Inclusion of Students with Behavior Disorders in General Education Settings: Research and Measurement Issues

Abstract

Inclusion of students with disabilities, including children and youth diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disorders, has been a prominent and contentious issue for decades. Yet, in spite of the extraordinary attention given this topic, there has been a general absence of empirically sound research to guide policy and practice. This article discusses four research-oriented themes relative to inclusion of students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) in general education settings: (a) the appropriateness and relevancy of current inclusion measurement targets; (b) the extent to which inclusion is a clearly identified and independent treatment variable; (c) the extent to which inclusion research has sufficient external validity to give it generalization value; and (d) the social validity value of research connected to inclusion of students with EBD.