maintain, and distribute funding to individual school districts (Hutchinson 2002; Raymond & Loreman, 2005). The Provinces, in cooperation with the federal government which provides some financial support, are also responsible for the administration of post-secondary education, which includes all teacher training institutions.

AlbertaAlberta Education sets broad provincial policy and curriculum which local school districts (governed by elected trustees) must then implement and follow. Teachers must also be registered to practice in Alberta by Alberta Education before they are permitted to teach in any non-charter school. To attain registration teachers must have demonstrated the attainment of a set of knowledge, skills and attributes (known as the KSAs) outlined by Alberta Education (Minister for Education, 1997). These criteria require Alberta teachers to be skilled at a basic level in inclusive practice and in teaching and assessing a diverse range of learners. According to the KSAs teachers (must understand that) all students can learn, albeit at different rates and in different ways. They know how (including when and how to engage others) to identify students’ different learning styles and ways students learn. They understand the need to respond to differences by creating multiple paths to learning for individuals and groups of students, including students with special learning needs… (Minister for Education, 1997, section 2e)

There are five institutions in Alberta offering pre-service teacher training, with . Concordia University College of Alberta (CUCA) offering a post-graduate teaching degree accepting

83


approximately 70 students per year. While the focus of the program is elementary (primary) education, graduates are registered to teach at any level from K-12. All courses in the program are mandatory for all students, and additional electives are not offered. CUCA does not offer courses specific to inclusive teaching in its pre-service programs, but rather attempts to infuse this practice and philosophy through all courses of study.

Provincially, the Alberta School Act (revised 2002) is the main piece of legislation addressing the actions of school authorities, individual schools, staff and students in Alberta. This Act is supplemented by Ministerial Order 015/2004, otherwise known as the Standards for Special Education. It is these standards which are intended to set the direction for matters related to special education in Alberta.

The Alberta Learning Standards for Special Education (2004) begins with the statement that …educating students with special education needs in inclusive settings is the first placement option to be considered by school boards in consultation with parents and, when appropriate, students (p. 1). Given that local school districts have been aware of the Alberta Learning Standards for Special Education since September 2003, it might be expected that districts have moved towards more inclusive modes of education (Hutchinson, 2002). While this is true of some provincial school jurisdictions, it clearly is not always the case.

Hong KongHong Kong has gradually taken steps to move towards a more inclusive society for its people with disabilities. As early as the 1970s, Hong Kong posited a motion through a White Paper known as Integrating the Disabled into the Community: A United Effort. This was the first government paper that proposed integrating children with disabilities into mainstream schools (White Paper, 1977, 4.2c). This idea, however, was not seriously considered by the general education sectors, for paradoxically during that period of time there was a great expansion of specialized and segregated services. Children with disabilities were by and large placed in segregated , categorically determined school facilities. Not until 1995 and following the direction of the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994), was the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO) enacted and the Education Department in Hong Kong took a more serious approach by initiating a pilot project on integration (Crawford et al, 1999). In 2001, when the DDO Code of Practice on Education (2001) was announced, the Education and Manpower Bureau (formerly the Education Department) stipulated, through a government circular to all schools, that they were required to implement a whole school approach to catering for the special needs of students. (Government circular, 82/2003).

Preparing teachers in Hong Kong has undergone a major pedagogical shift in recent years. Teacher training institutions are now required to ensure that teachers are competent to cater for the needs of an increasing range of diverse learners. This includes preparing them to teach not only those with a disability, but to include those with learning difficulties and other differences such as culture, gender, sex orientation, socio-economic disadvantage etc. Not surprisingly, many teachers voice concerns regarding their support for and ability to be able to work in inclusive situations. It is deemed critical to ensure that teacher training institutions are preparing future teachers appropriately to face this challenging and the important task of catering for diversity in the mainstream classroom.

SingaporeSingapore is a small island of 3.5 million people (Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports; MCYS, 2004) and has become a model city state with over 40 years of independence. The education system in Singapore is of importance to ensure that Singapore continues to thrive in an increasingly competitive and technologically advanced global environment (Lim & Nam, 2000).

84


In contrast to Australia, Canada and Hong Kong, the participants from Singapore were training to teach in preschools. There are currently 14 special schools in Singapore of which eight schools cater for early intervention at a preschool level (National Council of Social Services, 2005). In addition to the National Institute of Education (NIE), teacher training for preschool teachers is offered by accredited private training centers. The Regional Training Center - Asia (RTRC Asia) (RTRC, 2005), the Association for Early Childhood Educators (Singapore) (AECES, 2005) and Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) are three out of 22 tertiary early childhood institutions accredited by the Preschool Qualification Accreditation Committee (PQAC) to teach certificate and diploma courses in preschool teaching.

Pre-service trainee teachers at the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Singapore were reported to have limited experience and limited opportunities towards relating to children with special needs unless they had a family member or relative with special needs (Lim & Tan, 2004). In the absence of any formal policy supporting inclusion (or integration as it is called in the country), only some students with disabilities like those with a single disability and those who are deemed fit for entrance into regular schools are admitted (Sharma, Ee, & Desai, 2003). The government provides extra resources to support to these students in the mainstream. Due to the social agenda, Singapore 21 (1999) outlined that each Singaporean person matters in contributing to the uniqueness of Singapore which goes beyond academic and economic success to accommodate the diverse ways people can contribute and feel valued by society.

MethodParticipantsParticipants were a purposeful sample of pre-service teachers enrolled in an undergraduate teacher preparation program at a teacher training institution in one of four international jurisdictions, namely, Western Australia; Victoria, Australia; Alberta, Canada; Hong Kong and Singapore. All pre-service teachers were preparing to teach in regular classrooms at preschool, primary or secondary level. All students except for those in Canada had enrolled in a unit of study focusing on catering for the needs of students with diverse abilities. Canadian students were in a program in which this content was infused throughout different areas of the program. A total of 1060 pre-service teachers participated in the study (Alberta=201; Western Australia =229; Victoria=63; Hong Kong=470; Singapore= 97). Given that the Australian data presented no significant differences between Western Australia and Victoria it has been combined for this report. Although we use country names in reporting the data we acknowledge that this may not be representative of wider views in these countries. Our data is based on one institution in each country only, and two in Australia.

InstrumentA four-part survey instrument was employed to collect data. Part One sought general demographic information about each participant. Part Two involved the Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education scale (ATIES) (Wilczenski, 1992). Part Three was a modified version of the Interaction with Disabled Persons scale (IDP) (Gething, 1991, 1994). Part Four employed the Concerns About Inclusive Education Scale (CIES) (Sharma & Desai, 2002).

Part 1: Demographic InformationPre-service teachers were asked to provide information for seven variables including age, gender, contact with people with a disability, previous training, knowledge of disability act/policies and level of confidence in teaching students with disabilities.

Part 2: Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale (ATIES)Designed by Wilczenski in 1992, ATIES is a 16-item scale that measures participants’ attitudes toward the four aspects of inclusion: social, physical, academic and behavioural. Each item on the scale is rated on a 6 point-Likert type classification ranging from 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (disagree somewhat), 4 (agree somewhat), 5 (agree) to 6 (strongly

85


agree) The scale yields a total score the value of which ranges from 16 to 96, with higher scores indicating more favourable attitudes. ATIES has been frequently used by researchers and found to have adequate reliability and validity (e.g. Pasierb, 1994; Sharma, Ee & Desai, 2003; Wilczenski, 1995).

Part 3: The Interaction with Persons with a Disability (IPD) ScaleConfirmation of the original IDP (Interaction with Disabled Persons) Scale (Gething, 1991), was undertaken with 2850 pre-service teachers from six universities in Australia and South Africa (Forlin, Fogarty & Carroll, 1999). Following validation it was refined and renamed the Interaction with People with a Disability scale (IPD) (Forlin, Jobling & Carroll, 2001) to reflect a people first and more politically correct terminology. The IPD scale consists of 20 items employing a 6-point Likert scale. Pre-service teachers are asked to rank their level of discomfort when interacting with a person with a disability. Responses range from 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (disagree somewhat), 4 (agree somewhat), 5 (agree) to 6 (strongly agree). Higher scores on the IPD indicate greater levels of discomfort on interacting with people with disabilities.

Part 4: Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale (CIES)The CIES (Sharma & Desai, 2002) measures participants’ degree of concern about implementing inclusive education. The scale has 21 items. Each item was responded to on a 4-point Likert type classification with responses ranging from extremely concerned (4), very concerned (3), a little concerned(2) to not at all concerned (1). CIES also yields a total score which is obtained by adding the value of responses on each item. The value of total score may range from 21 to 84. A higher CIES score indicates that a respondent is more concerned about his or her ability to implement inclusion. Sharma and Desai (2002) addressed the validity of the scale through a panel of experts and the reliability coefficient for the scale is 0.91.

Procedure for Implementing the QuestionnaireEthics clearance was obtained at each institution prior to commencing the research. The questionnaire was administered to pre-service teachers during the first week of a unit of study on teaching children with special needs. All pre-service teachers enrolled in these units were invited to participate in the study. The response rate was approximately 95% across all jurisdictions.

Statistical Testing of ResultsAll raw data was transformed by calculating the natural logarithm of the scores. This routine procedure was carried out in order that the data conform to the assumptions of the parametric statistical tests used for objective analysis of the results, including analysis of variance. A small number of data points were eliminated from the sample because of missing responses for both demographic and scores data resulting in variation of the sample size for different analyses..

ResultsA large majority of participants in the study were female (75%) and younger than 29 years (83%). Approximately one third indicated having known a person with a disability as a family member or friend. The majority of participants indicated having average, poor or nil knowledge of disability Acts or polices that may impact on the education of such children in their jurisdiction. A similar trend was observed for the confidence variable as a large majority of participants in Australia (89%), Canada (81%) and Hong Kong (89%) indicated having average, low, or very low level of confidence in teaching students with disabilities.

Differences in pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education In order to determine if the attitudes of participants differed in any predictable manner a one way ANOVA was employed followed by post-hoc testing to determine individual differences between any two countries. Table 1 presents data on participants’ attitude scores organized by

86


country. The data below the diagonal represents the differences between ATIES scores of each pair of countries while the values above the diagonal represent the Bonferoni probabilities associated with the post-hoc tests of significance between each pair of countries. Mean ATIES scores for each country and the number of respondents comprising the sample are provided in brackets. Probabilities of less than 0.05 indicate a significant difference in the mean ATIES scores of the two countries being compared.

An examination of Table 1 reveals that in general Canadian pre-service teachers have the most positive attitudes followed by Australian teachers. Hong Kong and Singaporean pre-service teachers have the lowest mean attitude scores with no significant differences between them. The differences between Australia and Canada in comparison with Hong Kong and Singapore are all very highly significant (i.e. prob. < 0.001) as are the differences between Australia and Canada.

Table 1Results of one-way analysis of variance comparing the mean ATIE scores of the three

countriesCOUNTRY (N=1049)

Australia= 65.99

Canada=74.47

Hong Kong=56.50

Singapore=58.40

AUSTRALIA - <0.001 <0.001 <0.001CANADA 4.487 - <0.001 <0.001HONG KONG 9.487 13.970 - 0.268SINGAPORE 7.591 12.07 1.896 -

Differences in pre-service teachers’ sentiments towards persons with disabilities.A higher score on the IPD indicates a higher degree of discomfort towards people with disabilities. Once again Canadian pre-service teachers are on average found to have least discomfort regarding interacting with people with disabilities. Hong Kong and Australian teachers have a similar degree of discomfort. The differences are very highly significant for the following comparisons: Australia and Canada; Australia and Singapore; Canada and Hong Kong; and Canada and Singapore (see Table 2).

Table 2Results of one-way analysis of variance comparing the mean IPD scores of the three countriesCOUNTRY (N=996)

Australia= 68.17

Canada=64.05

Hong Kong=68.95

Singapore=72.00

AUSTRALIA - <0.001 0.942 <0.001CANADA 4.126 - <0.001 <0.001HONG KONG 0.778 4.905 - 0.002SINGAPORE 3.826 7.953 3.048 -

Differences in pre-service teachers’ concerns about inclusive education A higher concern score indicates a greater degree of anxiety in implementing inclusive practices. Analysis of variance and subsequent post-hoc tests suggest a relatively low level of anxiety among Canadian and Australian pre-service teachers in contrast to the high level of concern expressed by their Hong Kong and Singaporean counterparts (see Table 3). An examination of their total mean scores on CIES indicated that Canadian educators were least concerned while those from Hong Kong were most concerned about including students with disabilities in their classrooms.

Table 3

87


Results of one-way analysis of variance comparing the mean CIES scores of the four countries

COUNTRY (N=1023)

Australia= 47.40

Canada=46.43

Hong Kong=56.41

Singapore=55.22

AUSTRALIA - 0.990 <0.001 <0.001CANADA 0.972 - <0.001 <0.001HONG KONG 9.013 9.983 - 0.990SINGAPORE 7.819 8.791 1.193 -

Relationship between knowledge of act/policies and ATIES, CIES and IPD scores.Table 4 presents results in relation to proportion of the variance explained by differences between levels of knowledge of local legislation in three countries. As the table indicates, knowledge of the education act or policy in each country does appear to influence the sentiments (IPD) and attitudes (ATIES) of pre-service teachers. With regards to concerns related to inclusive education only Australian students appear to be influenced by the differences in the level of knowledge they have acquired. For the Singaporean students they were asked to refer to their knowledge of IDEA as Singapore does not have its own Act, consequently their knowledge base was very low for all students.

Table 4Comparison of sentiments (IDP), attitudes (ATIES) and concerns (CIES) among respondents with varying knowledge (i.e. nil, poor, average, good and very good) of the education act in

their respective countries. Singapore students were asked to respond if either they were familiar with the appropriate education act(s) in their country or not

COUNTRY STATISTICS IDP ATIES CIES

AustraliaMean ± SDProbabilityVariance Explained

68.17±9.8<0.0017.1%

65.99±10.10.0393.5%

47.40±10.10.0543.3%

CanadaMean ± SDProbabilityVariance Explained

64.05±9.10.0315.5%

70.47±10.90.1053.8%

46.43±10.00.3072.5%

Hong KongMean ± SDProbabilityVariance Explained

68.95±8.30.0891.8%

56.50±10.00.0382.2%

56.41±9.50.2531.2%

SingaporeMean ± SDProbabilityVariance Explained

72.00±8.660.6650.8%

58.40±8.930.5591.1%

55.22±11.060.7590.6%

DiscussionIn this study we compared pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education, concerns about inclusive education, and sentiments towards persons with disabilities from Australia, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong. Although the study reports on educators’ perception from four countries, it does not suggest that results are generalizable to all pre-service teachers in these countries. Further, it must be remembered that these results indicate attitudes, concerns, and sentiments on entry to the educational institutions involved in the study. Therefore, this data does not reflect the attitudes, concerns and sentiments that are prevalent as the result of the education provided at the participating institutions.

Attitudes towards Inclusive EducationSeveral studies have investigated school educators’ attitudes toward inclusive education (e.g., Forlin, 2004; 2003; Forlin, Jobling, & Carroll, 2001; Hobbs & Westling, 1998; Idol, 1997; Loreman, 2002; Subban & Sharma, 2006). It has been argued that attitudes can determine the day-to-day practices of classroom teachers. Notably, if educators have negative attitudes toward inclusive education, they are less likely to implement strategies that consistently

88


promote inclusive education. In this study we found that pre-service teachers from Canada were most positive and their counterparts from Hong Kong and Singapore were least positive about implementing inclusive education. Australian pre-service teachers were on average somewhere in the middle. One explanation for such positive attitudes within the cohort of Canadian educators is that all of them have had completed an undergraduate program before enrolling in the teacher training program. There is some research that indicates that educators with higher qualifications have better attitudes compared to educators with lower educational qualifications(Sharma, Ee, Desai, 2003). In general, educators in Australia and Canada had much positive attitudes compared to their counterparts in Singapore and Hong Kong. Research by Moberg, Zumberg and Renimaa (1997) may shed some light on this issue. These researchers compared attitudes of pre-service teachers from Estonia, Finland and the United States. They found that the Estonians were the most critical group; the Finns the least critical. They suggested that difference in attitudes could be attributed to the prevailing level of implementation of inclusion in those countries. Inclusion has been implemented in Australia and Canada for over two decades and it is possible that participants in this study themselves have received schooling in inclusive schools and have become more positive in their attitudes. On the other hand, the practice of including students with disabilities into mainstream school is a relatively new phenomenon in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is possible that prospective educators in the Eastern countries are reacting in a way most prospective educators in the Western countries reacted when the integration movement began, although this is just hypothesizing as we concede there is no empirical evidence to suggest Western pre-service educators reacted in this way in the 1980s.

Sentiments towards Persons with DisabilitiesThis study also measured comfort levels of pre-service teachers from the four countries by employing the IPD scale. The scale measures level of discomfort of individuals when interacting with people with disabilities. Pre-service teachers in Hong Kong and Australia had higher level of discomfort when interacting with people with disabilities compared to Canadian educators (as seen in Table 2). Furthermore, Singapore pre-service teachers appeared to have an even higher average level of discomfort than seen in the Australian and Hong Kong pre-service teachers (Table 2). It is difficult to explain these findings. Past research has indicated that contact with persons with disabilities tends to reduce discomfort levels of respondents (Gething, Wheeler, Furnham, Hudek-Knezevic, Kunpf, McKee & Sellick, 1997). Demographic data gathered on the questionnaire indicates that Canadian educators have had such contacts far more frequently than their counterparts in Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore (Table 5 below) which might explain the difference. Alternatively, it could be that completely different variables contributed to different degree of discomforts in educators in four countries. If the study compared the sentiments of educators from Canada, Hong Kong, and Singapore only then one may conclude that different socio-political and cultural factors could explain difference in the results. However, relatively similar socio-political and ethnic background of participants from Australia and Canada make it difficult to draw such conclusions.

Table 5Frequency of contact with children with Special Needs

Hongkong 7.9% Canada 52.2% Singapore 19.4% Australia 23.5%

Inclusion of students with disabilities could be perceived as imposing additional demands on teachers and may cause a high degree of concern and anxiety among them (References). In this study we found participants in Hong Kong and Singapore were significantly more concerned when compared to their counterparts in Australia and Canada. An overview of schooling system in Hong Kong may explain these findings for that country. According to Luk (2005) The schooling system in Hong Kong is very competitive and academic. Students are allocated to primary one through a complicated system of marks allocation which involves factors like father/mother being alumni of schools, sibling studying in the same school, similar religious background etc. (p. 92). It is anticipated that teachers in such a

89


system will be under increased pressure to maintain high academic standards and they may see inclusion of children with disabilities as an extra burden.

ConclusionThis was the first multi-national comparative study to explore prospective teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion, concerns about inclusion and sentiments toward persons with disabilities. We have found some similarities and differences on all four groups of prospective educators from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore have identified the major concerns of pre-service teachers. While we have endeavored to speculate reasons for some of the differences, further research is warranted to provide firm answers to explain them. Some of the questions raised in this study will be answered in our forthcoming studies.

Clearly, there are significant differences in almost all areas under examination between prospective educators in the Eastern countries of Hong Kong and Singapore and the Western educators in Canada and Australia. The Western prospective educators were clearly more positive on practically every measure. This raises the question: could the differences be the result of cultural attitudes towards people with disabilities with those in Asian countries being less accepting or understanding than those in the Western countries? This question is beyond the scope of this study but seems to be one worth investigating.

These initial findings have important implications for teacher educators in Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, if not in Canada as well. Past research indicates that negative attitudes toward persons with disabilities may lead to low expectations of persons with disabilities (Wilczenski, 1993). This in turn can lead to reduced learning opportunities for children with disabilities (Forlin, Tait, Carroll & Jobling, 1999). Moberg et a.,l (1997) also suggest that the more negatively (not teachable, dependent, unpleasant) a student is viewed by prospective teachers the more segregated an environment they recommend for the child. It would, therefore, be imperative to develop strategies to target such attitudes. The results of this study indicate that this might be particularly important in Eastern countries where stronger cultural biases against people with disabilities are seemingly evident.

One innovative method to change pre-service educators attitudes in a positive direction was proposed by Carrington and Brownlee (2001). In their qualitative study they used a teaching assistant with cerebral palsy during the training of pre-service teachers. The teaching assistant interacted with students in both small and large group tutorial discussions throughout the semester. They found that this resulted in a significant improvement of pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward persons with disabilities after the completion of the course. Similarly, the involvement of students with intellectual disabilities in on campus tutorials has also been found to break down many of the myths that pre-service teachers hold about the expectations of these students (Forlin, 2003). It would appear that such a strategy is not only important but necessary in countries where pre-service educators are less likely to come in contact with persons with disabilities during their school years. This seems to be true in case of participants from Singapore and Hong Kong and to some extent for educators from Australia.

What is clearly important is that pre-service teacher training must consider the attitudes, beliefs and concerns of teachers in training and ensure that their courses provide the most appropriate preparation to better enable them to be prepared for inclusive education. This study has focused on the attitudes of pre-service teachers prior to their involvement in university training on inclusive education. In future studies, we will report how participation in a university program on special education impacted on these participants’ attitudes, concerns and comfort levels.

References

90


Alberta Learning Special Programs Branch (2004). Standards for Special Education, Alberta Learning: Alberta.Andrews, R. J., Elkins, J., Berry, P. B., & Burge, J. A. (1979). A survey of special education in Australia. University of Queensland: Fred and Eleanor Schonell Educational Research Centre.Association for Early Childhood Educators (2005) AECES. Retrieved on July25, 2005 from the website: http://ww.aeces.orgBeazley, K. (1984). Education in Western Australia [Report of the committee of inquiry into education in Western Australia]. Perth, Australia: Ministry of Education.Carrington, S. & Brownlee, J. (2001). Preparing Teachers to Support Inclusion: the benefits of interaction between a group of preservice teachers and a teaching assistant who is disabled. Teaching Education, 12(3), 347-357.Cambourne, B. (2002). Trying to change pre-service teacher education: Nibbling around the edges vs going the hog. Roundtable paper presented at the ATEA conference, Brisbane, Australia. Carroll, A., Forlin, C., & Jobling, A., (2003). The impact of teacher training in special education on the attitudes of Australian preservice general educators towards people with disabilities. Teacher Education Quaterly, 30, 65-79.Department of Education, Employment and Training (2001). Better services, better outcomes in Victorian Government Schools: A review of educational services for students with special educational needs.. Victoria: Author.Department of Education and Training Western Australia (2004). Pathways to the Future: A report of the review of educational services for students with disabilities in government schools. Perth: Author.Department of Education and Training, Western Australia (2004). Attitudes to the teaching profession in Western Australian Government schools. Survey Report. Perth, WA. Author. Desai, I. (1991). Victorian school principals’ attitudes toward integration. Paper presented at the 15th National Conference of the Australian Association of Special Education, Brisbane, Queensland.Disability Standards for Education (Draft) (November, 2004). Australian Government: Canberra.Edmonton Public Schools. (2001). Board policies and regulations: Student programs, Retrived Feb 4, 2006 from http://www.epsb.ca/policy/ha.bp.shtmlForeman, P. J. (2001). Integration and Inclusion in action. New South Wales: Harcourt Brace & Company.Forlin, C. (2004). Promoting Inclusivity in Western Australian Schools. International Journal of Inclusive Education. 8, 183-200.Forlin, C. (2003). Preservice teacher education: Involvement of students with intellectual disabilities. International Journal of Learning. 10, 317-326.Forlin, C. (2001). Inclusion: Identifying potential stressors for regular class teachers. Educational Research, 43, 235-245.Forlin, C. Jobling, A., & Carroll, A. (2001). Preservice teachers’ discomfort levels toward people with disabilities. The Journal of International Special Needs Education, 4, 32-38.Forlin,C., Tait, K., Carroll, A. & Jobling, A. (1999). Teacher education for diversity. Queensland Journal of Educational Research, 5Gething, L., Wheeler, B., Cote, J., Funham, A., Hudek-Knezevic, J., Kumpf,M., McKee, K, Rola, J. & Sellick, K. (1997) An international validation of the interaction with disabled persons scale. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 20(2), 149-158. Government of Alberta (2002). School Act, Revised Statutes of Alberta. Government of Alberta printer: Edmonton.Government of Canada (1982). Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Government Printer: OttawaGow, L., Ward, J., Balla, J., & Snow, D. (1988). Directions for integration in Australia: Overview of a Reportt to the Commonwealth Schools Commission. Part II. Exceptional Child, 35, 5-22.

