Facilitating the Inclusion of Students with EBD into General Education Classrooms

Abstract

This article reports the outcomes of a 3-year project examining the impact of an experiential inservice program and consultation processes in facilitating the inclusion of students with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) into general education settings. A total of 25 school districts were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. Participants from one group of districts received an intensive experiential inservice program followed by 6 to 8 weeks of on-site consultation to help implement specific intervention strategies learned through the inservice for enhancing inclusionary practices for students with EBD. Participants in the second group also received the in-service but their consultation was delayed by 6 to 8 weeks, during which time they were instructed to also implement the interventions for targeted students. The third group served as a wait-list control. Results showed that immediate implementation of the consultation process was needed for districts to implement learned interventions effectively. Overall, the project underscored the importance of consultation and support services to general education staff for enhancing effective inclusionary practices for students with EBD.