Sociocultural Context Effects on Teacher's Readiness to Refer for Learning Disabilities

Abstract

The social context of the special education referral process is influenced by a number of variables. Demographic and perception data were collected from 63 first-through fifth-grade general education teachers from three Midwestern public school districts to determine the impact of sociocultural variables on teachers' perceptions of classroom behavior, management, and referral tendencies. Teacher, classroom, and school variables including teachers' perception of a learning disability, educational level, grade level, instructional practices, and prereferral intervention models significantly influenced teachers' behavioral perceptions and referral tendencies. These results can inform teacher-training programs to ensure that general educators increase their ability to accurately detect learning difficulties and their awareness of the importance of their perceptions, instructional practices, and school factors on special education referral.