91

http://www.epsb.ca/policy/ha.bp.shtml

http://ww.aeces.org/


Hobbs, T., & Westling, D. L. (1998). Promoting successful inclusion through collaborative problem solving. Teaching Exceptional Children, 31(1), 12-19.Hutchinson, N.L., (2002), Inclusion of exceptional learners in Canadian schools. Prentice Hall: TorontoIdol, L. (1997). Key questions related to building collaborative and inclusive schools. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30(4), 384-394Lim, L. & Nam, S.S. (2000) Special education in Singapore. Journal ofSpecial Education, 104-109Lim, L. & Tan, J. (2004) Learning & Diversity. In L. Lim & M.M. Quah (eds.) Educating Learners with Diverse Abilities (pp1-28). Asia: McGraw-Hill EducationLoreman, T, (2002), Teacher Education and Inclusion. Paper presented at the XIIIth World Congress of Inclusion International, Melbourne, Australia.Loreman, T., Deppeler, J., Harvey, D., & Rowley, G. (in press). The implications of inclusion through curriculum modification for secondary school teacher training in Victoria, Australia. Loreman, T., Sharma, U., Forlin, C., & Earle, C. (2005, August). Pre-service teachers’ attitude and concerns regarding inclusive education. Paper presented at the Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress (ISEC) 2005, Glasgow, Scotland.Louden, W., Rohl, M., Gore, J., Greaves, D., Mcintosh, A., Wright, R., Siemon, D. & House, H. (2005). Prepared to teach: An Investigation into the preparation of teachers to teach literacy and numeracy. Canberra: Department of Education, Science and Training.Luk, F.Y.Y.P. (2005). Managing change in an integrated school- a Hong Kong hybrid experience, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 9(1), 89-103.Minister for Education, (1997). Directive 4.2.1 - Teaching Quality Standard Applicable to the Provision of Basic Education in Alberta, K-12 Learning System Policy, Regulations and Forms Manual Section 4 Ministerial Orders and Directives, Government of Alberta Printer: Edmonton, AlbertaMinisterial Advisory Council on the quality of teaching. (1997). Raising the standards of teachers and teaching. Sydney NSW: School education policy directorate, Department of Education and Training. Murphy, D.M. (1996). Implications of inclusion for general and special education. Elementary School Journal, 96, 469-493National Council of Social Service (2005) Directory of Social Services (8th edition). Singapore: Author.National inquiry into rural and remote education. (2000, May). Commonwealth of Australia: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.Pasierb, P.L. (1994) Promoting positive attitudes toward inclusive education: insights and interventions. Unpublished DEd thesis, Seton Hall University.Raymond, H., & Loreman, T. (2005, August). It can be done! An example of Whole Schooling from Canada. Paper presented at the Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress (ISEC) 2005, Glasgow, Scotland.Sailor, W. and T. M. Skrtic (1995). American education in the postmodern era. In Paul, L., Evans, D., and Rosselli, H. (1995) Integrating school restructuring and special education reform. Orlando: Brace. p.214-236.Senate Employment, Education and Training Reference Committee. Inquiry into the Education of Students with Disabilities, SEETRC, Canberra, 2002.Sharma, U., Ee, J., & Desai, I. (2003). A comparison of Australian and Singaporeanpreservice teachers’ attitudes and concerns about inclusive education,Teaching and Learning, 24 (2) p 207-217.Shean, R. (1993). Report of the state government taskforce: The education of students with disabilities and specific learning difficulties. Perth, Australia: Ministry of Education.Subban, P. & Sharma, U (2006) Teachers’ perceptions of inclusive education in Victoria, Australia. International Journal of Special Education, 21(1), 42-52.UNESCO. (1994, 7-10 June, 1994). The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action. Paper presented at the World Conference on Special Needs Education: Access and Quality, Salamanca, Spain.

92


Vinson, T. (2002). Inquiry into the Provision of Public Education in NSW. Sydney: NSW Teachers Federation & Federation of P & C Associations of NSW.Wilczenski, F. L. (1992). Measuring attitudes towards inclusive education. Psychology in the Schools, 29, 307-312.Wilczenski, F.L. (1993). Changes in attitudes toward mainstreaming among undergraduate education pre-service teachers. Education Research Quarterly, 17(1), 5-17.Wilczenski, F.L. (1995). Development of a scale to measure attitudes toward inclusive education. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 55(2), 291-299.

93


SELF-MANAGEMENT FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHER FOLLOW-UP

Margaret E. King-SearsGeorge Mason University

Researcher-teacher collaboration occurred during the design and implementation of self-management instruction for two middle school students with different disabilities and for two different target behaviors. One student with physical disabilities was taught to increase safe hall travel during school transitions, and the other student with learning disabilities was taught to increase on-task behaviors. After each student had been trained to use self-management, their teachers were not able to follow-up with them immediately. Contrary to their teacher’s anticipated impact of self-management, neither student’s behaviors reached satisfactory levels until their teachers followed-up with them. Implications include the necessity for adults to follow-up with students after teaching self-management to ensure the intervention is progressing as planned and that the desired impact on students’ behaviors occurs. The work described in this paper was funded by the U.S. Department of Education Field-Initiated Research Grant # H023C70066. The views expressed are the author's and do not necessarily represent the policy of that agency, and no endorsement by the federal government should be inferred. Immense appreciation is extended to the educators, Elena Dennis and Karen Cessna, for their significant time investment and valuable reflections in working with the researcher on these projects. Additional credit belongs to the research data collectors (Ted Crimy, Mary Keefer, Mary Gohng, and Sabita Raman), who were fastidious in gathering research data.

Self-management instruction is a well-researched technique that has wide applications across students, age levels, behaviors, and disability labels (Browder & Shapiro, 1985; Horner & Brigham, 1979; Prater, Hogan, & Miller, 1992; Strain, Kohler, Storey, & Danko, 1994). Self-management can take on many forms, including self-monitoring (recording the occurrence or nonoccurrence of one's behavior), self-evaluation (judging the quality of one's behavior using a rating scale), and self-reinforcement (having performed a predetermined behavior to a predetermined quality rating such that a chosen reward is accessed) (Carpenter, Musy, & King-Sears, 1997; Falk, Dunlap, & Kern, 1996; Lalli & Shapiro, 1990).

Self-management can be used, independent of adult supervision, as a method to promote student independence and desirable behaviors across a variety of settings (Pierce & Schreibman, 1994; Wood, Murdock, & Cronin, 2002). Although self-management has the potential to empower students in controlling their own behaviors, there are elements of adult’s involvement in both teaching students to self-manage and monitoring students’ performance after instruction to ensure the desired impact is occurring (Freeman & Dexter-Mazza, 2004). Several researchers note the individualized effects of self-management interventions, and caution that all students may not respond immediately and with desired proficiency after learning self-management (Graham, Harris, & Reid, 1992; King-Sears & Bonfils, 1999).

94


For example, McDougall and Brady (1998) conducted self-management research with students who did and did not have mild disabilities in a general education math class and found differential effects on students' academic behaviors. Most students with and without disabilities benefited from self-management, but one student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder did not make substantial gains as the other students did. McDougall and Brady concluded that, for some students, self-management components may need to be enhanced and/or combined with other management techniques for students to sufficiently benefit. Accordingly, student’s performance after being trained to use self-management needs to be monitored to ensure desired benefits are occurring.

When students with disabilities learn to self-manage, they are more likely to rely on themselves than others for decision-making, they empower themselves for determining areas where they desire to improve, and the need for other adults or peers to assist in controlling their behaviors is minimized or eliminated (Firman, Beare, & Loyd, 2002; King-Sears, 1999; Hughes, Copeland, Agran, Wehmeyer, Rodi, & Presley, 2002). However, students with disabilities are not likely to learn how to self-manage unless their teachers select it as an instructional intervention, and know how to teach self-management to them (Grigal, Neubert, Moon, & Graham, 2003).

Self-management is frequently cited as one of several necessary skills that lead students with disabilities toward being more self-determined youngsters who can appropriately and proactively take control of aspects of their life, in and out of school settings. Self-determination skill sets have been a major topic in special education for over a decade, but research on how to best combine components such as goal-setting, self-managing, choice making, and decision making are still emerging (Karvonen, Test, Wood, Browder, & Algozzine, 2004). Nonetheless, with a well-established research base for self-management as an intervention, it would seem that its use would be more prevalent in schools. Despite self-management’s potential impact, it may be set aside as an intervention for a variety of reasons, including issues in translating research-based practices into school-based interventions.

There is considerable rhetoric about the gap between what is available versus what is used in schools (Carnine, 1997; Gersten, Morvant, & Brengelman, 1995; Klingner, Ahwee, Pilonieta, & Menendez, 2003). Malouf and Schiller (1995) caution that research to practice is not simply a linear model in which research knowledge can be directly applied in practice. They note that a linear model draws a fairly clear distinction between research and practice--innovations are developed and validated by research, then applied in practice (p. 421). Malouf and Schiller posit that such a distinction ignores a multitude of factors that actually impact practice, including teachers' procedural knowledge about how to use techniques and conditions for implementing new practices. Billups (1997) suggests that researchers and practitioners establish more opportunities to work together, emphasizing the need for researchers to receive direct feedback from practitioners on what happens when their research is used in classrooms. Lloyd, Weintraub, and Safer (1997) further note the need to examine practices within the realistic environments under which practitioners are expected to implement research-based methods, and note that environmental factors may make or break an innovation (p. 536). The research described in this article was designed as a researcher-practitioner partnership to determine how well techniques, which work well when tightly-controlled research occurs, transfer as success when teachers implement them around the day-to-day, and sometimes uncontrollable, factors that represent realistic environments and real life for them.

A distinctive feature of this research was that the researcher sought participation from the practitioners in designing content for the self-management intervention. The framework for designing and implementing self-management was pre-determined based on a synthesis of

95


previous research, but the details for the content were co-constructed between the practitioners and researcher around specific student behaviors. Collaboration requires dialogue, discussion, and compromise. Consequently, there were some aspects of control that the researcher relinquished in deference to what the practitioners, who usually provided indirect and consultative services for the two students, were able to accomplish given the logistics of their case loads and responsibilities with other students. Conversely, the practitioners committed to aspects of self-management implementation, such as adherence to direct instruction on self-management, that were predetermined requirements for the research. The purpose of this research was to determine the impact of self-management on students’ behaviors when their teachers collaborated with a researcher to design and implement aspects of the intervention.

MethodTeacher TrainingThe researcher recruited educators who were interested in the potential of self-management to promote students' independence with tasks that the students had already demonstrated they could perform, yet the students' performances were inconsistent and/or dependent on reminders and cues from adults in the environment. The two educators who participated in this study were both working with students on a consultative basis, and they had limited time for direct instruction with the students. One educator was a special education teacher with a master’s degree in special education and two years of teaching experience. The other educator was a physical therapist with licensing as a therapist and over ten years of experience.

Each educator met with the researcher across several sessions to discuss the self-management design and implementation framework, which is represented by the acronym SPIN (King-Sears & Carpenter, 1997; King-Sears, 1999; King-Sears & Bonfils, 1999):

S elect the student’s target behavior. P repare to teach self-management. I nstruct the student using the 10-step instructional sequence. N ote the impact of self-management on the student’s target behavior.The educators already had several students and student behaviors in mind when they volunteered to participate in this research, so initial conversations with the researcher focused on narrowing down the specific students they would work with, and the specific student behaviors they wanted to focus on for self-management instruction. The total amount of time for training and material development approximated 12 hours, which also included discussion of research parameters, dialogue about self-management content, observation of possible target students and their behaviors, and development of scripted lesson plans and student materials.

After selecting each student’s target behavior (see Dependent Variables), the focus shifted to preparation activities. These included determining what type of self-management device to use (e.g., self-monitoring, self-evaluation, or self-reinforcement), developing the device, and scripting the lesson plans for instruction on self-management. The focus during much of this time was on the 10-step instructional sequence (see Table 1 below, and the Independent Variable section), which became the teacher’s lesson plans and training scripts for measuring fidelity of treatment.

ParticipantsThe middle school special educator selected 8th grader (13 years old) Jason, a student labeled as other health impaired (for attention deficit disorder and gifted/learning disabilities) who was enrolled in general education classes throughout the day. Jason's most recent psychological report indicated that on the WISC III, his Verbal IQ was 130, Performance IQ was 102, and Full Scale IQ was 122. Strengths included superior verbal skills, creativity,

96


reasoning skills, and short-term memory. Weaknesses included attention to task, impulsivity, and social awareness. Standard scores for all academic areas measured by the WIAT ranged from 112 to 138.

Table 1INSTRUCT: 10-Step Instructional Process for Teaching Students to Use the Self-

Management System

10-Step Instructional Process

Introduce the target behavior

Identify and demonstrate examples and nonexamples of the target behavior.Discuss the importance of the target behavior.Provide practice of the target behavior and identify mastery criteria.

Introduce the self-management system

Describe the self-management system and its benefits.Model (think-aloud) the self-management device while performing the target behavior.

Provide practice and assess mastery

Provide guided practice for using the self-management device while performing the target behavior within a role-play situation.Assess student's mastery of the self-management device for guided practice within the role-play situation.Discuss the actual situation in which self-management will be used.Provide independent practice opportunities for using the self-management device while performing the target behavior within the actual situation.Assess student's mastery of the self-management device for independent practice within the actual situation.

Source: King-Sears, M. E., & Carpenter, S. L. (1997). Teaching self-management to elementary students with developmental disabilities (p. 25). Innovations (Research to Practice Series). Washington DC: American Association on Mental Retardation

Jason’s behaviors or concern related to his on-task performance and attentiveness during classes. His teachers were concerned that he was inconsistent in staying on-task and that he had variable attention to tasks throughout class periods. He was described as a bright, capable student who had trouble with organizational skills and work completion. On the Behavior Assessment for Children, disparity between his superior level of cognitive abilities (especially verbal) and the level of his social awareness was reported.

The physical therapist selected John, a 12-year-old 6th grade student whose primary disability label was multiple disabilities. He received special education services for academics, speech and language therapy for significant expressive and receptive language disabilities. He also received consultative services from an occupational therapist and physical therapist. John had received some type of specialized services since he was a toddler, when he was initially diagnosed with cerebral palsy with spastic hemiplegia and developmental disabilities. During 6th grade, he participated in general education elective courses for 28% of the school day. On the WISC III, his Verbal IQ was 58, Performance IQ was 68, and Full Scale IQ was 60. On the Woodcock Johnson Achievement Battery, standard scores for Broad Reading was 79, Math was 78, and Writing was 66. On the Morrison McCall Spelling Inventory, his grade equivalent was 3.9. On the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-R, the standard score was 57, and on the Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test, the standard score was 55. The

97


physical therapist was addressing IEP goals related to accessing his locker and transitioning between classes.

John's behavior of concern was his hallway travel behavior, which consisted of running in the halls, rushing down the steps, jumping down steps, and running into classrooms. He was physically able to ambulate independently on level ground, but had a history of rushing and not slowing down in hallways. He used a reciprocal gait pattern in ascending and descending stairs, and had been asked to use the hand rail on stairs but he did not consistently comply with this request. His therapist was particularly concerned because he was likely to harm himself and others when he ran in the halls and jumped down steps.

SettingsFor Jason, his general education math class was targeted as the setting for intervention. Block scheduling for classes occurred at this middle school, so math was a 90-minute block every-other day.

For John, hallway transition time between 5th and 6th periods were targeted, primarily because that was the time during the day that the physical therapist could commit to overseeing his performance. For this hallway travel, John needed to walk out of his classroom to his locker in the same hallway, down the hallway to walk down the stairs to a second hallway, and down the second hallway into the next classroom (the gymnasium for physical education class).

Dependent VariablesThe dependent variable for Jason was his on-task behavior during math class. Data for Jason's on-task behaviors were gathered using a 10-second partial interval recording system for 20 minutes during the first half of a 90-minute math class. On-task behaviors were operationally defined around five categories: movement, material use/gathering, talk, eye focus, and writing. Off-task behaviors that occurred at any point during the 10-second interval constituted the entire interval scored as off-task (i.e., partial interval recording). On-task intervals were recorded only when the entire interval consisted of on-task behaviors (whole interval recording). The data collector wore a headset with a cassette recorder containing a cassette tape that emitted tones every 10 seconds. For 20 minutes during the first half of the 90-minute period, research data were gathered randomly at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of instructional sessions.

The dependent variable for John was safe walking in the hallway. Data for John were gathered using a 10-second momentary time sampling recording system during the time he was traveling in the hallways. Safe hall travel behaviors were operationally defined as safe/appropriate or unsafe/inappropriate for movement. Safe movement in the hallways was walking at all times with no stopping, and movement was considered unsafe if he was running, skipping, or jumping. Because the general case of safe and appropriate hall travel was targeted, talking was also operationally defined as appropriate in that he could wave to peers or teachers or say hello and have conversations with peers or teachers as he was walking in the hallway. The data collector wore a headset attached to a cassette tape that emitted tones every ten seconds. When she heard the tone, she noted whether or not John was traveling safely at that moment in time. The data collector positioned herself in the stairwell so that she could observe John as he walked out of his 5th period class and down the first hallway, and she could unobtrusively watch him in the stairwell by standing near a corner on the landing, and then she could follow him as he walked in the second hallway to his 6th period class. The data collector was cautioned not to run or endanger herself to follow John when he was

98


running, but to follow him safely and note intervals as cannot see if he was out of her line of vision.

Interobserver ReliabilityData collectors initially viewed videotapes of the students to practice and refine data collection activities, and then practiced in the school settings to both desensitize students to their presence and attain inter-rater reliability. Four data collectors were trained as two teams (one team per school), and each team achieved above 80% inter-observer reliability prior to commencing research data collection activities in the school settings. All data collectors were blind to experimental treatments throughout the study. Inter-observer reliability sessions for research data were conducted approximately one time per week using the most stringent reliability measures recommended by Tawney and Gast (1984), which involved cell-by-cell matches. Reliability was determined by first counting the number of cells that matched and dividing that number by the total number of cells with a notation and multiplying that number by 100. When occurrences of the behavior occurred less than 75% of the session, the number of occurrences agreed upon were divided by the number of cells with agreements and disagreements for occurrences, and that number was multiplied by 100. When occurrences occurred more than 75% of the session, then the number of non-occurrences agreed upon were divided by the number of cells with agreements and disagreements for non-occurrences, and then that number was multiplied by 100.

Design and Condition SequenceFor both students, a changing conditions design was planned, consisting of baseline (A), training for self-management (B), and independent use of self-management (C). Alberto and Troutman (1999) define changing conditions as an experimental design that requires sequentially changing the conditions for student’s behaviors to determine the relative impact on the target behavior. Because previous studies had indicated that concurrent generalization can occur when students are being trained on self-management (King-Sears, 1999; King-Sears & Bonfils, 1999), there was some evidence to indicate that a similar pattern might occur in Condition B for this study. As will be noted later in this article, there were some problems with teacher follow-up during the student’s independent use of self-management (Condition C) which necessitated a fourth condition (D) of teacher follow-up.

The design selected for this research is not reflective of researchers’ desire for a design that supports a functional relationship. However, as the researcher also desired to examine what happens when well-researched methods are used by practitioners, the changing conditions design was an area where the researcher deferred to the practitioners’ desire for confining their implementation to one setting. Moxley (1998) also notes that a treatment only design can be more realistic and practical for teachers to use.

Materials Used for Self-Management InstructionMaterials of packets of Cue Cards were developed to provide written information about self-management (i.e., the target behaviors with examples and non-examples were written down, definitions of self-management and goal-setting were provided, and practice sheets were included), structure for sequencing the instruction, and note-taking formats for student use during instruction.

Each teacher developed the self-management devices for her student to use. Jason's (see Table 2 next page ) was a self-monitoring device that he used to note whether he was displaying productive (on-task) or interfering (off-task) behaviors when a tone sounded. Two sets of cassette tones were developed; one had tones that were 10 to 60 seconds apart, which was used when he was first learning about how to use the device. The second cassette had tones

99


every 3 to 5 minutes for the duration of 45 minutes (which was half of the 90-minute block math period).

John's self-management device was for self-evaluation, in which he noted whether he earned a "0" or a "1" rating for safe hall travel for each of three segments of the travel route when he arrived at his next class (see Table 3). Both self-management devices also contained a section for students to set individual goals for themselves. The goal-setting component for self-management was used to (a) set the stage for self-determination and self-advocacy skills, (b) promote students' awareness of and responsibility for their own behaviors, and (c) explicitly incorporate student involvement in predicting and reflecting on their performance.

Table 2Jason's Self-Management Device

Name:______________ Date: ___________________

Class: _____________ Today's productivity goal: _______

Did I write down my homework? yes no

Am I working productively when I hear the tone?

Productive?

Interfering?

Did I reach my goal? yes no

Daily goal: On the days that you meet your daily goal, place * in that Daily Goal box.Independent Variable: Procedures for Teaching Self-ManagementSelf-management was taught using a 10-step instructional sequence (the Instruct phase of the SPIN framework). The 10-steps fell within three stages (refer to Table 2): (a) introduce the target behavior; (b) introduce the self-management system; and (c) practice self-management with mastery.

Prior to beginning the Steps, each teacher briefly described the instructional unit's purpose, identified benefits students could derive from participating in the instruction, and asked students if they were interested in hearing more about a technique that could assist them in school. Throughout instruction, each day's session began with an advanced organizer of what would be covered during that session, and concluded with review statements that summarized that session and involved the students in practicing the content from that day's session and previous sessions.

Introduce the target behavior: Steps 1, 2, and 3. Step 1 involved identifying and demonstrating examples and non-examples of the targeted behavior. Educators named the behaviors, described what each looked like, and demonstrated all examples and non-examples.Describing benefits from using self-management was Step 2. Key to this Step was discussing with and eliciting from the students benefits that they valued from self-managing particular behaviors. For both educators, the tendency to impose their benefits was tempered with the requirement that each student contribute at least one reason that he valued for self-managing. Each educator had several benefits already developed in their lesson plans and written on Cue

100


Cards, but each student was expected to contribute to those benefits, too. For example, for Jason a benefit that he targeted was how increasing his productivity behaviors could help him get better grades on his report card.

Table 3John's Self-Management Device

Student Name: Week beginning date:

My Weekly Goal # is ________________.

Day Daily Goal Daily Total Travel Areas Safety Rating

Monday upstairs hall

stairs

gym hall

Tuesday upstairs hall

stairs

gym hall

Wednesday upstairs hall

stairs

gym hall

Thursday upstairs hall

stairs

gym hall

Friday upstairs hall

stairs

gym hall

WEEKLY TOTAL Did you meet your weekly goal?

Safety ratings: "1" for completely safe travel for that area, "0" for any unsafe travel for that area

Step 3 required students to participate in practicing the target behavior and to identify mastery criteria. Each student demonstrated and identified the examples and non-examples of their respective targeted behaviors, and referred to their Cue Cards whenever they wanted to.

Introduce the self-management system: Steps 4 and 5. Step 4 was the first time that the self-management device itself was shown to the students. Content on the device was thoroughly

101


explained, including definitions and analogies for the terms self-management and goal-setting. Each student watched his teacher demonstrate the device's use and discuss the content on the device. Explicit links to how the device is used to monitor the previously discussed examples and non-examples of targeted behaviors occurred in Step 4. Setting goals was also described and then demonstrated:

Step 5 involved the teacher modeling how to use the self-management device while performing the targeted behavior. The demonstration from Step 4 continued to occur, only in Step 5, the teacher conducted think alouds for her thought process while using the device. OK. I've just walked into class. Hmmm...I need to remember what Ms. Dennis and I practiced for productive working and getting all my work done. OK. The first thing I need to do is write down my homework. To do that, I need to get out my materials. Do I have everything I need? I need to look...yes, I do...now I need to look at the board and copy the homework. I better hurry--I remember Ms. Dennis said I have less than a minute to do this. OK. I'll copy the homework now. There's the beep--was I being productive just now? Yes, so I mark my form...

Jason's teacher used a cassette tape with more frequent tones (10 to 60 second intervals) at first. Then they used the cassette tape with the authentic tones (3 to 5 minutes).

John's therapist practiced in a small classroom initially, and then practiced in varied hallways at the school. Content from previous steps continued to be reviewed and emphasized (e.g., benefits, identifying examples and non-examples, telling why a behavior is safe/productive), and demonstrating and modeling roles were traded back and forth (sometimes the teacher modeled examples and non-examples, sometimes the student modeled examples and non-examples).

