Children In Special Education Classes Research Articles

Developmental outcomes of children in classes for special educational needs: results from a longitudinal study

This longitudinal study investigates the differences in cognitive and socio‐emotional development and academic achievement between children educated in special education classes (N = 37) and regular classes (N = 37). The study is retrospective. The first measurement point was while children were attending play‐oriented kindergarten and no decision about their education had yet been made. The second measurement point followed after 2 years of schooling. Comparing carefully matched groups, no differences in executive functions (EFs) were found before beginning school. Children assigned to special education had poorer language, fine motor skills and a lower pre‐academic self‐concept, self‐regulatory skills and social integration. Notably, every fourth child in special education was an immigrant, 9% of whom later attended regular classes. After 2 years of schooling in either setting, the groups differed significantly in academic achievement, EFs, fine motor skills and cognitive self‐regulatory skills. However, it was not – as school officials had intended – that children in special education classes had caught up, except in regard to their academic self‐concept and social integration.

COVD-QOL questionnaire: An adaptation for school vision screening using Rasch analysis

PurposeTo adapt the College of Optometrist in Vision Development (COVD-QOL) questionnaire as a vision screening tool for primary school children. MethodsAn interview session was conducted with children, teachers or guardians regarding visual symptoms of 88 children (45 from special education classes and 43 from mainstream classes) in government primary schools. Data was assessed for response categories, fit items (infit/outfit: 0.6–1.4) and separation reliability (item/person: 0.80). The COVD-QOL questionnaire results were compared with vision assessment in identifying three categories of vision disorders: reduce visual acuity, accommodative response anomaly and convergence insufficiency. Analysis on the screening performance using the simplified version of the questionnaire was evaluated based on receiver-operating characteristic analysis for detection of any type of target conditions for both types of classes. Predictive validity analysis was used a Spearman rank correlation (>0.3). ResultsTwo of the response categories were underutilized and therefore collapsed to the adjacent category and items were reduced to 14. Item separation reliability for the simplified version of the questionnaire was acceptable (0.86) but the person separation reliability was inadequate for special education classes (0.79) similar to mainstream classes (0.78). The discriminant cut-off score of 9 (mainstream classes) and 3 (special education classes) from the 14 items provided sensitivity and specificity of (65% and 54%) and (78% and 80%) with Spearman rank correlation of 0.16 and 0.40 respectively. ConclusionThe simplified version of COVD-QOL questionnaire (14-items) performs adequately among children in special education classes suggesting its suitability as a vision screening tool.

Task Analyses Identify Coat-Donning Delays in Preschoolers in Special Education

To describe use of task analyses for school-based documentation of skill levels of a sample of preschool children in special education classes. Coat-donning task analyses and scoring codes were developed for the traditional and coat- flip methods. Preschool children's abilities were scored 3 times per year as part of weekly classroom consultations. Of 601 charts from 2003 to 2007, 171 met inclusion criteria. Initially, 22 (13%) children independently donned coats; 149 (87%) required assistance. Final scores identified that 75 (44%) children achieved or regained independence, 14 (8%) still required assistance prior to kindergarten entrance, 50 (29%) were eligible for more services, and 32 (19%) had services interrupted. Task analyses and scoring codes improved efficiency and standardization of school-based documentation, demonstrated incremental changes over time, and focused task training. The majority of preschool children in this sample were initially delayed in coat-donning independence when compared with preschool children developing typically.

Profiles of dysfluency and errors in classroom discourse among children with language impairment

The current study is part of a larger study that focused on within-group classroom discourse patterns of children in special education classes for language impairment (LI). Eleven children with LI aged 7–9 were examined across 4 classroom contexts: dialogic journal-writing, group lesson, peer play and sharing time. Amount and complexity of language produced (mean length of turn, type token ratio), dysfluency (self-correction, self-repetition and speaker overlap) and communicative errors were plotted for visual analysis of profiles of performance. Results showed group differences in amount and complexity of language produced, dysfluency and errors. Profiles revealed individual variation in patterns of performance that tended to cluster into sub-group similarities in amount and complexity of talk, dysfluency and errors. Implications relate to the sub-classification of LI, as well as to assessment of and therapy for such subgroups. Learning outcomes: The reader will be able to consider why within-group patterns offer different and more qualitative information than cross-group comparisons, and understand the need for both approaches to the study of language in atypically developing children. The reader will be able to differentiate between group patterns and individual differences in dimensions of classroom discourse. The reader will be able to appreciate the impact of social context on different dimensions of communication among children with LI in the classroom. The reader will be able to discuss the role that individual differences and group patterns bear on issues of assessment and treatment of LI in the school system.

