Structuring Small Groups and Music Reinforcement to Facilitate Positive Interactions and Acceptance of Severely Handicapped Students in the Regular Music Classroom

Abstract

Positive interactions of severely handicapped students integrated into four grade levels of I elementary music classes were studied under three teaching conditions: (a) large group, (b) small cooperative group, and (c) small cooperative group with a music listening contingency for cooperation. The design consisted of multiple baselines for social interaction with pretest and posttest measures of nonhandicapped students' general acceptance and acceptance of their severely handicapped peers within music. The mean rates of positive interactions were found to increase relative to the degree to which antecedents (small group) and reinforcement (music) were structured for interactions. Mean rates were highest under small group contingency conditions and lowest under large group conditions. Grades with the highest rates of positive interactions indicated significant positive change for music as well as general acceptance. Results indicate that positive social interactions between nonhandicapped and handicapped students in the integrated music classroom with increases in nonhandicapped students' acceptance are not a result of music classroom experiences and music instruction alone but the degree to which teaching conditions specifically structure classroom antecedents and reinforcement for social interaction. Benefits of the integrated music classroom are discussed.