Provide practice and assess mastery B. Then use it! Steps 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Step 6 consisted of providing guided practice within role-play situations, and students' active involvement and intense practice escalated during this step. Role plays continued, with the emphasis in this step to decrease the teacher's involvement and increase the student's proficiency with how, when, why, and where to use the self-management system.

Step 7 focused on the student’s mastery of using the self-management device. Students needed to show that they knew when to use self-management, how to use the self-management device accurately, and that they could perform the behaviors necessary for using self-management while using the device. Then for Step 8, students were reminded of both the specific setting in which they would begin using the device and the date when they would begin using the device. Steps 9 and 10 were actually combined, and consisted of observing the student on one occasion using self-management in the actual setting and determining whether the educators observed improved student performance relative to the target behaviors. Step 9 and 10 occurred on the first occasion of the student using self-management in the actual setting. These steps then flowed into the N segment of the SPIN framework: Note the student’s performance.

Fidelity of TreatmentInstructional sessions occurred individually with each student. Each teacher developed a script that described the lesson plans for each of the 10 Steps. Three of the instructional sessions were videotaped for fidelity of treatment analysis. A data collector who was blind to the treatments viewed the videotapes and used a 10-second whole interval recording technique to determine if the teachers were (a) following the script, (b) using an appropriate pace for the lesson, and (c) providing appropriate practice. Interobserver reliability was conducted for one of the three videotaped lessons using the same stringent computations as those used for interobserver reliability.

102


Each educator also kept a journal to document the date, the Step number, how long each session lasted, and a general description of how each instructional session went. Educators included subjective comments, impressions, and observations about student's responses and reactions to the instruction. Jason's teacher taught the 10-step sequence across four sessions for a total of 2 hours and 5 minutes of instruction. John's teacher taught the 10-step sequence across twelve sessions for a total of 6 hours and 30 minutes of instruction. For neither teacher were the sessions on consecutive days; each was needing to fit in the instruction around their schedules.

ResultsBaseline DataDuring math, Jason's baseline on-task behaviors were 45%, with a range from 32 to 57% (see Figure 1). John's baseline safe hallway travel was 50%, with a range from 20 to 75% (see Figure 1). The variability in these ranges are not unusual, and typically ranges such as these indicate that self-management is a good match as an intervention. That is, the variable ranges indicate that the students can perform the target behaviors, but do not perform them consistently and at desirable levels.

Data During Self-Management TrainingDuring the time that Jason was being trained to use self-management in a separate classroom, his on-task behaviors in the math classroom increased to 77% (range 73 to 80%). While John was being trained to use self-management in a separate classroom, his safe hallway travel increased to 61% (range 0 to 100%).

Data After Self-Management TrainingAfter self-management training was completed for Jason and he began using self-management independently, his on-task behaviors for math were 51% (range 39 to 61%). After self-management training was completed for John and he began using self-management independently, his safe hallway travel was 61% (range 38 to 100%).

Examining the reasons for Condition C data. Neither student’s data was as high during independent use of self-management as was anticipated, and so the researcher queried the teachers about what they perceived was going on. Upon examining the events occurring for each student, the last component of the SPIN sequence was not occurring. Neither teacher was Noting the student’s performance and following-up with them about how self-management was working for them. Prompting teachers to follow-through and follow-up. The researcher shared the students’ data with their teachers and discussed whether omission of the teacher follow-up could be the factor impacting the students’ data. Each teacher then followed-up with the student, and more details on the nature of the follow-up are provided in the Discussion section.

Data After Teacher Follow-Up OccurredAfter Jason’s teacher followed up with him, his on-task behaviors increased to 73% in math (range 51 to 89%). After John’s teacher followed up with him, his safe hall travel behaviors increased to 76% (range 65 to 89%).

Inter-observer Reliability for Researcher DataFor the data collectors watching Jason, the inter-observer reliability was 83% for cell-by-cell reliability. For the data collectors watching John, the inter-observer reliability was 97% for cell-by-cell reliability.

103


Figure 1. Research data for Jason and John.

DiscussionThe data indicated that while each student was being trained to use self-management, concurrent generalization was occurring in the targeted settings. Yet when the instruction ended and the student was expected to use his self-management system independently, although data indicated students' performances were improved from baseline, the data were not as high as they were when the students were being trained, which was also when they were frequently seeing the educator for the self-management training.

Although there had been frequent communication between the researcher and practitioners, all assumed that the majority of their work had occurred in designing and implementing the self-management intervention. Indeed this was true, because the majority of the hours needed for designing and implementing self-management occur prior to the student using it independently. However, their work did not end when students’ independent use of self-management began, and the data for each student’s Condition C prompted further examination of why anticipated success was not occurring

104


Fidelity of treatment was high and had occurred for the 10-step instructional sequence (Instruct) of SPIN. Fidelity, however, needed to extend to include the follow-up as designed in Note the student’s performance using self-management. Although the researcher anticipated that the teachers were following-through on follow-up, for various reasons they were not able to do so.

Follow-Up With JasonJason’s teacher presumed that because self-management was designed to result in a student’s independent performance of the target behaviors that her role was complete after she had completed the Instruct component (i.e., using the 10-step instructional sequence). She anticipated that once Jason learned the self-management, the instruction was complete and she did not need to continue to oversee his performance. Conversely, the researcher presumed that Jason’s teacher realized that adhering to the final phase of SPIN required follow-up immediately after instruction ended for the purpose of ensuring that self-management was having its desired impact. Two critical components of the self-management intervention’s success with Jason would not have been realized if follow-up had not occurred. First, Jason informed his teacher that he anticipated seeing her weekly to share his performance with her, and that he was discouraged when those weekly meetings were canceled by her due to her responsibilities elsewhere. Second, Jason reported that shortly after he began to use the self-management system independently in math class that another student had taped over the toned tape. The teacher was unaware of this until she followed-up with Jason after the researcher informed her of the research data. Recall that as a consulting teacher, she was not typically seeing Jason on a regular basis (except during self-management training) and did not have a frequent communication system in place with him.

When she was able to briefly follow-up with the student (within two weeks she was able to have a brief hallway conversation with Jason about his use of self-management), more promising results occurred. Implications may be that follow-up does not need to be extensive and time-consuming, but it does need to occur. Encouragingly, during brief conversations with Jason, he related to his teacher that he was anxious to receive a new audiotape and resume using the system.

Follow-Up With JohnJohn's therapist reported a different type of reason for not being able to follow up with John, and that was because she was ill for two weeks immediately after John completed his instructional sequence. Consequently, she was unable to directly follow-up with John until she returned to the school site after recovering from her illness. She reported that, although John claimed he had been using the system, that the number of blank self-management devices in his locker indicated that he was not using it consistently nor frequently. John began to use the self-management during the first week after he completed training, as evidenced by his completed devices for that week. No self-management notations were on subsequent devices for the remaining time until the therapist returned to school and followed up with him. In absence of someone checking on his use of self-management, he was not consistently using it. After the therapist returned to school and followed-up with John, his performance improved.

Limitations and LessonsA changing conditions design precludes evidence of a functional relationship between an intervention and target behavior, so although visual inspection of the data may tentatively indicate a functional relationship, the design itself is not conducive toward proof of such. It is also difficult to claim that the impact of self-management instruction would occur similarly for other students, based on these data from two students. As noted at the onset of this article, there were some compromises between the researcher and practitioners regarding the

105


stringency of some aspects of the research. For example, the researcher would have preferred consecutive sessions for training the students on self-management, but the practitioners were not able to fit that into their schedules. Some of this research was suspended during school break periods (e.g., spring break, school-wide assessments), which also impacted some of the desired consistency for implementation.

Limitations of this study also include that two different students’ behaviors were studied with two different educators implementing the self-management interventions. Even when both students did not increase desired behaviors consistently until teacher follow-up occurred, that relationship may be unique to these two particular students. Of further interest is that similar effects occurred for two very different students in terms of their characteristics, profiles, and targeted behaviors. Such information does have implications for practitioners who set out to teach self-management in hopes of immediate and lasting effects, absent some amount of teacher follow-up.

This study was also clearly an attempt to examine whether well-researched techniques, when implemented by practitioners working around a variety of real-life factors, maintain results attained in highly-controlled research settings. At least for these students, simply teaching the self-management system and then asking them to independently use the system in another setting does not suffice. Similarly, Freeman and Dexter-Mazza (2004) found that adult feedback was necessary for an adolescent with disruptive classroom behavior to increase desired behaviors. They concluded that adult feedback may be an essential component when using self-monitoring as an intervention.

Although the SPIN framework includes a component for follow-up, some teachers may feel that is an expendable component and feel that after instruction has occurred, the students’ independent and proficient performance should commence and be sustained. The data from this study indicates that follow-up was necessary, albeit for different reasons, for both of these students. For some students who are taught self-management, teachers need to plan and adhere to a follow-up system that provides opportunities for them to Note whether self-management is having its desired impact, reinforce the student’s use of the newly-acquired behavior, and make adjustments if any components need revisions or refinements.

These results may seem contradictory of what self-management is intended to be: a way that students can control themselves without teachers prompting them. However, it may be that expecting some students, even after sufficient instruction in which they've demonstrated mastery, to transfer the system to the authentic setting without any follow-up or feedback is unreasonable, too. Ideally, students could automatically use and internalize the techniques whenever they need to use them; however, some students with disabilities, even when self-management is the technique, may not immediately perform well without some continued follow-up and accountability. In both of these situations, follow-up was conducted briefly (e.g., 5 to 15 minutes) on two to three occasions, and consisted of updates on the student's progress, determining if the intended benefits were occurring, and reviewing the targeted behaviors. The follow-up sessions seemed to be the extra boost that students needed to resume accurate and consistent use of the self-management systems.Carnine (1997) suggests that research results may be perceived as more usable by practitioners if they are involved in the research to increase its relevance, if practitioners collaborate during the research to increase its practicality, and if implementation settings are extended to increase its transportability. The collaboration between the researcher and practitioners in this study was designed to increase the transportability of self-management as an intervention. In doing so, the major lesson learned seems to be how critical it is for follow-up to occur. Because the practitioners were involved in designing the self-management system and instruction, they reported afterwards that they felt more knowledgeable and

106


capable of designing similar systems with other students. Had they not been so heavily involved in the design of self-management, they noted they would not necessarily have felt confident about designing other self-management systems. Moreover, they also acknowledged that they were unaware that when they discarded some aspects of interventions that they may also be inadvertently compromising the interventions’ potential for success. It must be noted that their time investment thus far had been considerable, yet clearly the final pieces of following up with the students were also critical pieces for ensuring its success.

At face value, self-management appears to be a straightforward procedure with clear benefits. However, the underlying motivation and students' internalization to use self-management cannot be sold short; systematic instruction on self-management may need to include checkups that promote students' sustained use and reinforcement as students are acquiring internal controls. Given the relationship among self-management, self-determination, and independence (Doll, Sands, Wehmeyer, & Palmer, 1996; Palmer & Wehmeyer, 2003), the issue should not be whether to teach self-management, but to continue explorations that translate research to practice by teaming with practitioners. Well-researched techniques that make their way into practitioners’ hands need to maintain the critical components that led toward their initial success with students. When critical components are omitted, desired success with students may not be achieved.

ReferencesAlberto, P. A., & Troutman, A. C. (1999). Applied behavior analysis for teachers (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.Billups, L. H. (1997). Response to bridging the research-to-practice gap. Exceptional Children, 63, 525-527.Browder, D. M., & Shapiro, E. S. (1985). Applications of self-management to individuals with severe handicaps: A review. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 10, 200-208.Carnine, D. (1997). Bridging the research-to-practice gap. Exceptional Children, 63, 513-521.Carpenter, S. L., Musy, T. M., & King-Sears, M. E. (1997). Behavior management. In D. F. Bradley, M. E. King-Sears, & D. M. Switlick Teaching students in inclusive settings (pp. 322-364. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.Doll, B., Sands, D. J., Wehmeyer, M. L., & Palmer, S. (1996). Promoting the development and acquisition of self-determined behavior. In D. J. Sands & M. L. Wehmeyer (Eds.) Self-determination across the life span: Independence and choice for people with disabilities (pp. 65-90). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.Falk, G. D., Dunlap, G., & Kern, L. (1996). An analysis of self-evaluation and videotape feedback for improving the peer interactions of students with externalizing and internalizing behavioral problems. Behavioral Disorders, 21, 261-276.Fantuzzo, J. W., Rohrbeck, C. A., & Azar, S. T. (1987). A component analysis of behavioral self-management interventions with elementary school students. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 9(1/2), 33-43.Firman, K. B., Beare, P., & Loyd, R. (2002). Enhancing self-management in students with mental retardation: Extrinsic versus intrinsic procedures. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 37, 163-171.Freeman, K. A., & Dexter-Mazza, E. T. (2004). Using self-monitoring with an adolescent with disruptive classroom behavior. Behavior Modification, 28, 402-419.Gersten, R., Morvant, M., & Brengelman, S. (1995). Close to the classroom is close to the bone: Coaching as a means to translate research into classroom practice. Exceptional Children, 62, 52-66.Graham, S., Harris, K. R., & Reid, R. (1992). Developing self-regulated learners. Focus on Exceptional Children, 24(6), 1-16.Grigal, M., Neubert, D. A., Moon, M. S., & Graham, S. (2003). Self-determination for students with disabilities: Views of parents and teachers. Exceptional Children, 70, 97-112.

107


Horner, R. H., & Brigham, T. A. (1979). The effects of self-management procedures on the study behavior of two retarded children. Education and Training of the Mentally Retarded, 41, 18-24.Hughes, C., Copeland, S. R., Agran, M., Wehmeyer, M. L., Rodi, M. S., & Presley, J. A. (2002). Using self-monitoring to improve performance in general education high school classes. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 37, 262-272.Karvonen, M., Test, D. W., Wood, W. M., Browder, D., & Algozzine, B. (2004). Putting self-determination into practice. Exceptional Children, 71, 23-41.King-Sears, M. E. (1999). Teacher and researcher co-design self-management content for a student in an inclusive setting: Research training, intervention, and generalization effects on student performance. Education and Training in Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities, 34, 134-156.King-Sears, M. E., & Bonfils, K. (1999). Self-management instruction for middle school students with learning disabilities and emotional disturbance. Intervention in School & Clinic, 35, 96-107.King-Sears, M. E., & Carpenter, S. L. (1997). Teaching self-management to elementary students with developmental disabilities. Innovations (Research to Practice Series). Washington DC: American Association on Mental Retardation.Klingner, J. K., Ahwee, S., Pilonieta, P., & Menendez, R. (2003). Barriers and facilitators in scaling up research-based practices. Exceptional Children, 69, 411-429.Lalli, E. P., & Shapiro, E. S. (1990). The effects of self-monitoring and contingent reward on sight word acquisition. Education and Treatment of Children, 13, 129-141.Lloyd, J. W., Weintraub, F. J., & Safer, N. D. (1997). A bridge between research and practice: Building consensus. Exceptional Children, 63, 535-538.Malouf, D. B., & Schiller, E. P. (1995). Practice and research in special education. Exceptional Children, 61, 414-424.McDougall, D., & Brady, M. P. (1998). Initiating and fading self-management interventions to increase math fluency in general education classes. Exceptional Children, 64, 151-166.Moxley, R. A. (1998). Treatment-only designs and student self-recording as strategies for public school teachers. Education and Treatment of Children, 21, 37-61.Palmer, S. B., & Wehmeyer, M. L. (2003). Promoting self-determination in early elementary school: Teaching self-regulated problem-solving and goal-setting skills. Remedial and Special Education, 24, 115-126.Pierce, K. L., & Schreibman, L. (1994). Teaching daily living skills to children with autism in unsupervised settings through pictorial self-management. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 471-481.Prater, M. A., Hogan, S., & Miller, R. (1992). Using self-monitoring to improve on-task behavior and academic skills of an adolescent with mild handicaps across special and general education settings. Education and Treatment of Children, 15, 43-55.Strain, P. S., Kohler, F. W., Storey, K., & Danko, C. D. (1994). Teaching preschoolers with autism to self-monitor their social interactions: An analysis of results in home and school settings. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 2(2), 78-88.Tawney, J. W., & Gast, D. L. (1984). Single subject research in special education. Columbus, OH: Merrill.Wood, S. J., Murdock, J. Y, & Cronin, M. E. (2002). Self-monitoring and at-risk middle school students. Behavior Modification, 26, 605-626.

108


HIGH-FUNCTIONAL AUTISM: AN OVERVIEW OF CHARACTERISTICS AND RELATED ISSUES

Ann X. Huangand

John J. WheelerTennessee Technological University

Individuals with high-functioning autism are characterized by almost normal language ability and intelligence as well as social, pragmatic impairments. Before the 1980s, limited research was focused on this disorder. This paper reviews previous research on this underserved population with a hope that we are able to gain some insights from existing literature and seek directions for future research. The definition and diagnostic criteria for high-functioning autism are addressed first, and then followed by an overview of the characteristics of these individuals and its relationship with Aspergers syndrome. Finally, research on the social/emotional well being of individuals with this disorder will be introduced as will research on theory of mind and other related research in the fields of neuroscience and cognitive science.

Since Kanner first published his groundbreaking study on autism in 1943, countless researchers have focused their research interest on this disorder. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM-IV, 1994), individuals with autism are characterized by impairments in normal social interaction and/or communication, and by repetitive behavior and/or interest. This pervasive developmental disability usually occurs before the age of three and may last for a lifetime. Although research in the past few decades has led to great progress in this field, its causes are still unknown.

Since the 1970s, a lot of researchers have been working hard to advance people’s understanding of individuals with this disorder as well as to develop behavioral and educational interventions to improve their social communication abilities and daily functioning skills. However, most existing studies are focused on young children or elementary students with moderate to severe autism (especially in recent years, society has begun to realize the essential importance of early identification and early intervention for conditions such as autism), comparatively, individuals with high-functioning autism (HFA) are underserved. To better serve this disadvantaged group, more exploration and greater public awareness need to occur.

According to Kanner (1943), individuals with autism can be defined as high functioning if they have almost normal language ability and intelligence. As mentioned previously, HFA received comparatively little attention of researchers until recently in the United States. Several researchers began studying individuals with HFA in the late 1980s (e.g., Levy, 1986; Tsai & Scott-Miller, 1988). They found that these individuals have very different

109


characteristics, strengths and needs from those with moderate to severe autism (Levy, 1986; Tsai, 1992).

This article is an overview of existing literature on high functioning autism, concerning its definition and diagnostic criteria, characteristics (strengths and needs), its relationship with Asperger syndrome, its related emotional problems, and explanation of theory of mind, as well as other related research in the fields of neuroscience and cognitive science. Such an overview is essential in the hope that we are able to gain some insights from existing research and seek directions for future research.

Definition and Diagnostic CriteriaWithin existing literature, researchers proposed several similar definitions for high-functioning autism. Researchers from Yale University defined high-functioning autism as individuals with autism whose full-scale IQ is greater than 70, without significant language and intellectual delays (Rubin & Lennon, 2004). Attwood (2003) reported the term high-functioning autism was initially used to describe individuals who demonstrated typical symptoms of autism when they were young children, but as they grow older, they gradually showed greater degree of cognition, social and adaptive behavior skills with good long-term clinical outcomes compared to other children diagnosed with autism. Based on previous research and the ICD-10th (International Classification of Disease, 10th revision) system, Tsai (1992) proposed a specific definition for high-functioning autism as follows:

High functioning autism is a subtype of pervasive developmental disorders. It is defined by the presence of slightly abnormal and/or mildly impaired development in the areas of social interaction and communication, as well as by the presence of restricted, repetitive behavior. The characteristic type of abnormal functioning is manifested before the age of 3 years. There is some difficulty in domestic, school, occupational, or social functioning, but there are some meaningful interpersonal relationships (p. 36).

Although many researchers believed it is necessary to further sub-classify autism (e.g., Tsai, 1992), it is frustrated to know that even today, no standardized or official diagnostic criteria are available for HFA, despite the fact that some researchers (i.e., Tsai & Scott-Miller, 1988) have already called for clearer diagnostic criteria for this population since almost twenty years ago. Among the existing literature, Tsai (1992) proposed the following diagnostic criteria according to the ICD-10th:

A. Criteria A, B, C, and D as described in the proposed ICD-10 definition and diagnostic criteria of childhood autism (see early section).

B. Nonverbal IQ of 70 or above on an individually administered standardized test.

C. Language comprehension, as assessed on a standardized test, that fall no lower than one standard deviation below the mean for children younger than the age of 8, or two standard deviations for children age 8 or older.

D. Expressive language skills, as assessed on a standardized test, that falls no lower than one standard deviation below the mean for children younger than the age of 8, or two standard deviations for children age 8 or older.

E. Social functioning, as assessed on a standardized test that falls no lower than one standard deviation below the mean for children younger than the age of 8, or two standard deviations for children age 8 or older.

F. The clinical picture is not attributable to the other varieties of pervasive developmental disorders; specific developmental disorder of receptive language with secondary socio-emotional

110


problems; reactive attachment disorder or disinhibited attachment disorder; Asperger’s syndrome; obsessive-compulsive disorders; Tourette syndrome, or schizophrenia of unusually early onset (p. 36).

Characteristics of Individuals with HFA: Cognitive ProfilesOverall, individuals with HFA display many different characteristics from other members of the autistic population. Based on findings from previous neuropsychological studies, this session introduces the cognitive profiles of individuals with HFA in the following areas: (1) intelligence, strengths and needs; (2) attention, language and social communication skills; and (3) exceptional strengths, academic ability and learning style; as well as (4) executive functioning. A better understanding of this population is essential and can help us design more appropriate and effective educational interventions for these individuals. Intelligence, Strengths & Needs

Although individuals with HFA have almost normal intellectual and language development, researchers have found cognitive development is uneven within this group (Lincoln, Courchesne, Kilman, Elmasian, & Allen, 1988; Rubin & Lennon, 2004), which was consistent with the findings of previous studies. Research showed that “IQ test profiles vary with developmental level” among individuals with HFA (Rumsey, 1992, p. 44). For example, those who with lower Full Scale IQs (below 85) showed better performance scores than verbal scores, while those with higher Full Scale IQs demonstrated almost no discrepancies in verbal scores (Szatmari, Tuff, Finlayson, & Bartolucci, 1990). Some researchers believed, for individuals with HFA, it is the social-affective impairments that are the basic concern, but not cognitive deficits (Fein, Penington, Markowitz, Braverman, & Waterhouse, 1986). Conversely, other researchers argued that cognitive deficits are the basis on which social impairments rest (Rutter, 1987). Based on previous studies, researcher summarized the relative strengths and challenges of this population as follows:

Relative strengths:Visual discrimination; Visual spatial processing; Capacity to focus or sustain attention for static visual information; Ability to immediately recall information of a rote nature; Recall of discrete information versus more complex or conceptual information; Associative learning (e.g., stimulus-response learning, paired learning); Procedural learning (e.g., calculations, reproduction of music, and drawings)Relative challenges:Expressive and receptive language; Disengaging and/or shifting attention; Shifting attention between response modalities (e.g., between auditory to visual); Making rapid changes to task expectations; Recalling information in the absence of contextual or semantic cues; Organizing information; Recalling aspects of a learning episode that are not explicitly targeted; Coping with new information due to cognitive inflexibility, incomplete understanding of implicit concepts, or problems in strategy generation (Tsatsanis, 2004, p. 262).

Attention, Language, & Social Communication SkillLimited research has been done to measure attention in individuals with HFA. According to previous studies on individuals with classic autism, these individuals tend to show rare narrow attention and inability to shift attention flexibly (Rumsey, 1992). Recent research indicated that most members of this group face challenges in two major areas: joint attention and symbol use (National Research Council [NRC], 2001; Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin, & Laurent, 2003; Prizant, Wetherby, & Rydell, 2000; Rubin & Lennon, 2004). Rubin and Lennon (2004) believe these two areas play essential role in social learning: they have tremendous influence

111

Ivan, 03/01/-1,

Not sure that ‘and’ is the correct conjunction here: the connection between the two parts of the sentence is not clear. You need to say why a better understanding of this population is essential. I suspect you mean it is essential because ‘it can help us design more appropriate… education interventions’. If this is not your intended meaning, you need to restructure the sentence.

Ivan, 03/01/-1,

Again, be careful with tense. As this was published in 2004, it is basically contemporary, so the present tense is better. Present perfect is also fine: ‘Rubin and Lennon have argued…”

Ivan, 03/01/-1,

Not quite clear on your meaning here. Do you mean these individuals rarely show narrow attention?

Ivan, 03/01/-1,

Should you be using the past tense here, or is the debate ongoing, in which case the present tense would be more appropriate.

Ivan, 03/01/-1,

Should reference these previous studies.


on the development of social communication skills in individuals with HFA. They have identified common social communication challenges in this group in these two areas:Capacity for joint attention:

a. Determining the attentional focus, perspectives, and intentions of others.b. Perceiving emotional states and considering plausible causal factors.c. Initiating and maintaining conversational exchanges that are sensitive to the social context, the interests of others, and the previous knowledge of those involved.d. Recognizing and repairing breakdowns in communicative exchanges on the basis of misinterpretations or the emotional reactions of others.

Capacity for symbol use: a. Understanding and using more sophisticated language as a means to clarify intentions.b. Understanding and using nonverbal cues (e.g., gestures, facial expression, body proximity, and intonation) as a means to clarify intentions such as emotion, humor, sarcasm, and non-literal meanings.c. Understanding and adhering to social conventions and cultural norms for initiating, exchanging turns, and terminating interactions.d. Using language as a tool for guiding behavior, collaborating with others, and emotional regulation (Rubin & Lennon, 2004, p. 273).

Language delay in early childhood is evident in individuals with HFA (Rubin & Lennon, 2004). Such individuals can read at early childhood and may have relatively sophisticated vocabularies (Fullerton, 1996). However, they cannot use language to communicate with people around them effectively because of pragmatic deficits: they tend to engage in nonreciprocal and preservative speech and language, with flat intonation, and without following the flow, give-and-take, or focus of conversation (Rumsey, 1992, p. 50). Language problems, such as self-talking, word or phrase repetition, nonsense speech, and failure to comprehend words in different contexts (literalness), as well as inflexibility, can be found in individuals with HFA (Dewey & Everward, 1974; Rumsey, 1992).

Researchers have found that time and experience can improve receptive and expressive language in some individuals with HFA (Cantwell & Baker, 1989; Lord & Paul, 1997; Paul & Cohen, 1984). However for some people with this disorder, echolalia language may last into adolescence or even adulthood, especially when communicating with unfamiliar people (Rydell & Prizant, 1995). This is consistent with a recent study on sentence comprehension in HFA, which suggested that different degrees of information integration and synchronization in language processing can be found in individuals with HFA (Just, Cherkassky, Keller, & Minshew, 2004, p. 1811).

It is evident that individuals with autism show both verbal and nonverbal communication deficits (Rumsey, Andreasen, & Rapoport, 1986). Researchers found individuals with HFA demonstrate fewer nonverbal communication skills such as facial expression or gestures, compared to their typical peers (Rubin & Lennon, 2004). They are also unable to comprehend complex social interaction, or to understand other people’s emotional states through reading their facial expressions and body language (Rubin & Lennon, 2004). They are insensitive to social and emotional cues, with limited awareness of what causes these emotional states (Klin, Jones, Schultz, & Volkmar, 2003). Some researchers have suggested that it is these deficits in the use of pragmatic language that result in the social learning disabilities in individuals with HFA (Landa, 2000). Other researchers also believe that their inappropriate social behavior may stem from their poor social comprehension (Rubin & Lennon, 2004). In

112

Ivan, 03/01/-1,

Use of ‘they’ is a bit clumsy here, because you have used it to refer to something else in the previous sentence. You could name the authors, or use the title of their work: “In Challenges…, Rubin and Lennon identified…”


the eyes of typically developing people, this population lacks empathy, is unable to appreciate humor, and may appear eccentric or aloof (Rumsey, 1992).Exceptional Strengths, Academic Ability & Learning Style

Despite their vulnerabilities in social communication, individuals with HFA actually demonstrate relative strengths in visual-spatial perception and visual memory (Rubin & Lennon, 2004, p. 280). According to Tsatsanis (2004), individuals with this disorder usually acquire new information through rote memory, classical conditioning (stimulus-response learning), and mechanical/procedural learning (p. 263). Previous studies have also suggested that many individuals with HFA have unusual visual memory (or rote memory) and can learn detailed, concrete things very well (Fullerton, 1996; Rumsey, 1992), even though they may not be able to comprehend (Fullerton, 1996). Previous research indicated individuals with HFA have difficulty retrieving information effectively rather than encoding information (Bennetto et al., 1996).

Besides their relative strengths in visual-spatial perception and visual memory, some individuals with HFA also excel in some specific areas, such as calculating and solving math problems, artistic giftedness (e.g., drawing & music), and supersensory perception (e.g., the ability to complete puzzles or form boards unusually quickly) (Tsai, 1992). Rumsey and Hamburger (1990) found many individuals with HFA demonstrate sound ability in the areas of reading, spelling and calculating. However, compared with their dyslexic peers, their abilities to comprehend and to use semantic context are poor (Frith & Snowing, 1983).

Executive FunctionExecutive dysfunction in individuals with autism and Asperger syndrome has been documented in the existing literature for more than two decades (Bennetto, Pennington, & Rogers, 1996; McEvoy, Rogers, & Pennington, 1993; Ozonoff & McEvoy, 1994; Ozonoff, Pennington, & Rogers, 1991; Rumsey, 1985). Executive function (EF) includes such abilities as planning, organization, flexibility, and self-regulation (Stuss & Benson, 1986), which are essential elements for everyday functioning and school success (Ozonoff, 1998, p. 263). Research suggested executive dysfunction is resulted from the frontal lobe damage (Ozonoff, 1998; Stuss & Benson, 1986). The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is the most popular task used to measure EF in individuals with autism. Other measures include Trail Making Test and Tower of Hanoi. Previous research showed individuals with HFA perform worse on the above tests than their normally developing controls (Rumsey, 1985), or control groups with other disabilities such as severe dyslexia (Rumsey & Hamburger, 1988), learning disabilities (Borys, Spitz, & Dorans, 1982) and other executive function disorders (Szatmari et al., 1990).

High-Functioning Autism & Asperger SyndromeControversy in DiagnosisAlthough individuals with HFA and individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) have many characteristics in common, such as normal IQ, relatively unimpaired language ability and adaptive behavior skills, studies from various disciplines have indicated that researchers have not been able to reach a consensus that HFA and AS are the same thing with different names (Rubin & Lennon, 2004). It is interesting to note that, although no standardized and/or official diagnostic criteria are available for HFA, the American Psychiatric Association did propose diagnostic criteria for AS in the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder (DSM-IV, 4th, 1994). According to Gillberg (1998),

The most controversial issues in the diagnosis of AS versus HFA appear to be whether or not: (a) motor skills should be regarded as a differentiating feature; (b) AS or HFA could be associated with cognitive disability; (c) language is impaired in HFA but spared or even hyper-functioning in AS; (d) a diagnosis of HFA and of AS can

113

Ivan, 03/01/-1,

Comprehend what? You should be more specific here. Are they unable to comprehend the concepts behind the details that they can memorize?

Ivan, 03/01/-1,

Unusually good?


be made in the same individual at different stages of development; and (e) HFA and AS refer to the same or distinct groups of individuals (p. 201).

Distinct Intellectual ProfilesAs mentioned earlier, although individuals with HFA and individuals with AS share some similarities, research has suggested that individuals with HFA possess distinct intellectual profiles from individuals with AS (e.g., Rubin & Lennon, 2004; Tsatsanis, 2004). Overall, researchers reported that individuals with AS tend to have higher IQs than individuals with HFA (Ehlers et al., 1996). Studies revealed individuals with HFA usually perform better at non-verbal tasks, so they have higher scores on performance IQ (PIQ) than verbal IQ (VIQ) on standardized tests; in contrast, people with AS are characterized by a high VIQ and a relatively low PIQ (Klin, Volkmar, Sparrow, Cicchetti, & Rourke, 1995; Rubin & Lennon, 2004; Tsatsanis, 2004). Tsatsanis (2004) summarized the relative strengths and challenges of individuals with AS as follows (the similar profiles of individuals with HFA can be found in the previous section):

Relative Strengths:Expressive and receptive language; verbal problem-solving skills (lexical knowledge and vocabulary, verbal expressiveness and verbal memory); ability to shift conceptual set when aided by verbal modality. Relative Challenges:Visual spatial processing, particularly with more complex visual information (e.g., nonverbal social cues); visual working memory; visual motor integration; inconsistent attentional focus, particularly to visual information; difficulty forming visual mental representations to guide behavior; challenges in dealing with new information because of nonverbal deficits, and difficulties with using language to support organization (p. 266).

Other Related IssuesConcerning early language development, comparative studies have reported that individuals with AS have fewer language problems than individuals with HFA (Gillberg, 1998). Theory of mind deficits are very commonplace in individuals with HFA (Baron-Cohen et al., 1985); however only very young children with AS may have the same problem (Frith, 1991, Happé, 1994), while older children and adolescents with AS usually perform better in theory of mind tasks (Prior et al., 1990; Happé, et al., 1996). Although many researchers agreed that both HFA and AS are a result of brain dysfunction (Frith, 1991), researchers (e.g., Gillberg, 1998) found the rate of brain dysfunction appears to be lower in AS than in HFA (p. 203). Findings from genetic studies have revealed that AS is a predominantly genetic disorder while HFA is either a genetic disorder with a different inheritance pattern or more often caused by brain damage (Gillberg, 1998, p. 204).

According to studies in HFA, individuals with higher intelligence have better outcomes; while research based on outcomes for individuals with AS have been limited, so no related finding has been released so far (Gillberg, 1998). However, researchers (i.e., Wing 1981a; Wolff & McGuire, 1995) did find that individuals with AS tend to have a high suicide rate. Recently, several Canadian researchers (i.e., Starr, Szatmari, Bryson, & Zwaigenbaum, 2003) examined the stability and change over time (two years) by using ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview- Revised, Lord, Rutter, & Le Couteur, 1994) ratings in two subgroups of PDD children: HFA and AS. They found significant differences between the two groups: the group with AS showed fewer and/or less severe symptoms in all three domains (communication, social interaction, and repetitive and stereotyped behavior) than the HFA group over time. Both groups experienced improvement in communication and social interaction over time, but not in repetitive and stereotyped behavior, which the researchers believed is not caused by IQ.

114

Ivan, 03/01/-1,

In this case, and the one below, ‘e.g.’ (‘for example’ ) might be a better option than ‘i.e.’ (‘that is’).

Ivan, 03/01/-1,

Outcomes in what? Specific tests, or education in general?


These findings are not consistent with those of Piven et al. (1996), who found improvements in all three areas over time, especially in communication and social interaction.

Over the past three decades, scientists and researchers from multiple disciplines have been working hard to explore the relationship between HFA and AS. However, due to the limitations of our current knowledge and the development of clinical technologies, no clear-cut consensus has been reached to date. It seems it is reasonable to predict that this debate will continue for some time to come.

Emotional Problems in Individuals with HFAMany researchers believe that social skill deficits contribute to the development of emotional problems in individuals with autism (Attwood, 1998; Gillot, Furniss, & Walter, 2001). According to Attwood (1998), anxiety is a common emotional problem in this population. Gillott et al. (2001) also reported that children with HFA have significant higher scores on anxiety measurement than typically developing peers, or peers with other learning disorders. Similarly, Kim et al. (2000) conducted a survey to examine the prevalence of emotional problems among children with autism, and found 13.6% of 59 participants with either HFA or AS have scores more than two standardized deviations above the mean on a parent-report measure of generalized anxiety, and on internalized factors such as generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, and depression.

Social Skill Deficits & AnxietyAs mentioned earlier, research indicates that there is a link between social skill deficits and social anxiety in individuals with autism. Researchers believe that individuals who have experienced, for example, negative peer interactions and/or peer rejection resulting from social skill deficits, are more likely to develop social anxiety than their peers (Ginsburg, La Greca, & Silverman, 1998; La Greca & Lopez, 1998). Tantam (2000) also found that social functioning deficits have a tremendous negative impact on the individuals’ social interaction with people around them. This also hinders the establishment of lasting and meaningful friendships with peers, which may result in rejection and isolation, as well as the later development of anxiety and depression.

Another recent study by Bellini (2004) explored the relationship between social skill deficits and social anxiety. Forty-one adolescents and their families participating in this study were asked to complete several measure instruments, including the Social Skills Rating System (or SSRS; Gresham & Elliot, 1990), the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC; March, 1999), the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (or SAS-A; La Greca, 1999), and the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1992). Results indicated there is a low negative correlation between social skill deficits and social anxiety in adolescents with high-functioning autism. These findings support previous studies.

HFA & Other Emotional ProblemsIn addition, researchers discovered individuals with autism are more likely to experience loneliness caused by poor social interactions with typical peers (e.g., Asher, Parkhurst, Hymel, & Williams, 1990; Bauminger, Shulman, & Agam, 2003). Bauminger et al. (2003) examined social interaction with peers, and understanding and feelings of loneliness in 18 children with HFA and 17 typically developing children matched for IQ, chronological age, gender, and maternal education. Through analyzing the data from onsite observations, results indicated that there is a link between loneliness and poor social interaction, and that children with HFA experience higher-level loneliness than their typically developing peers. Many researchers believed their poor social interaction is the result of social-affective impairments, which can be explained using theory of mind.

115

Ivan, 03/01/-1,

In addition to what? Other social problems suffered by individuals with autism?

Ivan, 03/01/-1,

Give examples of previous studies?


HFA & Theory of MindIn the 1980s, Baron-Cohen started his studies of theory of mind (ToM) in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and found that children with autism have problems understanding other minds. Since then, numerous studies have supported the belief that theory of mind deficit is a very common phenomenon in children with autism (For a review, see Baron-Cohen, 2000). Most studies of theory of mind focus on individuals with HFA (here the term individuals with HFA refers to people with autism who are verbal and do not have mental retardation, or major impairing associated behavioral symptoms, (Baron-Cohen, 2000, p. ix), or autistic individuals with mind mental retardation and comparative lower adaptive skills (Baron-Cohen, Tager-Flusberg, & Cohen, 2000).

As summarized by Baren-Cohen (2000), previous studies from different angles revealed that mind blindness, also referred to as theory of mind deficit, is evident in children with autism. For example, Baron-Cohen (1989a) discovered children with autism have significant impairment in comprehending ontological differences between mental and physical entities and events. Flavell and his colleagues (1986) reported that children with autism are not able to distinguish between appearance and reality. Several studies have revealed that children with autism have difficulty inferring the mental states of others: they tend to simply describe their own perspectives rather than considering how different people might perceive or think about the world (Baron-Cohen et al., 1985, 1986; Leekam & Perner, 1991; Perner et al., 1989; Reed & Peterson, 1990; Swettenham, 1996; Swettenham et al., 1996). Other researchers found that young children with autism also have problems in interpreting simpler mental states, such as others’ intentions, comparing to children with other developmental delays (Carpenter, Pennington, & Rogers, 2001). Pratt and Bryant (1990) proved that it is hard for children with autism to understand the seeing leads to knowing principles. Results from tests of recognizing mental-state words showed that, compared to their normal peers, children with autism have more difficulty in making correct judgments (Baren-Cohen et al., 1994).

With regard to the spontaneous speech of children with autism, researchers found that members of this group employ fewer words to describe mental states than their typically developing peers (Baron-Cohen et al., 1986; Tager-Flusberg, 1992); this may reveal that children with autism have delays or deficits in comprehension of mental-state concepts (Baron-Cohen, 2000, p. 8). Several studies have demonstrated that children with autism perform less often in pretend play (Baron-Cohen, 1987; Lewis & Boucher, 1988) probably because of a lack of imagination (Leslie, 1987) or executive dysfunction (Russell, 1997), or both (Baron-Cohen, 2000). Results from tests of emotional causation showed that compared to children with other developmental delays, children with autism have difficulty understanding complex causes of emotion (Baron-Cohen, 1991; Baron-Cohen, et al., 1993a). Children with autism also have difficulties inferring others’ thoughts and desires from gaze-direction (Baron-Cohen et al., 1995; Leekam et al., 1997).

Furthermore, several studies demonstrated children with autism have difficulty in understanding both when they are being deceived by others, and in trying to deceive others (Baron-Cohen, 1992; Sodian & Frith, 1992; Yirmiya et al., 1996). Results from several more advanced tests in figurative language and in intention to joke on children with HFA revealed that this population fails to understand metaphor, sarcasm and irony; nor are they able to understand jokes (Happé, 1994; Baron-Cohen, 1997). A similar study by Emerich et al. (2003) investigated the ability to comprehend humorous materials including cartoons and jokes in adolescents with HFA or AS. Results revealed that, compared with the control group consisting of typically developing peers, the performance of adolescents with HFA or AS was significantly poorer. Researchers also found children with autism have deficits in pragmatics, such as using context and staying on topic (Baron-Cohen et al., 1999; Surian, Baron-Cohen, & Van der Lely, 1996). In addition, other researchers have reported that imagination impairments are evidenced in children with autism (Craig, 1997; Craig & Baron-Cohen, 1999).

116


Other Related Studies on HFARecent Studies on HFA from NeurosciencePiggot et al. (2004) recently conducted a study that focused on the emotional attribution in high-functioning individuals with ASD. The study aimed to determine whether expertise in the attribution from basic facial expressions in high-functioning individuals with ASD is supported by the amygdala, fusiform, and prefrontal regions of interest (ROI) and is comparable to that of typically developing individuals (p. 473). Fourteen individuals (male) with HFA and 10 typically developing adolescents participated in the study. Researchers first acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging scans from all participants when they were doing emotion match (EM) (perceptual), emotion label (EL) (linguistic), and control tasks. Then researchers measured such parameters as accuracy, response time, and average activation for each ROI. Results showed there was no significant difference in accuracy, response time, or ROI activation between groups concerning EL tasks. However, with respect to EM tasks, although accuracy was the same for both groups, the ASD group needed longer response time and had lower average fusiform activation than the control group.

This study concluded the above hypothesis was supported in the perceptual task but not in the linguistic task. Thus, expertise in emotional attribution from basic facial expressions is task-independent in the high-functioning ASD group, and should not be generalized across emotional attribution task in this population. The researchers believe that the reduced fusiform activation is connected with the diagnosis of ASD.

Another study by Wang et al. (2004) aimed to examine the neural basis of impairments in interpreting facial emotions in children and adolescents with ASD. Functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired from 12 persons with ASD and 12 typically developing individuals when they were matching faces by emotion and assigning a label to facial expressions. Results showed both groups demonstrated similar networks during the process, for example, analogous activity in the fusiform gyrus (FG) and prefrontal cortex. However, the ASD group showed significantly less activity than the control group in the FG but greater activity in the precuneus when matching facial expressions, as revealed by the between-group analyses in regions of interest (ROI). Researchers found no difference at both behavioral and neural level between these two groups when labeling facial expressions. Furthermore, moderate activity in the amygdala was noticed in the control group but not in the ASD group. The study concluded that, to some degree, people with ASD employ different neural networks when they are processing facial emotions. Individuals with HFA may perform better in recognizing basic emotions, but still demonstrate differences when processing facial expressions.

Recent Studies on Cognitive ScienceA study by Toichi & Kamio (2001) suggested it is possible that semantic processing in individuals with HFA might be qualitatively different from that in controls (p. 483). They later conducted another study (Toichi & Kamio, 2003) to examine the nature of verbal long-term memory (LTM) in individuals with HFA. Results indicated that the nature of verbal LTM in individuals with autism is different from that of typically developing people. The study suggested elaboration in verbal encoding in individuals with autism may be different from ordinary semantic or associative elaboration in non-autistic individuals (p. 160). However, other researchers (i.e., Beversdorf et al., 1998, 2000; Fein et al., 1996) reported that adults (rather than children) with HFA have unimpaired LTM, even when using semantically related materials. With regard to cognitive styles, a study by Teunisse et al., (2001) addressed two important cognitive domains – central coherence and cognitive shifting – in individuals with HFA. Researchers found that weak central coherence and poor cognitive shifting are significantly more common in individuals with HFA than in normative control subjects (p. 55).

117

Ivan, 03/01/-1,

Differences to what? Typical children, or those with ASD?


SummaryAutism is a complex mysterious developmental disorder. Although great progress has been achieved in the past decades, our current knowledge about HFA is still far from sufficient. Further research in this area is in urgent need. Advancing understanding in this area is essential for the development of effective individualized educational interventions to better serve those who not only suffer from their own disabilities but also from other people’s misunderstanding, as well as to enhance quality of life of people with this disorder.

Future research should pay more attention to early identification of HFA in very young children. Adolescents and young adults with HFA also deserve more attention of researchers, so do other practical issues such as transition and job training. Studies focused on long-term outcome of individuals with this disorder need further exploration. No doubt, continuing our journal of developing effective and efficient educational programs or interventions for children with HFA still ranks the most important thing.

ReferencesAmerican Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder (DSM-IV, 4th, pp. 70-71). Washington, DC: Author.Asher, S.R., Parkhurst, J.T., Hymel, S., & Williams, G.A. (1990). Peer rejection and loneliness in childhood. In S.R. Asher, & J.D. Coie (Eds.), Peer rejection in childhood (pp. 253-273). New York: Cambridge University Press.Attwood, T. (1998). Asperger’s syndrome: A guide for parents and professionals. Philadelphia: Kingsley.Attwood, T. (2003). Is there a difference between Asperger’s Syndrome and high-functioning autism? Retrieved March 2, 2005, from http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/.Baron-Cohen, S. (1987). Autism and symbolic play. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 5, 139-148.Baron-Cohen, S. (1989a). Are autistic children behaviorists? An examination of their mental-physical and appearance-reality distinctions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19, 579-600. Baron-Cohen, S. (1991). Do people with autism understand what causes emotion? Child Development, 62, 385-395Baron-Cohen, S. (1992). Out of sight or out of mind: Another look at deception in autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 33, 1141-1155.Baron-Cohen, S. (1997). Hey! It was just a joke! Understanding propositions and prepositional attitudes by normally developing children and children with autism. Israel Journal of Psychiatry, 34, 174-178. Baron-Cohen, S. (2000). Theory of mind and autism: A fifteen-year review. In S.Baron-Cohen, H.Tager-Flusberg, & D.Cohen (Eds.), Understanding other minds: Perspectives from developmental cognitive neuroscience (pp. 3-20). New York: Oxford University Press.Baron-Cohen, S., Campbell, R., Karmiloff-Smith, A., Grant, J., & Walker, J. (1995). Are children with autism blind to the mentalistic significance of the eyes? British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 13, 379-398.Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A.M., & Frith, U. (1985). Does the autistic child have a “theory of mind”? Cognition, 21, 37-46. Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A.M., & Frith, U. (1986). Mechanical, behavioral and intentional understanding of picture stories in autistic children. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 4, 113-125.Baren-Cohen, S., Ring, H., Moriarty, J., Shmitz, P., Costa, D., & Ell, P. (1994). Recognition of mental state terms: A clinical study of autism, and a functional neuroimaging study of normal adults. British Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 640-649.Baron-Cohen, S., O'Riordan, M., Stone, V., Jones, R., & Plaisted., K. (1999). Recognition of Faux Pas by normally developing children and children with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 29(5), 407-418.

118

http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/


Baron-Cohen, S., Spitz, A., & Cross, P. (1993a). Can children with autism recognize surprise? Cognition and Emotion, 7, 507-516.Baron-Cohen, S., Tager-Flusberg, H., & Cohen, D. (2000). Preface. In S. Baron-Cohen, H. Tager-Flusberg, & D. Cohen (Eds.), Understanding other minds: Perspectives from developmental cognitive neuroscience (p. v-vii). New York: Oxford University PressBauminger, N., Shulman, C., & Agam, G. (2003). Peer interaction and loneliness in high-functioning children with autism. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 33(5), 489-507.Bellini, S. (2004). Social skill deficits and anxiety in high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 19(2), 78-86.Bennetto, L., Pennington, B.F., & Rogers, S.J. (1996). Intact and impaired memory functions in autism. Child Development, 67, 1816-1835. Beversdorf, D. Q., Anderson, J. M., Manning, S. E., Anderson, S. L., Nordgren, R. E., Felopulos, G. J. & et al. (1998). The effect of semantic and emotional context on written recall for verbal language in high functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 65, 685–692.Beversdorf, D.Q., Smith, B.W., Crucian, G.P., Anderson, J.M., Keillor, J. M., Barrett, A. M., & et al. (2000). Increased discrimination of “false memories” in autism spectrum disorder. Proceedings oof the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 97 , 8734–8737.Borys, S.V., Spitz, H.H., & Dorans, B.A. (1982). Tower of Hanoi performance of retarded young adults and nonretarded children as a function f solution length and goal state. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 33, 87-110.Carpenter, M., Pennington, B.F., & Rogers, S.J. (2001). Understanding of others’ intentions in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(6), 589-599.Cantwell, D.P., & Baker, L. (1989). Infantile autism and developmental receptive dysphasia: A comparative follow-up into middle childhood. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19, 19-30.Craig, J. (1997). An investigation of imagination and creativity in autism. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Cambridge. Craig, J., & Baron-Cohen, S. (1999). Creativity and imagination in autism and asperger syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 319-326.Dewey, M.A., & Everward, M.P. (1974). The near-normal autistic adolescents. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 4, 348-356.Ehlers, S., Nydén, A., Gillberg, C., et al. (1996). Asperger syndrome, autism and attention disorders: A comparative study of cognitive profile of 120 children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 207-217.Emerich, D.M., Creaghead, N.A., Grether, S.M., Murray, D., & Grasha, C. (2003). The comprehension of humorous materials by adolescents with high-functioning autism and asperger’s syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33(3), 253-257.Fein, F., Penington, B., Markowitz, P., Braverman, M., & Waterhouse, L. (1986). Toward a neuropsychological model of infantile autism: Are the social deficits primary? Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 25, 198-212. Fein, D., Dunn, M., Allen, D. A., Aram, D. M., Hall, N., Morris, R., & et al. (1996). Language and neuropsychological findings. In I. Rapin (Ed.). Clinics in developmental medicine: Preschool children with inadequate communication —Developmental language disorder, autism, low IQ (p. 123–154). London: Mac Keith Press. Flavell, J.H., Green, E.R., and Flavell, E.R. (1986). Development of knowledge about the appearance-reality distinction. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 51, (Serial No. 212).Frith, U. (1991). Autism and “theory of mind”. In C. Gillberg (Ed.), Diagnosis and treatment of autism (p. 33-52). New York: Plenum Press. Frith, U., & Snowing, M. (1983). Reading for meaning and reading for sound in autistic children. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 1, 329-342.

119


Fullerton, A. (1996). Who are higher functioning young adults with autism? In A. Fullerton (Ed.), Higher functioning adolescents and young adults with autism (pp. 1-20). Austin, Texas: PRO-ED, Inc. Ghaziuddin, M., & Mountain-Kimchi, K. (2004). Defining the intellectual profile of Asperger syndrome: Comparison with high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(3), 279-284.Gillberg, C. (1998). Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism. British Journal of Psychiatry, 172, 200-209.Gillott, A., Furniss, F., & Walter, A. (2001). Anxiety in high-functioning children with autism. Autism, 5, 277-286.Ginsburg, G., La Greca, A.M., & Silverman, W.S. (1998). Social anxiety in children with anxiety disorders: Relation with social and emotional functioning. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 26, 175-185. Gresham, F.M., & Elliot, S.N. (1990). Social skills rating system manual. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Happé, F. (1994). An advanced test of theory of mind: Understanding of story characters’ thoughts and feelings by able autistic, mentally handicapped, and normal children and adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 129-154.Happé, F., Ehler, S., Fletcher, P., Frith, U., Johansson, M., Gillberg, C., et al. (1996). “Theory of mind” in the brain: Evidence from a PET scan study of Asperger syndrome. Neuroreport, 8, 197-201. Just, M.A., Cherkassky, V.L., Keller, T.A., & Minshew, N.J. (2004). Cortical activation and synchronization during sentence comprehension in high-functioning autism: Evidence of underconnectivity. Brain, 127, 1811-1821. Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child, 2, 217-250.Kim, J.A., Szatmari, P., Bryson, S.E., Streiner, D.L., & Wilson, F.L. (2000). The prevalence of anxiety and mood problems among children with autism and Asperger syndrome. Autism, 4, 117-132.Klin, A., Jones, W., Schultz, R., & Volkmar, F. (2003). The enactive mind, or from actions to cognition: Lessons from autism. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B: Biological Sciences, 358, 345-360.Klin, A., Volkmar, F., Sparrow, S.S., Cicchetti, D.V., & Rourke, B.P. (1995). Validity and neuropsychological characterization of Asperger syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology: Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 36, 1127-1140. La Greca, A.M. (1999). Social anxiety for children and adolescents manual. Miami, FL: University of Miami.La Greca, A.M., & Lopez, N. (1998). Social anxiety among adolescents: Linkages with peer relations and friendships. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 26, 83-94. Landa, R. (2000). Social language use in Asperger syndrome and high functioning autism. In A. Klin, F.R. Volkmar, & S.S. Sparrow (Eds.), Asperger syndrome (pp.125-155). New York: Guilford Press. Leekam, S., Baron-Cohen, S., Brown, S., Perrett, D., & Milders, M. (1997). Eye-direction detection: A dissociation between geometric and join-attention skills in autism. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 15, 77-95.Leekam, S., & Perner, J. (1991). Does the autistic child have a metarepresentational deficit? Cognition, 40, 203-218. Leslie, A.M. (1987). Pretence and representation: The origins of “theory of mind”. Psychological Review, 94, 412-426.Levy, S. (1986). Identifying high-functioning children with autism. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Resource Center for Autism. Lewis, V., & Boucher, J. (1988). Spontaneous, instructed and elicited play in a relatively able autistic children. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 6, 325-339. Lincoln, A., Courchesne, E., Kilman, B., Elmasian, R., & Allen, M. (1988). A study of intellectual abilities in high functioning people with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 18, 505-524.

120


Lord, C., & Paul, R. (1997). Language and communication in autism. In D.J. Cohen & F.R. Volkmar (Eds.), Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders (2nd ed., pp. 195-225). New York: Wiley.Lord, C., Rutter, M., & Le Couteur, A. (1994). Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 659–685.March, J.S. (1999). Multidimensional anxiety scale for children manual. North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems. McEvoy, R.E., Rogers, S.J., & Pennington, B.F. (1993). Executive function and social communication deficits in young autistic children. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 14, 328-335.National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism. Washington, DC: National Academic Press.Ozonoff, S. (1998). Assessment and remediation of executive dysfunction in autism and Asperger syndrome. In E. Schopler, G.B. Mesibov, & L.J. Kunce (Eds.), Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism? Plenum Press, New York. Ozonoff, S., & McEvoy, R.E. (1994). A longitudinal study of executive function and theory of mind development in autism. Development and psychopathology, 6, 415-431. Ozonoff, S., Pennington, B.F., & Rogers, S.J. (1991a). Executive function deficits in high-functioning autistic individuals: Relationship to theory of mind. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 32, 1081-1105. Paul, R., & Cohen, D.J. (1984). Outcomes of severe disorders of language acquisition. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 14, 405-422.Perner J., Frith, U., Leslie, A.M., & Leekam, S. (1989). Exploration of the autistic child’s theory of mind: Knowledge, belief, and communication. Child Development, 60, 689-700. Piggot, J., Kwon, H., Mobbs, D., Blasey, C., Lotspeich., L., Menon, V., et al. (2004). Emotional arrtribution in high-functioning individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A functional imaging study. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 43(4), 473-480.Piven, J., Harper, J., Palmer, P., & Arndt, S. (1996). Course of behavioral change in autism: A retrospective study of high-IQ adolescents and adults. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 523–529.Pratt, C., & Bryant, P. (1990). Young children understand that looking leads to knowing (so long as they are looking into a single barrel). Child Development, 61, 973-983. Prior, M., Dahistrom, B., & Squires, T.L. (1990). Autistic children’s knowledge of thinking and feeling states in other people. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 31, 587-601. Prizant, B.M., Wetherby, A.M., Rubin, E., & Laurent, A.C. (2003). The SCERTS Model: A family-centered, transactional approach to enhancing communication and socioemotional abilities of young children with ASD. Infants and Young Children, 16(4), 296-316.Prizant, B.M., Wetherby, A.M., & Rydell, P.J. (2000). Communication intervention issues for children with autism spectrum disorders. In A.M. Wetherby & B.M. Prizant (Eds.), Autism Spectrum Disorders: A transactional developmental perspective (pp. 193-224). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.Reed, T., & Peterson, C. (1990). A comparative study of autistic subjects’ performance at two levels of visual and cognitive perspective taking. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 20, 555-568.Reynolds, C.R., & Kamphaus, R.W. (1992). Behavioral assessment system for children manual. Circle Pine, MN: American Guidance Service.Rubin, E., & Lennon, L. (2004). Challenges in social communication in Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism. Topics in Language Disorder, 24(4), 271-285.Rumsey, J.M. (1985). Conceptual problem-solving in highly verbal, nonretarded autistic men. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 15, 23-36. Rumsey, J.M. (1992). Neuropsychological studies of high-level autism. In E. Schopler & G.B. Mesibov (Eds.), High-functioning individuals with autism (pp. 41-64). New York: the Plenum Press.

121


Rumsey, J.M., Andreasen, N.C., & Rapoport, J.L. (1986). Thought, language, communication, and effective flattening in autistic adults. Archives of General Psychiatry, 43, 771-777.Rumsey, J.M., & Hamburger, S.D. (1988). Neuropsychological findings in high-functioning men with infantile autism, residual state. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Nearopsychology, 10, 201-221. Rumsey, J.M., & Hamburger, S.D. (1990). Neuropsychological divergence of high-level and severe dyslexia. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 20, 155-168. Russell, J. (ed.). (1997). Autism as an executive disorder. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Rutter, M. (1987). The role of cognition in child development and disorder. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 60, 1-16.Rydell, P.J., & Prizant, B.M. (1995). Assessment and intervention strategies for children who use echolalia. In K. Quill (Ed.), Teaching students with autism: Methods to enhance learning communication and socialization. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishing.Sodian, B., & Frith, U. (1992). Deception and sabotage in autistic, retarded, and normal children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 33, 591-606.Starr, E., Szatmari, P., Bryson, S., & Zwaigenbaum, L. (2003). Stability and change among high-functioning children with pervasive developmental disorders: A 2-year outcome study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33(1), 15-22.Stuss, D.T., & Benson, D.F. (1986). The frontal lobes. New York: Raven Press. Surian, L., Baron-Cohen, S., & Van der Lely, H. (1996). Are children with autism deaf to Gricean Maxims? Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 1, 55-72. Swettenham, J. (1996). Can children with autism be taught to understand false belief using computers? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 157-165. Swettenham, J., Baron-Cohen, S., Gomez, J.-C., & Walsh, S. (1996). What’s inside a person’s head? Conceiving of the mind as a camera helps children with autism develop an alternative theory of mind. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 1, 73-88.Szatmari, P., Tuff, L., Finlayson, M.A.J., & Bartolucci, G. (1990). Asperger’s syndrome and autism: Neurocognitive aspects. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 29, 130-136.Tager-Flusberg, H. (1992). Autistic children’ talk about psychological states: Deficits in the early acquisition of a theory of mind. Child Development, 63, 161-172.Tantam, D. (2000). Psychological disorder in adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome. Autism, 4, 47-62.Teunisse, J.P., Cools, A.R., Spaendonck, K.P.M.V., Aerts, F.H.T.M., & Berger, H.J.C. (2001). Cognitive styles in high-functioning adolescents with autistic disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(1), 55-66.Toichi, M., & Kamio, Y. (2001). Verbal association for simple common words in high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(5), 483-490.Toichi, M., & Kamio, Y. (2003). Long-term memory in high-functioning autism: Controversy on episodic memory in autism reconsidered. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33(2), 151-161.Tsai, L.Y. (1992). Diagnostic issues in high-functioning autism. In E. Schopler & G. B. Mesibov (Eds.), High-functioning individuals with autism (p. 11-40). New York: The Plenum Press.Tsai, L., & Scott-Miller, D. (1988). Higher-functioning autistic disorder. Focus on Autistic Behavior, 2, 1-8.Tsatsanis, K.D. (2004). Heterogeneity in learning style in Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism. Topics in Language Disorder, 24(4), 260-270.Wang, A.T., Dapretto, M., Hariri, A.R., Sigman, M., & Bookheimer, S.Y. (2004). Neural correlates of facial affect processing in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 43(4), 481-490. Wing, L. (1981a). Asperger’s syndrome: A clinical account. Psychological Medicine, 11, 115-129.

122


World Health Organization. (1994). International Classification of Diseases (ICD, 10 th). Retrieved March10, 2005, from http://www3.who.int/icd/vol1htm2003/fr-icd.htm.Wolff, S., & McGuire, R.J. (1995). Schizoid personality in girls: A follow-up study—What are the links with Asperger’s syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 36, 793-817. Yirmiya, N., Solomonica-Levi, D., & Shulman, C. (1996). The ability to manipulate behavior and to understand manipulation of beliefs: A comparison of individuals with autism, mental retardation, and normal development. Developmental Psychology, 32, 62-69.

123

http://www3.who.int/icd/vol1htm2003/fr-icd.htm


IT WAS WRITTEN ALL OVER HIM: CLASSROOM TEACHERS’ REFERRALCRITERIA FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES

Michael W. DunnWashington State University

A contextual understanding of general education classroom teachers’ reasons for a student’s referral for special education services provides insight into this initial step in the identification process. The philosophy of social constructivism (Bruner, 1987; Freedman & Combs, 1996; Vygotsky, 1978) provides a backdrop for the underlying practices and beliefs which render the participants in this study to employ the referral criteria that they use. Thirteen general education elementary teachers in a suburban city in southern Ontario were interviewed about their referral criteria for special education services. The results of this study indicated a combination of student characteristics that teachers observed (inattention, lack of comprehension, inability to complete tasks in the allotted time, and poor test performance) and what teachers inferred (e.g., about the way a student looks). The implications of the research for classroom and special education practices in particular are discussed.

Context of the StudyThe IssueIn the early 1990’s, the education system in Ontario, Canada, appeared to be headed for crisis. Students were not performing well on international tests. (Brown, 2000; News Release: Higher education standards are putting kids first, 2001). The Royal Commission on Learning (1995) investigated the state of the province’s educational system. In public meetings, a common complaint heard by commissioners was that the educational system had lost a sense of accountability; schools had lost focus on providing a quality education for children in training them for the future.

To address these issues, curriculum standards for each subject and grade level were revised and yearly standardized tests were to be administered in the future to track students’ progress over time (Curriculum Documents, 1998; Education Quality and Accountability Office, 2005). As a teacher at Ridgefield Elementary at the time, I recall how these changes in policy commanded the attention of educators. These reforms in assessment and instruction required teachers to change their classroom curriculum and practices. Teachers began using curriculum standard methodology in planning units, creating tests, and defining student progress. At one point, a curriculum management committee was created for staff to consider issues and strategies that could help facilitate students’ academic performance at the school. This process provoked everyone’s perspective to change in terms of defining student ability or inability—and therefore, students’ possible need for special education services.

This study seeks to determine which criteria classroom teachers use to determine which students should be referred for special education services. The changes in curriculum content and implementation of standardized testing could indicate different referral themes relative to past research. A study of this topic at my school serves as a means to explore these issues.

124


SettingRidgefield Elementary was located in Pineville, a large city (population: 613, 000) in southern Ontario (Statistics Canada, 2002). Forty-four percent of Pineville’s population had a first language other than English. The community had a definite transient component to its population; thirty-six percent of the population had moved to into the area within the last five years. Pineville’s average yearly income was about $37, 000. Eleven percent of the population aged 20-34 had attained less than a high school graduation certificate as compared to 14.4 percent for those ages 35-44 and 23.3 percent for those aged 45-64.

During the course of this research study, Ridgefield Elementary had a student population of about 500 students, kindergarten to eighth grade (School Information, 2004). Many of the students were first-generation Canadians; although many could speak English fluently, other languages were spoken at home such as Italian, Tagalog, Portuguese, and Mandarin/Cantonese. The families in the school community were middle to upper-middle income earners. Students were well dressed and had their basic living needs met. Most fathers and mothers worked outside the home.

I was one of three special education teachers at the school for eight of my eleven years of teaching. As a special education consultant teacher in inclusion classrooms, I worked with groups of students from approximately ten general education classrooms each year. Sometimes I assisted students in their classroom; however, most of the time, they met me in a resource room where we reviewed concepts/topics presented in class, edited their writing, and administered modified spelling tests. Having worked with students identified with disabilities for eight years, I had the opportunity to get to know the classroom teacher participants in this study through a variety of professional experiences. In discussions with classroom teachers about student characteristics, intervention plans, attendance at conferences, and other educational initiatives in the area, we developed a professional rapport that facilitated their feeling comfortable in discussing special education issues with me.

Mark: An Illustration of a Student receiving Special Education ServicesAt 11:30 a.m., Mark was once again the last to arrive in the remedial special education room to join four others for a modified eighth-grade math program. He had been referred about five years ago due to difficulties with inattention, hyperactivity, incomplete tasks and assignments. Classroom teachers felt frustrated by his inability to conform to the classroom routines and expectations. Mark’s classmates in this math remedial workgroup shared some of his characteristics, but not all; they were included in the group due to an underlying inability to attain success with their age-appropriate grade level classroom practices/activities.

As I modeled a math strategy, Mark would stare off into space one second; play with his pencil the next. Only when he was made accountable to each step in the activity as I did it with him, that his ability to focus improved. However, this too proved elusive, as he could be easily distracted by making a comment or posing a question about some non-related event. It’s not that Mark was necessarily intending to avoid doing his work; it appeared that his mind simply floated freely from one idea to another non-related idea. The other four students had academic difficulties, but they could complete the activities after teacher modeling and guided examples were provided. Mark was more challenging in this sense. He needed a lot of direct instruction. It was my reflections about this session with Mark that led me to research classroom teachers’ referral criteria.

Officially classifying a Student with a DisabilityEvery few months, meetings were held to officially label students with a disability. Students who had been referred for special education services within the past three years would be officially identified as having an exceptionality based on a series of assessment results

125


completed by myself, the classroom teacher, and other para-educators either housed in the school or those in private practice. As I prepared the room for the officials from the school district who would compose the committee for formal identification, parents/guardians, and other invited guests, I reflected on how this milestone was first initiated for students such as Mark. What was that initial moment when the idea of referral for special education services gelled in the classroom teacher’s mind? What did the student do (or not do) that provoked this need to be referred? Was it one particular event or a conclusion resulting from a series of activities/observations over time? Did the parent/guardian comment on something that initiated the prospect for referral? As I sat in the special education room knowing that soon it would be transformed into a type of confirmation hearing to classify children as exceptional, I wanted to go back in time and ask the classroom teachers involved how the idea of special education referral for each of the students to be officially identified had started.

Role of a Special Education Consultant Teacher in Inclusion ClassroomsIn my role as a special education consultant teacher in inclusion classrooms, I assisted children who demonstrated academic abilities two years or more below their age-appropriate grade level. Some students with severe physical disabilities faced real challenges in daily living functions and, therefore, required an aide to assist them with all daily activities. However, most of the students I assisted had a mild disability (i.e., learning disability, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.). They appeared to have knowledge but had difficulty demonstrating it in the classroom as expected by the teacher/curriculum. When students began to exhibit signs of being at risk in the classroom, the teacher would discuss the student's profile with me to seek a means to investigate the causes of the difficulty. Many times, this would involve my administering the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement (Mather & Woodcock, 2001) and the Spache Reading Tests (Spache, 1981) to see what the levels of academic performance would be for a particular child.

The tests/tools I chose to use had a great influence in ascertaining the level of academic abilities of students referred to me. For example, did the diagnostic tool include a balance of visual and text activities or a different number of either? If a student was a visual learner, he/she would do better on a visual diagnostic test than on a text-based assessment. The standardized assessments I chose, with all of their biases, had a large impact on how the school came to view this student.

Referral Reasons based on My ExperienceGiven this context, I noticed that students could be considered for special education services either due to simple academic inability (i.e., severely below grade level in reading/writing skills) or attitude (i.e., not wanting to do their work, an apparent fear in attempting to do a task). In certain cases, differentiating one from the other can be a very difficult task. What a classroom teacher views as inability may not be inability at all. The student might have chosen not to do the defined tasks because of a bad attitude, poor work ethic, or emotional stress related to the home or family environment. Another possibility could be ineffective employment of strategies to address the student’s learning strengths, expectation to do a task too early in the students’ academic developmental program, or insufficient modeling.

A premise of the educational system is that it has been constructed into its current form through choices made by administrative authorities over time (Fu, 1995). All educators are involved in this process, and I am no exception. Classroom teachers choose the learning styles to be used in delivering the curriculum. The issue of curriculum programs is certainly a part of this process. When a teacher uses a given program as the basis of a unit of study, the teacher and students become subject to the biases and teaching/learning styles involved. If a different program had been employed, a student seen as needing referral for special education

126


services might not have been viewed this way at all. These issues illustrate how students come to be defined by the manner in which schools construct education.

Social Constructivism and the Referral of Students for Special Education ServicesOften, people are either considered to be smart or dumb, good or bad. These perceived characteristics come to define us through the perceptions of others in terms of these supposed traits. It is commonly believed that even though we can be influenced by environmental factors, we have basic identities apart from context or a situation (Dudley-Marling, 2004). However, this concept of personal traits residing within the person is problematic. Because the identity of a person is defined within a web of social relationships and interactions, the idea that personal characteristics are solely within a person misrepresents life (Gergen, 1990; Quantz & O’Connor, 1988). Freedman & Combs (1996) illustrate the social constructivist view in terms of how our identity is an ongoing interchange as we interact with others: The self continually creates itself through narratives that include other people who are reciprocally woven into these narratives. . . . This conception of self is at odds with the skin-bound container with fixed contents (resources) (Freedman & Combs, 1996, p. 17). It is through a person’s interaction with others that they come to be defined in comparison with peers.

The identity of being intelligent requires that the school environment practice cultural standards that define a student as smart: high grades on tests, insightful questions/answers mentioned in class, mature behavior, and proficient English skills. Conversely, the idea of being smart provokes the issue of others not being as smart: low grades on tests, does not participate, unacceptable behavior, incomplete work. A third and central issue in the concept of personal identities is the role of an authority to adjudicate smartness/dumbness: the teacher, peers, creators of standardized assessments (Dudley-Marling, 2004). The type of tasks, personalities involved, choice of learning format (auditory versus visual, for example), length of time to process presented information, among other things, can greatly influence whether a person is considered at the end of the day to be smart. In essence, the idea that a student should be referred for special education services is not something that is defined by the student alone; all of the contextual variables interact together in this process.

Examples of Referral Criteria for Special Education ServicesThis study explores the thinking of classroom teachers as they consider referring a student for special education services. Specifically, the prime research question is: how do classroom teachers determine which students they believe to be in need of special education services and subsequently should be referred? Classroom teachers are expected to teach and assess a wide range of curriculum standards (Curriculum Expectations: Grades 1-8, 1998). With twenty, thirty, or more students in a classroom, teachers are to schedule into each day a variety of subject topics and activities to cover the expected curriculum areas. Teachers must address many curriculum standards in a school year, which can result in some students feeling overwhelmed (Abidin & Robinson, 2002).

There is a standard process in referring students for special education services. With any given curriculum standard, at least some students will inevitably be unable to achieve the desired learning outcomes. When teachers deliver instructions and lead classes through activities, they begin to notice those students who are having difficulty. It is through the teachers’ reading of students’ comportment and academic abilities that the consideration for special education referral begins; once referred, it is highly probable that the student will later be officially identified (Algozzine, Ysseldyke, & Christenson, 1983). Therefore, a better understanding of classroom teachers’ criteria for special education referral would help define the important initial step in the special education identification process.

127


Educators’ Views of Referral Reasons for Special Education ServicesReasons for special education referral vary. Some researchers (Caram, 2001; Bucci & Reitzammer, 1992; Davis & McCaul, 1990; Limbos & Geva, 2001; Wotherspoon & Schissel, 2001) associate referral for special education services with disruptive behavior, unstable homes, or having a first language other than English. Students may also be referred less obvious reasons: those who live in poverty (Evans, 1995; Wotherspoon & Schissel, 2001) or are quiet and withdrawn or suffer from peer rejection and hence often seem alone (Caram, 2001). Tunstall (1995) found that students referred for special education services are those who are seen as having low ability, low grades, an inability to read, truant behavior, an inability to function in a classroom with peers, and irregular contact with the school.

To explore the referral process used in schools, Kohler (2001) conducted a study with a group of teachers designed to explore longitudinal changes in their beliefs about students who are referred over time. She found that the teachers’ concept of special education referral was fluid during the school year. While the teachers viewed the issue from a socio-cultural perspective at the beginning of the year, by the end of the year, their view was more focused on a student’s ability to learn. The decision to refer students for special education was based on curriculum expectations and appropriate classroom conduct.

The teachers interviewed (Kohler, 2001) admitted that the concept of referral for special education services was situation-specific, with a student being viewed as needing assistance in one classroom but not another. Rather than reflect on student or teacher shortcomings relative to learning and teaching styles, those interviewed tended to lay initial blame for academic failure on the students’ parents and home life for academic failure. Interestingly, Kohler comments that the teachers failed to see their own role in the creation of students needing referral in terms of the teachers’ classroom expectations that affected the performance and behavior of students.

Cullen (2000) conducted a survey with fifty-five classroom teachers that relates to the direct role of the teacher in the identification of students referred for special education services. His conclusion was that teachers could accurately predict students who should be referred and would be later identified as students with an exceptionality once the official assessments have been completed. This reflects my own experience as a special education teacher. Teachers with whom I worked would only make a referral when there was an ongoing significant problem with performance in the classroom. There may be extenuating issues such as social skills or being a non-English speaker, but the central issue was that the student was not performing academically in the classroom.

Social Construction of Students Referred for Special Education ServicesResearchers (Cullen & Shaw, 2000; Fu, 1995; Kohler, 2001) have commented on how society constructs school systems and categories that result in students being referred for special education services. Pallas (1989) provides an historical overview regarding definitions of students who are possibly eligible for special education referral. Thirty years ago, schools attributed students’ difficulties with school to cultural deprivation; students were provided with preschool enrichment activities so as to instill in them middle-class culture. Next, educational deprivation was considered to be the lack of fit between poor, minority children and their schools. Subsequently, all students were considered to be in danger of academic failure because families, communities, churches, and work places did not help individuals achieve their full human potential.

More recently, the probability of academic failure and/or dropout of school have been operationalized by identifying subpopulations that are not as likely to perform; this is

128


illustrated through programmatic initiatives such as early identification and intervention (Pallas, 1989). However, none of these definitions contain the comprehensive set of factors that compose the education of children. Schools are just one social institution amongst many that educate (or do not educate) students. Pallas discussed a possible relationship between students who are referred and those who are educationally disadvantaged if exposed to inadequate or inappropriate educational experiences in the family, school, or community. Furthermore, he comments that this definition is intentionally vague; achieving agreement on how to define appropriate and adequate is impossible.

I see a possible relationship between a lack of appropriate and adequate experiences in the family, school or community and the need for special education referral. Schools expect that students arrive at school with certain out-of-school educational experiences which facilitate stimulation of thought and discussion. Parents reading to their children, family vacations to other communities, and visiting local museums are three examples (Right to Learn Report, 1985) that I have seen related to this concept. However, schools’ preconceived academic standards and classroom practices define what is expected of students; these are more fundamental for success at school than just out-of-school experiences. However, in my experience at Ridgefield Elementary, students referred to me often had academic difficulty even with adequate out-of-school experiences.

In my experience as a special education teacher, referrals are made because of academic difficulty/failure, difficulty with oral and expressive English language skills, inattentiveness/lack of compliance with classroom routines, and improper interactions in social contexts. Fu (1995) discusses these issues in his book, The Trouble is my English, the story about the experiences his Vietnamese family had after moving to the United States. He found that the standard methods for the writing process did not provoke the students to demonstrate their full potential. Educational programs were designed to focus on able kindergarten to grade 12 students, leaving poor and minority children who do not seem to fit in their schools to be sent for remediation in a drill and skill type of approach. However, when Fu was offered the choice one day to create text related to a drawing that he had made, his written text became more personal and creative.

Survey of Educators’ Views about Referral ReasonsPast research has documented the initiation of a student being referred by classroom teachers as a powerful predictor of subsequent special education placement (Thurlow, Christenson, & Ysseldyke, 1983; Ysseldyke, Algozzine, Regan, & McGue, 1981; Ysseldyke & Algozzine, 1981). This emphasis on classroom teachers’ predictions can be attributed to their wide scope of the educational domain. They are not limited to the confines of a particular standardized test or strategy. Rather, they can make a global and combined assessment of a student’s cognitive, behavior, and social performance (Cullen & Shaw, 2000).

As I listened to classroom teachers presenting their compelling reasons for making the referrals, they and I were often frustrated that this was only half of the process for identification of a student as exceptional. In order for a student to be classified, the standardized assessment scores completed by the school psychologist or speech and language pathologist had to render a profile commensurate with an exceptionality category (e.g., learning disability). If this was not the case, the student would be considered as a slow learner and denied the services he/she needed. This perspective on teachers being initiators of the special education process and their accuracy in identification has significant implications for students. It is teachers and the education system itself over time that develops a system of learning and defines what acceptable student performance is. If a student cannot demonstrate ability in these predetermined ways, he/she will be seen as needing a referral for special services (Fu, 1995).

129


The identification process that follows the initial referral by the classroom teacher often invokes the involvement of para-educators outside the classroom. Based on psychologists’ records, Hutton (1985) identified eight main classroom teacher reasons for referrals: poor peer relationships, displays frustration, below academic expectations, shy and withdrawn behavior, disruptive behavior, fighting, refuses to work, and short attention span. Poor peer relationships was concluded as the number one referral reason for both sexes; fighting was most cited by early-elementary teachers. Other research (Abidin & Robinson, 2002; Andrews, Wisniewski, & Mulick, 1997; Jackson, 2001; MacMillan & Siperstein, 2001; Mamlin & Harris, 1998) has investigated classroom teachers’ referral reasons; there is a common element of “nonacademic developmental difficulties” in referring students for special education services: social-behavioral issues, inadequate home environment (Mamlin & Harris, 1998), height and weight relative to peers for students suspected of having developmental or behavioral problems (Andrews et al., 1997), ethnic background (Jackson, 2001), overlooking exclusionary clauses of exceptionality category criteria so as to attain services (MacMillan & Siperstein, 2001), and the stress a teacher experiences relative to a target student (Abidin & Robinson, 2002). This illustrates the issues that can be considered by classroom teachers in referring students which are beyond pure academic factors.

In my school, the school psychologist’s assessment results determined if a student met the criteria to be identified as exceptional or not; teachers’ observations and students’ performance carried little weight in the final determination. Classroom teachers and I were frustrated with student cases where there was an obvious need but not the assessment results to justify formal identification. Contrary to the practices of my school district, Ysseldyke and Algozzine (1981) found that school identification committees gave such weight to referral reasons that they often overruled contradictory assessment data of school psychologists. At my school, a student’s actual academic programming needs might have been met if this practice had been in place. This illustrates a further dimension of the irregularity of the identification process with the school district in this study; not only do students who need assistance have to illustrate need for referral for special education services (knowingly or unknowingly) to their classroom teacher, but they also need to demonstrate intelligence and academic achievement assessment results which fit predetermined exceptionality categories. If students failed at any of these steps in the process, their need for guaranteed special education services is denied; yet, their classroom performance indicated that they did need services.

So as to extend the research just discussed on referral reasons for special education services, this study illustrates the referral reasons of general education classroom teachers who have now implemented new curriculum standards (Curriculum Expectations, 1998). These revised standards have been the result of a perception that Ontario’s students have been falling behind the academic abilities of their peers in other countries (Brown, 2000). Teachers have focused their pedagogy into the defined curriculum content topics and benchmark expectations of this new curriculum. Standardized testing (Education Quality and Accountability Office, 2005) has also had a significant impact on a heightened level of accountability within the school. Given this context, this research study aims to determine how teachers view referral reasons for special education services.

Interpreting the DataQualitative research methods were used in this study of how students come to be referred for special education services. Semi-structured, informal interviews with thirteen, purposefully chosen classroom teachers from kindergarten to sixth grade yielded data on how they came to identify a need for a special education referral; participant observation data enriched the description of the resulting themes from the data. All teachers in my school who taught kindergarten to sixth grade were invited and agreed to participate; these grades were chosen

130


because the bulk of referrals typically came from these grade levels. All but three teachers who were interviewed had at least five years in the field and most of the teachers had some experience with the academic curriculum of the school district and delivering it. In their role as classroom teachers, they had come to experience students who have difficulty and, therefore, show signs of needing referral for special education. An aspect in my being the researcher in this study that facilitated the data collection is the fact that the informants and I had been colleagues for some time. I was their special education consultant teacher in inclusion classrooms. It was routine procedure for them to dialogue student cases with me. We had also participated in a number of professional activities together in terms of school and district committees and professional development activities. They did not feel inhibited in discussing their thinking in terms of referral criteria. This helped make their responses informative relative to the research questions of this study. I met with each informant for a mutually agreed upon 45-60 minute session. The main purpose of the interviews was to generate data relative to the referral reasons for students considered for special education services. Each interview began with a descriptive question: Could you tell me about your day with your students? A series of probing questions followed: Did anyone surprise you with what he/she produced? Did anyone find it difficult? How did you come to notice this? It was interesting to learn how the teacher came to notice students’ needing a referral for special education. Indeed, these signs are what trigger students to be put on the road to be assessed either by a medical practitioner or child psychologist. The closing question was: Do you wish to add anything else we may have missed? This allowed each informant the opportunity to end each interview with closing comments.

I tape recorded and transcribed each interview to have a reliable record of the conversations with the various teachers. After reading the data set several times, I organized the data into topical themes by jotting down notes, using standard word processing software, and keeping a separate running list of major ideas (Guba & Lincoln, 2000; Miller & Crabtree, 2000; Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998). I completed member checks with informants to validate the verbatim record of the interviews. Pseudonyms were used for place names and people (teachers are coded by their grade level) relative to this study to ensure confidentiality of the informants. After analyzing the data by searching for common concepts and practices, several themes emerged as to why a student would be referred for special education services.

Discussion of Thematically Organized DataInability to Apply the Presented InformationA prominent theme of needing referral for special education services mentioned by the participants in this study involved their perceptions of students’ inability to apply presented information in their work. Students are expected by many teachers to demonstrate presented academic content; it is not so much what students attempt to do that is important but rather what they demonstrate that they can do: I would like to think there are some areas [in which] he [has] average intelligence but just can't get the work down on paper. We can’t mark potential. We have to mark what we see (fourth grade teacher (a), field notes). This relates to the evolution in the reporting process to parents from a student grade for achievement and effort to only a grade for achievement. With standardized assessments and grade-level expectations, academic performance is the key criteria of success. If a student is to be successful, he/she will need to demonstrate knowledge of presented material. The presumption of outcomes based education is that learning must be documented in prescribed ways so as to prove a student’s knowledge to someone else; effort alone is insufficient.

Our educational system has been socially constructed over time to identify certain students with deemed acceptable levels of ability to be rewarded and those without the required level of skills to be deemed deficient in some way (Fu, 1995). However, acceptable and deficient are relative terms. The learning style format in which the student is to learn has a large influence on the potential for students demonstrating academic success. If a different learning

131


format (e.g., visual instead of auditory) were offered to the student, successful demonstration of knowledge might be better.

Sufficient background experiences of the student can also really facilitate or impede learning and success with assessments. Familiarity with a topic provides the student with terminology and a point of reference which helps the student to understand the new learning tasks in the classroom. Intellectual stimulation is facilitated through out-of-school learning experiences; they really help students to develop personal inquiry skills and interests which complement activities done in the classroom. Students who lack these opportunities and/or abilities arrive at school without the prerequisite skills that schools expect. This construction of the learning environment has been designed for students to succeed in ways that are implied through academic standards, curriculum texts, and standardized tests.

When expected academic performance is not achieved, the student’s inability provokes consideration of the next steps in the referral process: Then I have the one student that probably will be brought to [the in-school special education consultant team]. My expectation for him isn’t to complete the activity. I usually let him [do] as much as he can follow along with the regular routine. He won’t be able to complete like a phonics page. He just learned how to write his name (kindergarten teacher (c), field notes).

There is an implied relationship here between the expectation as defined by the teacher and the student’s demonstrated level of performance. If the expectation of a higher level of achievement were defined for the student, it’s possible that the student’s products would indicate an increased level of skill.

The component of students’ incomplete work can also become the center of discussion: Incomplete work. Eventually, monitoring the work that [the students] do; and then finally having their tests and [seeing that they did not do] well at all (first grade teacher (a), field notes). Another teacher made a similar comment: The fact that they are not processing all of the information that is being given to them. It doesn’t show up in their work (kindergarten teacher (a), field notes). When students are presented with curriculum content and provided time to practice with it, they are to demonstrate that knowledge in curriculum assessments. [A student] that is frequently getting the wrong answer and sometimes writing down anything. Other times really trying but really isn’t grasping the concept that we are working on. Incorrect answers (first grade teacher (b), field notes). Difficulty in doing this renders the student as needing consideration for a referral for special education services.

A student can be defined as needing referral for special education services because of not indicating a level of understanding with a task: Another thing is rushing through the task with very little understanding of the task. When [I marked the assignment,] there was very little understanding (second grade teacher, field notes). Rushing through an activity could indicate a variety of difficulties; the student may not be able to read the directions, retain the practiced concept in long-term memory for a test at the end of a unit of study, or not be able to attend to a task long enough to complete it. When their feedback comes back, they are not showing understanding. Written assignments are always an indicator (fifth grade teacher, field notes).

The practice of writing involves a series of techniques and abilities which must come together on demand to complete the task. The student needs to have: knowledge of the topic to formulate ideas; the ability to organize them in a cohesive fashion; the gross and fine motor ability with the arm, hand, and fingers; and the ability to integrate these skills to produce written text. Adaptive technology such as Co: Writer SOLO (Johnson, 2005) or Dragon Naturally Speaking (Nuance, 2005) can greatly assist with production of text, but the student must still generate the ideas and sequencing of the text. Knowledge of the student’s strengths and weaknesses in these areas would help inform classroom practices and strategies that help meet the student’s needs. With a referral for special education services, an adaptive

132


technology assessment could help inform the classroom teacher of what the student’s needs are.

Needing Assistance/Requiring Repetition of Directions or InstructionsA second indicator of the need for referral for special education services was students often asking for assistance and needing repetition of directions. These classroom teachers highlighted the need for students to be able to complete tasks independently. The student is unable to follow instructions or independence skills in an activity. They cannot do the activity without the teacher working one-to-one with them. Needing clarification from step to step (kindergarten teacher (d), field notes). As well, two out of the four of them [referred for special education] are constantly asking questions. It’s consistent in all subject areas that they need the extra help (third grade teacher (b), field notes). Teachers require students to demonstrate the skills implied in doing a task. I’m watching to see how they pick up on what I say to them. Is the message going through...? How far/well do they follow through on directions I give them (fourth grade teacher (b), field notes)? This indicates that the means in working on curriculum expectations is as important as the end product. One teacher highlighted a more obvious student example: Not being able to understand instructions. Before we sit at circle time before we do an activity, I go through the entire activity and I do it with them. If they are not able to go and do that independently, I just prompt them. They need to be reminded of what to do (kindergarten teacher (b), field notes). Even the gestures and facial expressions can be indicators of needing referral for special education services. Another thing I notice is when someone isn’t getting what we are doing is a ‘blank’ look that they get. I know immediately that they do not understand what I am saying (first grade teacher (b), field notes).

Our educational system has a significant undercurrent of the Socratic Method in its delivery. Teachers give directions and students are expected to respond appropriately. When they do not, this is a sign of needing referral for special education services. The assumption is that students should be able to understand in the context of the teaching method/style we choose. The educational system in its methodological and theoretical expectations has constructed an expected manner and rate at which students must demonstrate an ability to achieve the learning outcomes. Those who are unable to do this are labeled as needing referral for special education services.

InattentionTeachers commented on inattention as a sign of a child possibly needing referral for special education services. They described inattentiveness in the following ways. [a student who is very distracted, easily distracted, or needs refocusing. This would trigger off that they are not going to be able to finish tasks. Also, because [the students] can’t accomplish the task, [this] is why they are distracted—it's both ways--cause or effect (fourth grade teacher (b), field notes). This teacher saw a connection between inattentiveness and inability. Not being attentive to what we are doing. [The student may be] … attentive for a short amount of time, and then because what we are doing is difficult, losing that attentiveness (first grade teacher (b), field notes). This teacher commented about children who can attend to a task but then lose their ability to focus due to the difficulty in what is expected. This could be connected to the level of difficulty of the curriculum expectations themselves and/or the structured manner of delivery in the classroom. Other teachers commented on the aspect of students being disengaged from the pace and activity of the classroom. [A student who is] just sitting there (third grade teacher (a), field notes). The first sign would be not able to begin a task immediately (second grade teacher, field notes). [A child who lacks] focus and concentration (kindergarten teacher (a), field notes). They aren’t able to maintain eye contact or they aren't able to sit still or be able to hold their head up (sixth grade teacher, field notes). Inattention may be the result of something entirely other than the child (e.g., a student’s reaction to food additives). It is possible that learners who are considered for referral for

133


special education services can be constructed by the educational system due to reasons beyond their control.

Inability to Complete Tasks in the Allotted TimeAnother sign reported by participants was that of a student’s inability to complete tasks in the allotted time as interpreted by the classroom teacher. [A student] who takes much longer at tasks (fourth grade teacher (b), field notes). Inability to carryout [and] complete the activities and tasks (Kindergarten teacher (a), field notes). Not only is there an expectation of being able to produce a demonstration of knowledge of presented material but also a need for students to do it within timed parameters. When they do not, this is considered a sign of needing referral for special education services. Again, this is part of the construction of the curriculum expectations that provoke the systemic creation of students who are considered for special education referrals. A first grade teacher (a) commented that not just an incomplete activity of a student but incomplete class activities throughout a unit of study indicated the need for referral: [The students produce] incomplete work. Eventually, [I monitor] the work that they do; and then finally [I see] their tests and [and that they are] not doing well at all. This would infer that the student had difficulty with tasks in a variety of learning formats. I worked with students in a first grade teacher’s (a) class on a number of occasions; this teacher used music, drama, discussions, art, written and oral language activities and others in presenting information, having students practice a concept, and demonstrate knowledge. A fourth grade teacher (a) commented that difficulties with components of a task would indicate the need for referral: [Students may have an] inability to keep up. Multi-step directions are a problem. Always being way behind the others. This last comment again alludes to the social construction of our education system. The concept of intelligence and success with learning is significantly determined by comparing students relative to their peers.

“Look”/Atypical BehaviorTeachers commented on assessing students’ comportment and behavior outside the classroom with peers, adults, and simply the students’ look. They seem to have specific needs--speech and language or fine motor--lots of things. By observing them mostly (third grade teacher (a), field notes).Sometimes you can tell by looking at a student that they are different than the other students in the class because they are. They shuffle when they walk. Shaking. There's a whole variety of things you can observe. [The student may demonstrate] emotional highs and lows. They are constantly in social conflict with other students. They can’t reason what’s happening to them (sixth grade teacher, field notes). This reason for referring a student for special education services indicates a dimension extenuating from demonstration of academic ability. Unlike the previous referral criteria discussed, atypical behavior/look relate to a greater degree of subjectivity in the referral process. In working with this sixth grade teacher for nine years, I can think of students who were referred from her class exhibiting these characteristics.

When students have difficulty with curriculum content, they can easily become discouraged with their chronic academic inability. Dr. Richard Lavoie (F.A.T. City, 1989) discusses the simulation of a student with a learning disability being like a poker player who arrives for a game of poker with no poker chips to play with. Every attempt at academics is a leap of faith due to low self-concept (that a student will not feel motivated to attempt an activity due to failure with past academic activities). This reality for students with disabilities can render them with feelings of success when it happens and despair when they fail. Not doing well with classroom activities may lead them to misbehave in the school yard.

While some students indicate a need for referral over a period of time, this teacher commented that the need for referral can be immediate and obvious:

134


I guess you flag students whose attitude you spot first. In the first day, there’s nothing in the written format, is there? So, he was an easy pick. He had all the trappings of [needing referral for special education services] by what he didn’t do. By what he didn't say, that concerned me (fifth grade teacher, field notes).Whereas the sixth grade teacher had defined her referral criterion relative to students’ demonstrated actions, this fifth grade teacher determines a need for referral based on what is not demonstrated as well. With our socially constructed education system, students need to explicitly demonstrate what they can do; when they do not demonstrate an ability to express themselves in clear sentences, for example, teachers may read this as the student having difficulty with oral language.

This atypical behavior/look referral criterion relates how the system encourages students to be categorized into groups. Through observations, teachers draw conclusions about where students fit the mold that has been constructed for demonstrating knowledge. The second grade teacher explained her view:As educators, we should be able to modify as much as possible, but also utilize the resources and people in our school. I don’t really see it being different in the future. Especially with special needs kids who are mainstreamed, the main thing is that they have special needs. They need equipment and activities. Their approach to life is completely different. It is not like the average child (second grade teacher, field notes). Interviewer: How do you see and know that? Second grade teacher, field notes: Oh, you see it. Their behavior, how they talk, how they understand the world around them, how they socialize. You see it in many things that they do. It is many things that they show in the classroom and even at recess time. It’s part of their personality…. I think you’ll have [students needing referral for special education services] no matter what. When I was growing up, you were considered dumb. Teachers were allowed to call you dumb. You’re in the “dumb reading group.” You won’t amount to much. I think by having teachers not using that kind of language has really pulled us up. Also, the labeling is necessary for certain kids. I think how we label and when we label is important to watch out for. It is not too early, but if there is severe disabilities that the child is experiencing when they are working in a classroom situation, those children should be looked at an earlier stage. Others should be able to let go a little bit longer (second grade teacher, field notes).

Based on teachers’ referral criteria, their interpretation and perceptions of a student have a great influence on the interpretation of a student’s abilities. These interpretations and perceptions are created within an education system that defines for the student how learning will take place and in what manner the demonstration of knowledge acquired will be determined. When a student does not fit this mold, they become labeled and categorized given their supposed inability to conform to the norms of the classroom. This results in the idea that labeling is necessary in order to help such students who do not conform to the norms.

Referral Criteria for Special Education Services: Lessons LearnedSignificance of the FindingsThe key referral criteria that these teachers used to identify students needing referral for special education services included a combination of student characteristics that teachers observed (inattention, lack of comprehension, inability to complete tasks in the allotted time, and poor test performance) and what teachers inferred—e.g., about the way a student looks. These were characteristics mentioned often by classroom teachers as being key signs they used to nominate students for special education services. Based on the perspective of the informants, a student who presents himself/herself as different, academically unable, or with atypical comportment to the teacher is interpreted as needing referral for special education services.

The comment about the way a student looks provokes an issue that has been concluded from previous research (Andrews et al., 1997; Jackson, 2001; Mamlin & Harris, 1998). With

135


defined expectations (Curriculum Expectations: Grades 1-8, 1997) for students, teachers may refine their perspective of students based on how they present themselves. However, first impressions can be very misleading which could result in students being referred even though hidden academic ability is present. This highlights the key role classroom teachers have in the referral process. However, the results of this study contradict much of the previous research (Abidin, 2002; MacMillan, 2001; Jackson, 2001; Mamlin, 1998; Andrews, 1997) about classroom teachers’ reasons for referring students for special education services. One of the referral criteria mentioned by participants in this study relate to academic tasks within the context of the classroom. With the focus being placed more and more on curriculum expectations and standardized assessment in schools (Curriculum Expectations, 1998), perhaps academic ability is resulting as a key element in the way teachers’ perceive students and, therefore, in how referrals are made.

As a special education teacher at Ridgefield Elementary, I could certainly sense an elevated sense of stress amongst the staff when the new curriculum standards and standardized testing (Education Quality and Accountability Office, 2005) began in 1998. At the same time, there was also a sense of confidence with what teachers were doing in terms of curriculum because these curriculum documents (Curriculum Expectations, 1998) stated clearly what was to be taught—and that there was a lot to be covered in the curriculum. This renewed focus on academic ability being the key component of assessment in the report card and with standardized testing results being so prominent for the school’s reputation, classroom teachers’ focus on academic ability for referral criteria is logical. They would want those students who are not performing well to receive the help that they should have to attain good marks on their report card and standardized tests. Classroom teachers at the school have certainly become more sensitive to academic performance with Ontario’s renewed Curriculum Expectations (1998) and standardized assessments (Education Quality and Accountability Office, 2005) at the third and sixth grade levels. Having been a teacher at the school previous to their implementation in 1998, I certainly noticed a difference in the pedagogical tone and focus. Each fall, the results of the previous May’s results would be released. Thankfully, we always did well. However, teachers became more and more sensitive to accomplishing the curriculum content.

It is interesting that the data did not include any references to parental suggestions for referrals. Having been a teacher at Ridgefield Elementary for eight years, there were cases where the parent did inquire (and in a few cases demanded) special education services. The semi-structured interviews did not provoke this to be mentioned. I think that this could be the case for one of two reasons: first, referrals instigated by parents were rare; second, classroom teachers were hesitant in making a referral that they did not feel justified themselves in making. This exemplified standard procedure for special education referrals at Ridgefield Elementary.

LimitationsGiven my role as a special education teacher in the school and as the researcher in this study, my personal attitudes and background as well as those of the informants both work to provoke elements of compromise within the data. Creating a schedule of interview questions, conducting interviews with a group of people and interpreting the data also gives a researcher a significant degree of power over the whole process. As Scott and Usher (1998) observe, Those who carry out educational research need to realize that they are not engaging in a neutral activity but rather in a politics of knowing and being known where power is never absent. As a consequence, it is important to view the exercise as objectively as possible when using the data to suggest conclusions—even if they may not have matched the study’s hypotheses. (Scott, 1998 #299)

136


The concept of doing these semi-structured interviews encapsulates theories of communication and social reality (Briggs, 1982). In a manner of speaking, a researcher attempts to create a portrait of the real world by playing a dominant interactional role in the interviews. Through the posed questions, classroom teachers were led away from their own routine thoughts to the issues concerning this study. Therefore, the interviewer needs to consider one’s own participation in the discussed issues when analyzing the data. One example would be the discussion with the second grade teacher about her stating the perspective that students with exceptionalities will always exist due to their approach to life being completely different. This was one conversation that I will probably never forget given her articulating the view that students with exceptionalities are a virtual reality for schools; they have needs which command being addressed. My interest in these comments provoked me to extend the discussion. In effect, one must be careful of viewing the collected data as conclusive and final. Also, there is the issue of how one comes to investigate this topic as an educated middle-class person. Briggs (1982) refers to this as scientific colonialism. Addressing this topic from the point of view of a teacher implied an emphasis on the interviewer’s perspective as a special education teacher and those of the classroom-teacher informants. It is inevitable that the way in which the research has been conducted and viewed involves contradictions and assumptions that would generate different data with another researcher: Just as interview techniques contain hidden theoretical and ideological assumptions, they are tied to relationships of power and control (Briggs, 1982).

Future ResearchTo expand on the findings of this study, future research should assess a larger sample of teachers. Research investigations could consider the impact that standardized testing itself is having on the referral process. Another means to extend this research would be to compare a typical standardized curriculum classroom setting with a more learning styles educational environment and see to what degree this alternative method might impact on the number of students being seen as needing referral for special education services.

Final ThoughtAs I reflect on my session with Mark and how he came to be initially referred, assessed, and identified with a disability, I wonder how special education support has impacted his life. Instead of being ignored in the classroom, there is awareness of Mark’s educational needs. Through accommodations and modifications to curriculum programming, Mark’s opportunity for success in his high school program and later occupation are facilitated. That initial referral in first grade by the classroom teacher (and the required special education standardized assessment scores) was that important first step.

ReferencesAbidin, R., & Robinson, L. (2002). Stress, biases, or professionalism: What drives teachers' referral judgements of students with challenging behaviors. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 10(4), 204-212.Algozzine, B., Ysseldyke, J., & Christenson, S. (1983). An analysis of the incidence of special class placement: The masses are burgeoning. The Journal of Special Education, 17, 141-147.Andrews, T., Wisniewski, J., & Mulick, J. (1997). Variables influencing techers' decisions to refer children for psychological assessment services. Psychology in the Schools, 34(3), 239-244.Brown, L. (2000, December 11). Ontario mark ranks seventh in the world. The Toronto Star, p. B1. Briggs, C. (1982). Learning how to ask. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Bruner, J., & Haste, H. (Eds.) (1987). Making sense: the child's construction of the world. New York: Methuen.

137


Bucci, J., and Reitzammer, A. (1992). Teachers make the critical difference in dropout prevention. The Educational Forum, 57, 63-69.Caram, C. (2001). The best-kept secret in at-risk education. Phi Delta Kappa, 37(2).Cullen, J., and Shaw, S. (2000). The accuracy of teacher prediction of student test performance for students referred for special education. In C. d. a. g. education (Ed.) (Vol. 41). Connecticut.Curriculum Documents (1998). Curriculum expectations, grades 1-8. Retrieved December 3, 2005, from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/.Davis, W., and McCaul, E. (1990). At-risk children and youth: A crisis in our schools and society. Augusta, ME: State Department of Educational and Cultural Services.Education Quality and Accountability Office. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2005, from http://www.eqao.com/categories/home.aspx?Lang=E Evans, P. (1995). Children and youth "at risk." In Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Centre for Education Research and Innovation, Our Children at Risk (pp. 13-50). Paris: Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development.Fu, D. (1995). My trouble is my english. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Freedman, J., & Combs, G. (1996). Narrative therapy: The social construction of preferred realities. New York: Norton.Gergen, K. J. (1990). Social understanding and the inscription of self. In J. W. Sigler, R. A. Shweder, & G. Herdt (Eds.), Cultural psychology: Essays on comparative human development (pp. 569–606). New York: Cambridge University Press.Guba, E., & Lincoln, Y. (2000). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging influences. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 163-188). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Hutton, J. (1985). What reasons are given by teachers who refer problem behavior students? Psychology in the Schools, 22(1), 79-82.Jackson, S. (2001). A study of teachers' referrals to the school counselor. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Seattle, WA.Johnson, D., Inc. Co: Writer SOLO (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2005, from http://www.donjohnston.com/catalog/cow4000d.htm Kohler, V. (2001). Teachers' beliefs about at-risk students. Retrieved October 10, 2001, from http://wwwercir.syr.edu/plweb-cgi/ED312359 Lavoie, R. (1998). F.A.T. city. Arlington, VA: WETA Television.Limbos, M., and Geva, E. (2001). Accuracy of teacher assessments of second-language students at risk for reading disability. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34(2), 135-151.MacMillan, D., & Siperstein, G. (2001). Learning disabilities as opertionally defined by schools. Paper presented at the Learning Disabilities Summit: Building a Foundation for the Future, Washington, D.C.Mamlin, N., & Harris, K. (1998). Elementary teachers' referral to special education in light of inclusion and prereferral: "every child is here to learn.But some of these children are in real trouble.” Journal of Education Psychology, 90(3), 385-396.Mather, N., Woodcock, R. W. (2001). Woodcock-johnson tests of achievement. Itasca, NY: Riverside Publishing Company.Miller, W., & Crabtree, B. (2000). Clinical research. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 607-631). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. “News Release: Higher education standards are putting kids first”. (n.d.) Retrieved March 2, 2001, from http://mettowas21.edu.gov.on.ca:80/eng/document/nr/00.06/higher.html Nuance. Dragon naturally speaking (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2005, from http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/ Pallas, Aaron M. Making schools more responsive to at-risk students. Eric Digests: New York. 1989. http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC Digests.htmlQuantz, R. A., & O’Connor, T. W. (1988). Writing critical ethnography: Dialogue, multivoicedness, and carnival in cultural texts. Educational Theory, 38, 95–109.Right to learn report. (1985). Toronto: Toronto Board of Education. Pp. 1-89.

138

http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC%20Digests.html

http://mettowas21.edu.gov.on.ca:80/eng/document/nr/00.06/higher.html

http://www.donjohnston.com/catalog/cow4000d.htm

http://www.eqao.com/categories/home.aspx?Lang=E


Royal Commission on Learning (1995). Toronto: Queen’s Printer. Retrieved December 3, 2005, from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/abcs/rcom/short/short1.html School Information. (2004). Toronto, Ontario: Ministry of Education. Retrieved December 5, 2005, from http://sbinfo.edu.gov.on.ca/schdata.asp Scott, D., & Usher, R. (1998). Understanding educational research. New York: Routledge.Silverman, D. (2000). Doing qualitative research. London: Sage.Spache, G. D. (1981). Diagnostic reading scales. Monterey, Calif: CTB/McGraw-Hill.Statistics Canada. (2002). 2001 Community Profiles. Retrieved December 3, 2005, from http://www12.statcan.ca/english Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (1998). Mixed methodology: Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Thurlow, M., Christenson, S., & Ysseldyke, J. (1983). Referral research: An integrative summary of findings. Minneapolis: University of Minneapolis.Tunstall, D. F. (1995). At-risk early childhood children, their families, and our future--a beginning view. Retrieved December 18, 2004, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2/content_storage_01/0000000b/80/22/73/e5.pdf Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. London: Harvard University Press. Weiss, R. S. (1994). Learning from strangers: The art and method of qualitative interview studies. New York: Free Press.Wotherspoon, T. (2001). The business of placing Canadian children and youth "at-risk.” Canadian Journal of Education, 26(3).Ysseldyke, J., & Algozzine, B. (1981). Diagnostic classification decisions as a function of referral information. The Journal of Special Education, 15, 429-435.Ysseldyke, J., Algozzine, B., Regan, R., & McGue, M. (1981). The influence of test scores and naturally occurring pupil characteristics on psycho-educational decision making with children. Journal of School Psychology, 15, 429-435.

139

http://www12.statcan.ca/english

http://sbinfo.edu.gov.on.ca/schdata.asp

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/abcs/rcom/short/short1.html


A COMPARISON OF EMOTIONS ELICITED IN FAIR AND UNFAIR SITUATIONS BETWEEN CHILDREN WITH AND WITHOUT BEHAVIOUR PROBLEMS

Gillian Averill-Roper and

Julia J. RucklidgeUniversity of Canterbury

This study compared emotions, assessed during fair and unfair situations, between children (aged 8 to 11) with and without behaviour problems, controlling for SES, depression, anxiety, IQ and educational achievement in order to study the relationship between emotional responses and subclinical antisocial behaviours. Group allocation was determined by parent and teacher reports on the CBCL and the Conners’ Rating Scales. Participants imagined themselves in six scenarios (two unfair, two fair and two neutral) where they were either punished or not punished and then rated different emotions from 1 to 7. Emotions varied significantly by group depending on the type of scenario presented. The unfair scenario with a positive outcome for the participant produced the greatest group differences with the behavioural group reporting emotions consistent with antisocial theory such as less guilt, anger and fear, and more pride and happiness than the controls. The results are discussed in terms of early interventions.

Antisocial behaviour may be regarded as one of the most troubling contemporary societal problems as a fundamental characteristic of individuals with this behaviour is difficulty in conforming to social standards (Cole, Michel, & Teti, 1994). Researchers from many disciplines have examined behaviour problems from different perspectives including cognitive (Loeber & Coie, 2001), information-processing and decision-making theories (Eysenck & Keane, 1990), and social-cognitive information-processing systems (Dodge, 1980; Dodge & Pettit, 2003) in an attempt to better understand the development of behavioural and antisocial problems. Only through such understanding can we begin to intervene before the behaviours have become irreversible.

A number of studies indicate that emotions play an important role not only in influencing an individual’s perceptions and cognition, but also perspective taking and formulation of goals (Crick & Dodge, 1994; Forgas, 1995). Forgas has shown that negative emotions are likely to impinge on an individual’s cognitive ability and consequently can restrict their ability to search for other problem solving solutions. Hughes, Dunn, and White (1998), who studied hard to manage and non-hard to manage preschoolers and their emotions using puppets, found that the hard-to-manage group was able to identify the emotions of the puppets as well as controls when emotions could be predicted from situational cues, but less well on stories that involved affective perspective taking. Children with conduct problems have also been found to be less accurate in interpreting emotions in others (Cadesky, Mota, & Schachar, 2000). They are more likely than their peers to associate inaccurately aggressive intensions to others, and so respond with inappropriate antagonism (Dodge, 1980). Hinde (2001) postulated that the behaviour of individuals with conduct problems might be connected to a propensity to perceive equity in his or her action and behaviours when others would see the circumstances very differently. Ultimately, how children interpret and respond to socio-moral events, in particular their emotional reactions, and later how memories of these socio-emotional

140


experiences influences future interpretations may be an important link in the development of behavioural problems (Arsenio & Fleiss, 1996; Hoffman, 1983). Therefore, an important avenue for research is to explore the relationship between emotional reactions to situations varying in levels of equity and reported behavioural problems.

Various emotional reactions have been studied with respect to fair and unfair situations. For example, Mikula and Scherer (1998) suggested anger and guilt will be the most probable emotional responses to situations that are perceived as unjust, depending upon whether the injustice is to their advantage or detrimental. They demonstrated that anger was the most likely emotional reaction to perceived unjust treatment and situations, with disgust being second. Their results as well as those of Weiss, Suckow, and Cropanzano’s (1999) showed that sadness, fear, guilt, and shame featured as emotional consequences to unjust situations and that when an individual feels that he or she is treated in an unjust manner, his or her emotional reactions are likely to be more intense and powerful. Ultimately, this line of research leads to the question of how children with behaviour problems respond emotionally in comparison to children without behaviour problems in both fair and unfair situations.

The aim of the current research is to increase the knowledge and understanding of children with behavioural problems through studying their emotional responses to hypothetical events. By looking at and differentiating behaviour problem children’s emotions from those of non-behaviour problem children in fair and unfair situations where they are the benefactor of injustice in some situations and the victim in others, it is hoped to gain some insight into the emotional processes of these youngsters and their subsequent behaviour. The age group selected for this study was between 8 and 11 years of age because children’s social-cognitive interpretation skills and perception of emotions are recognized as becoming more multifaceted and distinct during this period (Arsenio & Fleiss, 1996). Further, a non-clinical population was chosen in order to determine whether emotional processing issues are present even in non-clinical ranges of problem behaviour in the externalizing domain.

Based on previous research on antisocial behaviour, three hypotheses were generated for the current study. First, children with behaviour problems would report feeling happier than children without behaviour problems when they obtained a positive outcome during an unfair situation. Second, children with behaviour problems would report more anger than children without behavioural problems in the condition in which they are punished for something they did not do. Third, children with behaviour problems would report less guilt than children without behaviour problems during the unfair scenario where they obtained a positive outcome.

MethodParticipantsFifty-four children, aged between 8 and 11 years, from the same primary school and residential area participated in this study. The children were placed in one of two groups, either the behaviour problem group (15 males, 11 females) or the non-behaviour problem group (controls: 11 males, 15 females), depending on parent and teacher ratings of the children’s behaviour (measures discussed below). Two boys were not included in the analyses (see below). Consent and assent were received by parents and children respectively. Following testing, the parents and children were given a study debrief form. Children with and without behavioural difficulties (according to parental reports) were targeted to participate; however, parental observations of behaviours did not necessarily match with final group allocation (see below). During participation, it was confirmed through informal interview with the parents that no child in the study had to date been diagnosed with a DSM-IV Axis I disorder or serious medical illness.

141


Group Formulation MeasuresSocio-economic Status: Participants socio economic status (SES) was assessed by the New Zealand Socio-economic Index of Occupational Status (Davis, McLeod, Ransom, & Ongley, 1997). It consists of a listing of most job or job types typical in New Zealand and ranking them from 10 to 100 in terms of expected monitory reward and personal status.

Depression: The Child Depression Inventory (CDI), a well validated and reliable instrument, was given to verify whether depression may account for group differences (Kovacs, 1992). The CDI is a 27-item self-report measure suitable for children aged 7 to 17 years and the higher the overall score, the greater the severity of the depression. Any child with a T score over 65 is a suitable candidate for child mental health services due to the possibility of clinically significant problems with depressed affect (Kovacs, 1992). In this study, none of the participants’ CDI scores reached a level of clinical concern.

Anxiety: The Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) was given to participants to ensure that one group did not consist of more anxious children than the other and thereby confounding the results of this study. The RCMAS consists of 37 self-report statements (e.g., I have trouble making up my mind) that have been designed to evaluate the intensity and nature of anxiety in children aged between 6 and 19 years of age with age appropriate norms provided (Reynolds & Richmond, 1978). A higher score indicates greater anxiety. Four subscales are built into this measure: physiological anxiety, worry/oversensitivity, social concerns, and lie. The construct validity of this scale has been supported by Reynolds (1982).

Estimated intelligence: The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Third Edition (WISC-III) was used as an estimate of IQ and assessed using the block design and vocabulary subtests (Wechsler, 1991). The IQ scores were then compared to Periodic Achievement Tests (PAT) scores obtained from the school. PAT tests are carried out at regular intervals throughout all New Zealand schools to assess academic achievement and are normed for the appropriate age and year level of the child. This allowed for verification that there were no obvious deficiencies in the participants’ potential and actual performance, which could have been suggestive of a learning disability.

Behaviour: The Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) is a well validated measure designed to screen for children who exhibit behaviour problems. It is a detailed 113 statement, parent-report questionnaire that consists of nine syndrome scales that are further grouped into two broadband factors: internalising (e.g., depression and anxiety) and externalising (e.g., delinquent and aggressive behaviour). Separate norms for this measure are available for male and female children aged 4 to 18 years (Achenbach, 1991).

Two of the Conners’ Rating Scales – Revised were also used as measures of behaviour: the Conners’ Parent Rating Scale and the Conners’ Teacher Rating Scale (Conners, 1997). There were six behavioural subscales of interest in this study: oppositional, cognitive problems/inattention, hyperactivity, anxious-shy, perfectionism, and social problems. The parent scale is an 80 item self-report questionnaire and the teacher scale is a 59 item self-report questionnaire. Norms for boys and girls aged 3 – 17 are available for all Conners’ Rating Scales (Conners, 1997).

Inclusion criteria for the behavioural group: A T-score above 65 from either the parent or teacher’s responses on the oppositional subscale of the Conners’ rating scale or a T-score above 65 on either of the externalising subscales of the CBCL. The rationale for taking the higher score from either the parent or the teacher was to avoid the possibility of missing behaviour problems manifested in different settings. Research has shown that the level of agreement between parents and teachers is not very high, with correlations ranging from .30 to .50 depending on the behavioural dimensions being rated (Achenbach, McConaughy &

142


Howell, 1987). This suggests either different expectations from raters (Eisenberg, Fabes, & Losoya, 1997), or that children may behave differently in various settings. Because this study was interested in children displaying behaviour problems in any setting, the higher score was used to indicate the existence of problem behaviour.

Inclusion criteria for the control group: A T-score below 60 on both the parent and teachers responses on the oppositional subscale of the Conners’ rating scale and a T-score below 60 on both of the externalising subscales of the CBCL.

Exclusion criteria: 1) An estimated IQ below 85, and 2) a T score falling in between 60 and 65 on either the Conners scales or the CBCL. Two participants were excluded due to this latter criterion.

Dependent MeasuresSix scenarios were developed for this research, depicting fair, unfair, and neutral situations in a school setting. Scenario One described the participant in the study and an acquaintance in a classroom and the participant does something wrong and is punished for it. This was the fair condition where the participant is punished and the acquaintance is not punished. Scenario Two described the same two children, but this time the acquaintance does something wrong and is punished. This depicted the fair condition where the participant is not punished and the acquaintance is disciplined. Scenario Three outlined a school setting where the acquaintance breaks a rule and the participant is punished for it. This was the unfair condition where the participant is punished for something he or she did not do and the acquaintance, who is the perpetrator, is not punished. Scenario Four was also an unfair condition, but the participant was not punished. In this scenario the participant was the perpetrator who breaks the rule and the acquaintance punished. Scenario Five and Six were neutral conditions, where nobody knows who has broken the rule. Scenario Five depicts the entire class being punished and Scenario Six depicted nobody being punished. The unfair/negative scenario was as follows: You and Mike/Mary are in the classroom playing and Mike/Mary breaks a chair. The teacher comes in and blames you. The teacher tells you that you must stay in for half of your lunchtime to write out of the dictionary. When you do go into the playground, Mike/Mary is playing happily with the others. The other scenarios were of similar nature with the event and outcome modified. Mike was used with male participants and Mary used with the female participants.

A manipulation check on the level of fairness was conducted for each of the scenarios: a class of 28 year 7 students (11-12 year olds) were given each of the scenarios to read and then asked to rate the fairness of each one on a scale of 1 (not at all fair) to 7 (extremely fair). According to the ratings, Scenario 1 and 2 (the fair scenarios) were deemed fairer than Scenario 3 and 4 (the unfair scenarios). As expected, the means of Scenarios 5 and 6 fell between the fair and unfair scenarios. The means were tested with a one-factor ANOVA that showed that a significant difference existed between them, F (2, 165) = 150.8, p < .01. Post hoc testing using Tukey’s method (p < .05) revealed all three means (Fair scenario: 6.1 (1.17), neutral: 4.6 (2.21), unfair: 1.3 (0.55)) were significantly different from one another.

The Emotion Questionnaire: An emotion questionnaire was used to assess the strength of various emotions of each participant following imagining being an actor in each of the scenarios. The emotion questionnaire was adapted for this research based on a detailed description provided by Weiss et al. (1999) from their study on the effects of justice conditions on discrete emotions. This research was originally based on Shaver, Schwartz, Kirson and O’Connor’s (1987) groupings of over 200 emotion words. Using their work as a foundation, a short inventory of principal emotions, both target emotions and fillers, were selected for the questionnaire. Following Weiss et al.’s study, each emotion was preceded by the investigator asking the child to rate how much he or she felt that way on a scale of 1 (not at all) to 7 (extremely so). As well as the target emotions for this research (happiness, pride,

143


anger, guilt, and fear), other emotions such as relief and embarrassment were included in order to decrease the demand characteristics of the emotions in the questionnaire.

If the child was unsure what was meant by an emotional word used in the questionnaire, the meaning was given. Each target emotion had a number of emotional words loading on to it. For example, the words loading on to guilt were guilt, sorry, sheepish, and worried. For pride the loading words were satisfaction, pride, triumphant, and success; for happiness, the words were joy, happiness, cheerfulness, and glad; for anger the loading words were anger, mad, annoyed, and rage. Fear only had one word, which was scared.

ProceduresEach participant listened to all six scenarios on audiotape. The order of presentation was randomised to ensure that story order was not a confounding variable. Prior to listening to each scenario, every participant was instructed to take the perspective of the actor referred to as you. Participants were given one of the scenarios, followed by the emotion questionnaire and then completed one of the other measures, such as the CDI or the RCMAS, before going on to the next scenario, providing a distraction between one scenario and the next. The length of time to collect data from each participant varied from 45 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes with some participants requiring breaks. This research was conducted in the participants’ homes to ensure that all children were tested in a familiar environment. The child’s primary caregiver was asked to fill out the Connors’ and the CBCL at the same time as his/her child was partaking in the study; the teachers filled in the Connors’ scales several weeks later.

ResultsSample characteristics: No group differences were found in depression, IQ, age, SES, anxiety, and School PAT tests for Maths, Listening, Reading Comprehension, and Reading Vocabulary. Covariance was therefore not necessary. Comparisons were also made across gender by collapsing the two groups (behavioural and non-behavioural) and no gender differences were obtained on any of the scenarios and therefore sex differences were not considered any further. Table 1 illustrates the means and standard deviations, t tests and effect sizes across groups for these variables. Taken together, this information suggests a similar developmental context for the participants in each group.

Table 1Sample Characteristics .

Variable NC: Mean (SD) Behavioural: Mean (SD) t-values (1, 50) Cohen’s d _________________________________________________________________________________Age 9.7 (1.2) 9.5 (1. 3) 0.45 .16Estimated IQ 114.7 (11.8) 111.6 (12.5) 0.92 .26Anxiety (T scores) 42.6 (8.3) 47.3 (9.7) -1.83 .52Depression (T scores) 42.7 (5.3) 46.2 (7.2) -1.94 .55 SES (10-100) 59.7 (8.8) 61.0 (12.6) -0.44 .12PAT Maths (%ile) 76.4 (21.2) 74.7 (20.9) 0.27 .08PAT Comprehension (%ile) 74.9 (22.1) 67.6 (24.1) 1.12 .32PAT Vocabulary (%ile) 74.6 (20.2) 64.0 (23.4) 1.71 .48Conners Ratings (T scores)Oppositional: P 47.9 (5.3) 65.3 (1.7) -7.30** 4.42Oppositional: T 47.8 (3.5) 57.0 (9.5) -4.53 ** 1.28 Emotional Lability: P 48.3 (7.1) 59.6 (9.2) -4.87 ** 1.37 Emotional Lability: T 47.0 (3.0) 51.2 (5.9) -3.12 ** .90 CBCL (T scores)Aggressive Behaviour 50.2 (1.2) 56.9 (5.5) -5.86* 1.68 Delinquent Behaviour 51.4 (2.8) 60.0 (8.1) -4.98* 1.41 _________________________________________________________________________________P = parent, T = teacher, * p < .05, ** p < .01

144


As can be seen from Table 1, there were significant differences between the two groups for oppositional behaviour on the Conners Rating Scales. As well as these differences being statistically significant, the behaviour problem group also had a mean T score that was clinically significant (T > 65). As expected, other factors on the Connors Rating Scale yielded significantly different results; however, none of these means was near the clinically significant range. On the CBCL, apart from Aggressive and Delinquent behaviour, none of the other factors yielded significant differences between the two groups. Given these two subscales were used in group allocation, these differences were expected.

Dependent variables: Each dependent variable (guilt, pride, happiness, anger, and fear) was analysed with a 3-way Group (behavioural, control) x Justice (fair, unfair, neutral) x Outcome (positive or negative for participant) ANOVA with repeated measures on the first factor. Wilks’ lambda was the statistic interpreted. A significant between group difference was found, (F (5, 46) = 3.375, p < .05), and within subject differences were found on outcome (F (5, 46) = 103.42, p < .001), outcome by group (F (5, 46) = 4.289, p < .01), justice (F (10, 41) = 31.606, p < .001), justice by group (F (10, 41) = 2.545, p < .05), and outcome by justice (F (10, 41) = 31.40, p < .001). The interaction of outcome by justice by group was not significant (F (10, 41) = 1.548, p = ns). Many of these within subject differences were expected in that emotions vary depending on the type of scenario presented to the participant and whether the scenario had a positive or negative outcome for the participant

Figure 1. Participant mean responses across the six scenarios for guilt.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

controlgroup

behavioralgroup

Outcome negative positive negative positive negative positive

Justice FAIR UNFAIR NEUTRAL

GUILT

**

**p<.01

145


The univariate results revealed that for the emotions fear (F (2, 100) = 4.537, p < .05), happiness (F (2, 100) = 7.556, p < .01), and anger (F (2, 100) = 3.23, p < .05), there were significant interactions between the fairness of the scenario and group. Further, it was also found that the emotions of pride (F (1, 50) = 9.307, p < .01), guilt (F (1, 50) = 6.122, p < .05), happiness (F (1, 50) = 15.143, p < .001), and anger (F (1, 50) = 19.223, p < .001) varied by group depending on whether the outcome was positive or negative for the participant. These emotions across the six scenarios are depicted in Figures 1-5.

To further explore the relationships described above and to determine in which scenario specific emotions varied by group, a MANOVA was conducted for each emotion across the six scenarios. Guilt: As the overall MANOVA was marginally significant (F (6, 45) = 2.136, p = .06) in addition to the significant interaction noted above, the univariate analyses were interpreted. In the unfair situation with the positive outcome, children with behaviour problems reported significantly less guilt, F (1, 50) = 8.608, p < .01, than control children.

Figure 2. Participant mean responses across the six scenarios for pride.

Pride: The overall MANOVA was significant (F (6, 45) = 3.531, p < .01). In the unfair situation with the positive outcome, the children with behavioural problems reported significantly more pride, F (1, 50) = 10.98, p < .01. In the neutral situation with a positive outcome, children in the behavioural group experienced more pride in this scenario, F (1, 50) = 4.104, p < .05.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

controlgroup

behavioralgroup



PRIDE

**

*

*p<.05, **p<.01,

146


Figure 3. Participant mean responses across the six scenarios for happiness.

Happiness: The overall MANOVA was significant (F (6, 45) = 5.071, p < .001). In the fair scenario with a positive outcome, group differences were found for happiness, F (1, 50) = 5.095, p < .05. The children in the behavioural group reported being significantly happier about the positive outcome described in Scenario 2 than those in the control group. In the unfair situation with the positive outcome, the children with behavioural problems reported significantly more happiness, F (1, 50) = 29.33, p < .001.

Anger: The overall MANOVA was significant (F (6, 45) = 4.613, p < .001). There were a number of interesting interactions occurring with reports of anger. In the unfair situation with a negative outcome, a trend was noted, F (1, 50) = 4.327, p < .1, with the children in the behavioural group reporting higher levels of anger than those in the control group. In the unfair situation with the positive outcome, the children with behavioural problems reported significantly less anger than those in the control group, F (1, 50) = 30.769, p < .001. In the neutral situation with a negative outcome, children in the behavioural group reported more anger than those in the control group, F (1, 50) = 10.395, p < .05. In the neutral situation with a positive outcome, while the control group reported more anger, F (1, 50) = 2.434, p < .05, neither group scored on average more than 2 on this measure.

Fear: The overall MANOVA was not significant (F (6, 45) = 1.550, p = .18 and therefore, the univariate results were not interpreted.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

controlgroup

behavioralgroup



HAPPINESS

****

*p<.05, ***p<.001

147


Figure 4. Participant mean responses across the six scenarios for anger.

DiscussionThis research examined the differences in emotions experienced by children identified as having behaviour problems in comparison to those without behaviour problems while imagining themselves in fair, unfair, and neutral school situations with either positive or negative outcomes in terms of punishment. A strength of the study was that a number of confounding factors were assessed and were not found to impact on the results (age, depression, SES, anxiety, gender, IQ and achievement scores), strengthening the interpretation that elevated behaviour problems in children may lead to the different intensities of emotions reported in situations of inequity. Overall, sex differences were not found and therefore gender was not deemed to be a factor influencing the pattern of results. Further, within subject differences we would expect to find were present providing evidence for the validity of the results, including children reporting differences in emotions depending on whether the outcome for the participant was negative or positive or whether the situation had been unfair, fair or neutral.Many group differences and interactions were found across the six scenarios. The behavioural group reported significantly more happiness than the control group in both the fair/positive outcome scenario and in the unfair/positive outcome situation. Relatedly, the behavioural group also reported significantly less guilt in the unfair/positive outcome scenario. Although anger was higher for both groups in the unfair/negative outcome scenario (i.e., where the participant was punished), the behavioural group reported more anger than the control group. Conversely, for the unfair/positive outcome scenario, anger and fear were lower in the behavioural group. Similarly, the behavioural group reported less anger for the neutral/negative outcome scenario. In contrast, in the neutral/positive outcome scenario, the

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

controlgroup

behavioralgroup



ANGER

*p<.05, ***p<.001

***

*

*

148


Figure 5. Participant mean responses across the six scenarios for fear.

behavioural group reported more anger and pride than the control group. These results are supporting the hypothesis that emotional responses to situations of inequity vary depending on the presence/absence of externalizing behaviours in the natural environment.

As predicted, ratings of happiness were significantly higher for the behavioural group in the unfair/positive outcome situation and support recent research finding that behavioural disruptive adolescents expect to feel happier following proactive acts of aggression (Arsenio et al., 2004). The control group, on average, reported no happiness at all in this situation, while the responses of the behavioural group yielded a mean in the mid to upper range of the scale. These results suggest that the control group were not able to feel happy in these circumstances despite not being punished. This may be due to guilt, which the control group reported as higher than the behavioural group in this particular scenario. Similar to other research (e.g., Lochman, Wayland, & White, 1993), it appears that the children with behavioural problems are less perturbed by the plight of another, even when the other party is being blamed for what they have done.

As expected, both groups reported more anger in the unfair/negative scenario, consistent with the justice research, equity theory in particular. Equity theory holds that when an individual perceives that they have been treated in an unjust manner, such as being punished for something that he or she did not do, it is likely to lead to negative emotional states of distress, such as anger. These negative emotional states may act as motivational factors that encourage the individual to attempt to equalize the inequity (Adams, 1965). We also predicted and found that anger would be even higher in the behavioural group because it is considered a dominant

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

controlgroup

behavioralgroup



FEAR

**

**p<.01

149


emotion in individuals with Conduct Disorder (CD) as such individuals are biased towards perceiving the world as a hostile place (Arsenio et al., 2004; Cole et al., 1994; Dodge, 1980). Also, individuals with behaviour problems are typically more sensitive to negative events (Rutter & Quinton, 1984; Thompson, 1986). The significantly greater reporting of anger for the unfair/negative scenario by the behavioural group brings into question how children with behavioural problems go about restoring the inequity in comparison to nonbehavioural problem children. Anger and other negative emotions have been found to impinge on an individual’s cognitive ability and subsequently can restrict their ability to search for alternative solutions, thus raising the probability of making antagonistic attributions of others (Forgas, 1995).

Pakaslahti (2000) suggested that anger and aggression are quite easy solutions for any individual to retrieve from the long-term memory because less direct solutions, while more desirable, are harder to generate. Individuals who are more adjusted in comparison to those who are less well adjusted are postulated to be less satisfied with this first solution that they produce. These individuals are further able to imagine alternative solutions and come up with a variety of choices in order to make a number of potentially effective behaviour responses.

For the unfair/positive outcome scenario, the control group rated anger significantly higher than the behavioural group. Although anger is more consistent with those displaying problems associated with their conduct, in this particular situation it is not surprising that the results are reversed. Dominance and revenge are high on the social agenda of boys who are prone to aggression and the demise of a peer for something that such an individual had done themselves would be unlikely to invoke feelings anger. The anger experienced by the children in the control group is possibly due to them feeling anger toward themselves or anger at the inequity to the situation.

We also expected guilt to be lower for the behavioural group in the positive/unfair outcome scenario. The mean guilt rating for this scenario was around the mid range and, as expected, significantly lower than the control group with a mean score in the higher range. It is not surprising that the guilt level was lower for the behavioural group because diminished guilt and anxiety, relating to wrongdoing of causing of harm to others, are defining characteristics of antisocial individuals (Cole et al., 1994). Along similar lines, the behavioural group also reported more happiness than the control group in the fair/positive outcome scenario. This may have been due to the control group displaying a level of empathy for the friend who was being punished, even though he/she had actually deserved the punishment. If more empathy on the part of the control group is the reason for this result then it is consistent with research that has revealed children who score high on empathy are less likely to engage in aggression and more likely to engage in prosocial behaviour (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998).

Guilt is an emotion that has been implicated in disorders such as depression and anxiety and as such is often depicted as unhelpful. Conversely, Hoffman (1983) argued that it is not only prevalent in society but also often socially beneficial when it is related to guilt over harming others. Although he acknowledged guilt has a self-critical component, he labelled guilt over harming others “empathic distress” and described this as not only an emotion but also as a motivational force due to an empathic reaction to someone else’s distress and the consciousness of being the cause of that distress. In order for an individual to experience the feelings associated with guilt he or she must possess the awareness of the harmful effects that behaviour has on others and that he/she has been the agent of the harm. This requires the ability to make causal inferences involving one’s own action and the change in emotional state or circumstances of another (Hoffman, 1983). The lower level of guilt experienced by the behavioural group in comparison to the control group suggests that the behavioural group

150


was less aware of the harmful effects of some behaviours or did not make the required causal attributions linking their actions to the circumstances of the other party.

Finally, the behavioural group reported significantly more pride than the control group in the unfair/positive outcome scenario, consistent with social goals that are highlighted as important for aggressive boys by Lochman and colleagues (1993). Likewise, the behavioural group rated pride significantly higher than the control group in the positive neutral scenario. This could be due to no one being punished for the misdemeanour and the behavioural group may have been proud of themselves for not being punished even though they were innocent.

Although the results have thus far been discussed in terms of single emotions, emotional dysregulation associated with psychopathology does not necessarily involve a single emotion; rather the dominance or absence of a single emotion reflects a state of dysregulation in the overall emotion system (Cole et al., 1994). The existence of more than one emotion suggests patterning of emotions, where each emotion retains its inherent organisational and motivational properties while also being moderated by the other emotions and having a combined effect on behaviour (Izard, Ackerman, Schoff, & Fine, 2000). For example, Izard and colleagues suggested that anger may occur simultaneously with fear because anger may ease the intensity of the fear experience. Cognitions and subsequent actions stimulated by fear tend to result in avoidance, whereas anger cultivates approach tendencies and confrontation. This anger/fear connection was supported in the current study; for example, the control group reported significantly more anger and fear than the behavioural group in the unfair scenario where someone else was punished for their misdemeanour.

Lack of guilt along with increased anger that was characteristic of the behavioural group lend support to the proposition by Lambert, Wahler, Andrade, and Bickman (2001) that these emotions characteristic of individuals with CD possess reinforcing and maintaining powers. This process can be somewhat cyclical. For example, anger may influence the behaviour in the first place and then the absence of guilt and the subsequent lack of unpleasant punishing feelings often associated with guilt may help maintain it. When an emotion that is deemed appropriate in a particular situation in inaccessible it is likely to be an indication that some fundamental, adaptive function is blocked. Cole and colleagues (1994) postulated that the domination of a particular affect, such as anger or sadness, may block or mask the ability to experience other, more appropriate emotions. Thus, in order to access a range of emotions, an individual may need to learn to control the dominant emotional reaction. This study has verified that these patterns of emotions can be identified at a fairly early age before the development of Conduct Disorder per se and may be important factors leading to the externalizing behaviours typical of antisocial individuals.

A review by Izard (2002) about emotional theory and preventative interventions suggested that with few exceptions, the current approaches to the treatment of children with problem behaviours do not integrate concepts of emotions as organizing and motivational factors that can aid behavioural modification and the development of social and emotional competence. The current research provides evidence that behaviour problem children do experience emotions at different levels of intensity in certain situations as compared with nonbehaviour problem children, suggesting that prevention and intervention techniques could be designed to utilize the motivational and adaptive features of the various emotions.

Also useful in treatment may be emphasizing positive emotions that may be present. When programs work solely on controlling negative emotion, they overlook the possibility that frequently inducing positive emotions could actually boost an individual’s well being as well as moderating negative emotions and their harmful effects on self control (Izard, 2002). Emotion-centred preventive interventions have previously been shown to benefit the

151


development of emotion-based moral reasoning and positive social behaviour of toddlers (Denham, 1986), and therefore such methods could be adapted for older children.

Limitations and future directionsA limited number of participants were used and as a result, restricted the ability to study a number of possible subgroups such as age, culture, and diagnosis (e.g., anxiety or depression). Furthermore, it may also have been useful to establish the affective state of the parents and parenting attitudes given than they have a large influence over the attitudes and feelings of their children (Caspi et al., 2004). It also cannot be ruled out that both groups of children responded with similar emotions; however, the control group was simply better at giving socially desirable responses. Future research could assess individual in multiple settings, rather than just school settings. The current study only looked at a limited number of emotions, which may not give an accurate indication of what goes on emotionally for children in fair and unfair situations. Future research may look at the whole range of emotions and encourage participants to express how they would feel without being prompted by a defined set. While we attempted to prevent carry over effects by administering questionnaires between scenarios, we cannot conclude that emotions were not carried from one scenario to the next. However, given the significant differences in emotions among scenarios, it is likely that the children successfully separated the different scenarios.

The current study described the other individual in the scenarios as an acquaintance. This does not address whether the participant would have different emotional responses depending on whether the other party was a close friend as compared to just an acquaintance or to someone they disliked. Research has already suggested that in experimental settings, children are more emotionally responsive and more prosocial to a friend than an acquaintance (Dunn, Brown, & Maguire, 1995). During the assessment, behavioural displays such as facial expressions or gestures were not recorded. Such information may have provided additional information about the actual emotional experiences of the participants. Also, this study did not address why the participants experienced the emotions they did. Future research would benefit from including questions about what thoughts and cognitions the participant was having, which may have impacted on the responses.

While this research can offer insight into the CD area, the participants in this study were selected based on possible presence/absence of behavioural disturbances but not on a specific diagnosis per se and therefore the results cannot be generalized to children diagnosed with CD. Future research would benefit from using a clinical sample of participants who have been diagnosed with CD and/or ODD, expecting even stronger group differences than those found in this study.

This research supports the inclusion of emotion knowledge in early interventions (Izard, Trentacosta, King, & Mostow, 2004) and has implications for including emotionally-related treatment into any program designed to reduce the unacceptable behaviour of those children and adolescents with behaviour problems. Although a number of future directions are suggested, it appears that the strongest message is that a different set of emotional reactions are present in individuals who are beset with behaviour problems and that intervention in this area may prove to be efficacious. Furthermore, parents, teachers, and other significant adults in the lives of these children may benefit from better understanding the role that emotions play in the behavioural reactions of these children. If the adults involved in the lives of young children are able to work with at risk children in terms of their emotional and cognitive responses, then it may be possible to reduce the number of children who end up on the ODD–CD–Antisocial personality disorder trajectory.

152


ReferencesAchenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Child Behaviour Checklist/4-18 and 1991 profile. Burlington: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.Achenbach, T. M., McConaughy, S. H., & Howell, C. T. (1987). Child/adolescent behavioural and emotional problems: Implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 213-232.Adams, J. E. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol 2, pp. 267-297). New York: Academic Press.Arsenio, W. F., Gold, J., & Adams, E. (2004). Adolescents' emotion expectancies regarding aggressive and nonaggressive events: Connections with behaviour problems. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 89, 338-355.Arsenio, W. F., & Fleiss, K. (1996). Typical and behaviourally disruptive children’s understanding of the emotional consequences of socio-moral events. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 14, 173-186.Cadesky, E. B., Mota, V. L., & Schachar, R. J. (2000). Beyond words: How do children with ADHD and/or conduct problems process nonverbal information about affect? Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 1160-1171.Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Morgan, J., Rutter, M., Taylor, A., Arseneault, L., Tully, L., Jacobs, C., Kim-Cohen, J., & Polo-Tomas, M. (2004). Maternal Expressed Emotion Predicts Children's Antisocial Behaviour Problems: Using Monozygotic-Twin Differences to Identify Environmental Effects on Behavioural Development. Developmental Psychology, 40, 149-161.Cole, P. M., Michel, M. K., & Teti, L. O. (1994). The development of emotion regulation and dysregulation: A clinical perspective. Monographs of the Society of Research in Child Development, 59, 73-1-2.Conners, C. K. (1997). Conners’ Rating Scales-Revised: Technical Manual. NY: Multi-Health Systems Inc.Crick, N. R., & Dodge, K. A. (1994). A review and reformulation of social information processing mechanisms in children’s social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 74-101.Davis, P., McLeod, K., Ransom, M., & Ongley, P. (1997). The New Zealand Socio-economic Index of Occupational Status (NZSEI). Wellington: Statistics New Zealand.Denham, S. A. (1986). Social cognition, prosocial behaviour, and emotion in preschoolers: Contextual validation. Child Development, 57, 194-201.Dodge, K. A. (1980). Social cognition and children’s aggressive behaviour. Child Development, 51, 162-170.Dodge, K. A., & Pettit, G. S. (2003). A biopsychosocial model of the development of chronic conduct problems in adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 39, 349-371.Dunn, J., Brown, J. R., & Maguire, M. (1995). The development of children’s moral sensibility: Individual differences and emotion understanding. Developmental Psychology, 31, 649-659.Eisenberg, M., & Fabes, R. A. (1998). Prosocial development. In W. Damon, & N. Eisenberg (Eds), Handbook of child psychology: Vol 3, Social, emotional, and personality development (5th ed., pp. 701-778). New York: Wiley.Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., & Losoya, S. (1997). Emotional responding: Regulation, social correlates, and socialization. In P. Salovey & D.J. Sluyter (Eds.) Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Educational implications. NY: Basic Books.Eysenck, W. M., & Keane, M. T. (1990). Cognitive psychology. A student’s handbook. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Forgas, J. P. (1995). Mood and judgment: The affect infusion model (AIM). Psychological Bulletin, 117, 39-66.Hinde, R. A. (2001). Can the study of “normal” behaviour contribute to an understanding of conduct disorder? In J. Hill & B. Maughan (Eds.), Conduct disorders in childhood and adolescence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

153


Hoffman, M. L. (1983). Affective and cognitive processes in moral internalisation. In E.T. Higgins, A. N. Ruble, & W. W. Hartup (Eds.), Social Cognitive and Social Development: A Sociocultural Perspective, (pp. 236-274). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Hughes, C., Dunn, J., & White, A. (1998). Trick or Treat?: Uneven understanding of mind and emotion and executive dysfunction in ‘hard-to-manage’ preschoolers. Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 39, 981-994.Izard, C. E., (2002). Translating emotion theory and research into preventive interventions. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 796-824.Izard, C. E., Ackerman, B. P., Schoff, K. M., & Fine, S. E. (2000). Self-organization of discrete emotions, emotion patterns, and emotion-cognition relations. In M. Lewis & I. Granic (Eds.), Emotion, development, and self-organization (pp. 15-36). NY: Cambridge University Press.Izard, C. E., Trentacosta, C. J., King, K. A., & Mostow, A. J. (2004). An emotion-based prevention program for Head Start children. Early Education and Development, 15, 407-422.Kagan, J., Reznick, J. S., & Snidman, N. (1987). The physiology and psychology of behavioural inhibition in children. Child Development, 58, 1459-1473.Kovacs, M. (1992). Children’s Depression Inventory: CDI Manual. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems, Inc.Lambert, E. W., Wahler, R. G., Andrade, A. R., & Bickman, L. (2001). Looking for the disorder in conduct disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110, 110-123.Lochman, J. E., Wayland, K. K., & White, K. J. (1993). Social goals: Relationship to adolescent adjustment and to social problem solving. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 21, 135-151.Loeber, R., & Coie, J. (2001). Continuities and discontinuities of development, with particular emphasis on emotional and cognitive components of disruptive behaviour. In J. Hill & B. Maughan (Eds.), Conduct Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Mikula, G., & Scherer, K. R. (1998). The role of injustice in the elicitation of differential emotional reactions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 769-783.Pakaslahti, L. (2000). Children’s and adolescents’ aggressive behaviour in context: The development and application of aggressive problem-solving strategies. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 5, 467-490.Reynolds, C. R. (1982). Convergent and divergent validity of the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 42, 1205-1212.Reynolds, C. R., & Richmond, B. O. (1978). What I think and feel: A revised measure of children's manifest anxiety. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 6, 271-280.Rutter, M., & Quinton, D. (1984). Parental psychiatric disorder: Effects on children. Psychological Medicine, 14, 853-880.Sattler, J. M. (2001). Assessment of Children: Cognitive Applications (4th ed.). San Diego: Jerome M. Sattler, Publisher, Inc.Shaver, P., Schwartz, J., Kirson, D., & O’Connor, C. (1987). Emotion knowledge: Further exploration of a prototype approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1061-1086.Thomson, R. A. (1994). Emotion regulation: A theme in search of definition. In N.A. Fox (Ed.), The development of emotion regulation: Biological and behavioural considerations. Monographs of the society for Research in Child Development, 59, 25-52.Thompson, R. A. (1986). Temperament, emotionality, and infant social cognition. In J. V. Lerner & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Temperament and social interaction in infants and children (pp. 35-52). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Wechsler, D. (1991). Manual for the WISC III. New York: Psychological Corporation.Weiss, H. M., Suckow, K., & Cropanzano, R. (1999). Effects of justice conditions on discrete emotions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 786-794.

154


International Journal of Special Education

REVISED EDITORIAL POLICY 2006

The International Journal of Special Education publishes original articles concerning special education. Experimental as well as theoretical articles are sought. Potential contributors are encouraged to submit reviews of research, historical, and philosophical studies, case studies and content analyses in addition to experimental correlation studies, surveys and reports of the effectiveness of innovative programs.

Send your article to [email protected] as attachment by e-mail, in MSWORD for IBM format ONLY . Articles should be single spaced (including references). Submit one original only. Any tables must be in MS-WORD for IBM Format. Please include a clear return e-mail address for the electronic return of any material. Published articles remain the property of the Journal.

E-mailed contributions are reviewed by the Editorial Board. Accepted articles may be revised for clarity, organisation and length.

Style: The content, organisation and style of articles should follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association(Third Edition, 1983). An article written in an obviously deviating style will be returned to the author for revision.

Abstracts: All articles will be preceded by an abstract of 100-200 words. Contributors are referred to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for assistance in preparing the abstract.

Responsibility of Authors: Authors are solely responsible for the factual accuracy of their contributions. The author is responsible for obtaining permission to quote lengthy excerpts from previously published material. All figures submitted must be submitted within the document.

JOURNAL LISTINGSAnnotated and Indexed by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and

Gifted Children for publication in the monthly print index Current Index to Journals of Special Education (CIJE) and the quarterly index, Exceptional Child Education Resources (ECER).

The journal appears at the website: internationaljournalofspecialeducation.com

The editor can be reached at [email protected]

155