Early Intensive Behavioral Treatment

Although previous studies have shown favorable results with early intensive behavioral treatment (EIBT) for children with autism, it remains important to replicate these findings, particularly in community settings. The authors conducted a 3-year prospective outcome study that compared 2 groups: (1) 21 children who received 35 to 40 hours per week of EIBT from a community agency that replicated Lovaas' model of EIBT and (2) 21 age- and IQ-matched children in special education classes at local public schools. A quasi-experimental design was used, with assignment to groups based on parental preference. Assessments were conducted by independent examiners for IQ (Bayley Scales of Infant Development or Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence), language (Reynell Developmental Language Scales), nonverbal skill (Merrill-Palmer Scale of Mental Tests), and adaptive behavior (Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales). Analyses of covariance, with baseline scores as covariates and Year 1-3 assessments as repeated measures, revealed that, with treatment, the EIBT group obtained significantly higher IQ (F = 5.21, p = .03) and adaptive behavior scores (F = 7.84, p = .01) than did the comparison group. No difference between groups was found in either language comprehension (F = 3.82, p = .06) or nonverbal skill. Six of the 21 EIBT children were fully included into regular education without assistance at Year 3, and 11 others were included with support; in contrast, only 1 comparison child was placed primarily in regular education. Although the study was limited by the nonrandom assignment to groups, it does provide evidence that EIBT can be successfully implemented in a community setting.

The Effects of School‐Based Social Information Processing Interventions on Aggressive Behavior, Part I: Universal Programs

This Campbell systematic review examines the effects of universal school‐based social information processing interventions on the aggressive and disruptive behavior of school‐age children. Program effects are examined overall and in relation to methodological and substantive differences across studies.The search strategy identified 89 eligible reports, which gave the results of 73 unique research studies of universal school‐based social information processing programs.The research indicates that short, intensive interventions –e.g. 8‐16 weeks of 2‐5 hours a week – are more effective than extended year‐long programmes. Extended programmes may have a tendency to become routine and thus have less impact on the students. Where the education programmes target children in special education classes, the effect is lesser than in ordinary classes. Pupils in special classes may be prone to many other problems which could reduce the impact of this type of education

Learning of Disabled Children in Japan: Simultaneous Participation in Different Activity Systems

The learning activity systems of disabled children attending local public school in Japan were analyzed within the framework of activity theory. The children participated in several different activity systems at the same time, all of which have certain structural features in common. These include the Subject child, the presence of adults who guide the child's learning, the goals of those adults, and the ontogenetic history that constrains the goals. In this study, two systems-the family and the special education classroom-and their relationship were analyzed. The data were derived from the author's experience as an advisor of parents and teachers of disabled children in special education classes in Japanese local public elementary and junior high schools. When the same Subject child mediated both systems, two kinds of contradictions became visible, both of which were the possible moments of the development of each system: intrasystemic and intersystemic contradictions. The latter occurs because the adults in each system envision the future of the same Subject child based on the different ontogenetic history of the system, and the former occurs because the possible future of the child has to be envisioned based on the existing past. The possibility of the resolution of the contradictions and the development of the systems with a shared ontogenetic history is discussed.

Overrepresentation of bilingual and poor children in special education classes: A continuing problem

Sufficient research has not been directed toward the effect of language and dialect on the placement of children in special education classes. This inquiry considers teachers' choices of assessment materials and knowledge of second language learning in young pre-literate children. Data was gathered from a representative sampling of kindergarten-aged children receiving special education services in three urban Massachusetts communities. The inquiry resulted in a finding of a lack of information on the part of educators as to selection of proper assessment instruments, knowledge of second language learning, and consequent misplacement of young children into special education classes as a result of culture and ethnicity rather than cognitive or physical need. This review highlights the need for further research into the continuing problem of the overrepresentation of poor and bilingual children in special education classes.

Overrepresentation of bilingual and poor children in special education classes: A continuing problem

Overrepresentation of bilingual and poor children in special education classes: A continuing problem

Hispanic Parents' Attitudes and Participation

This research project focused on the attitudes toward education of Hispanic parents with children in regular and special education classes, and it assessed their level of participation in their children's education. One hundred and eighty Hispanic parents participated in this study; 80 Hispanic parents with children in special education classes and 100 in regular education classes were interviewed. Using a series of questionnaires, the attitudes of Hispanic parents toward education were examined, the parents' level of participation in their child's education was determined, their perceptions of common barriers to participation were assessed and their definition of participation was addressed. The special and regular education groups did not differ in their attitudes toward education. There were no significant relationships between parent participation and education, salary or acculturation. There were, however, significant differences between the two groups in availability of transportation, educational activities at home, attendance at parent meetings, parent-parent contact, involvement with administration and advocacy groups and dissemination of information.

Ethnicity and Language Dominance — Influence on the Prediction of Achievement Based on Intelligence Test Scores in Nonreferred and Referred Samples

An urban sample of referred and nonreferred Black, Hispanic, and Anglo pupils were assessed with the WISC-R and K-ABC cognitive and achievement scales. Approximately 38% of the Hispanic sample was identified as Limited-English Proficient (LEP). Analysis of various procedures revealed differences in cognitive and achievement performance due to pupils' ethnicity, referral status, and LEP status. Predictive bias was examined using Potthoff's (1966) simultaneous test of regression slopes and intercepts. For both WISC-R and K-ABC IQ measures, a number of regressions on the K-ABC Total and Arithmetic achievement measures evidenced bias across ethnic groups for both referred and nonreferred samples. Bias due to language dominance also was found for WISC-R and K-ABC composite scales. Implications of predictive bias for assessment and placement of minority and LEP children in special education classes are discussed.

The Counselor As Consultant On Mainstreaming

Realizing that counselors must be aware not only of the needs of children in special education classes, but also of the perceptions of regular education teachers towards these handicapped students,...

Is it necessary to retest children in special education classes?

Is it necessary to retest children in special education classes?

Comparison of Children in Regular and Special Education Classes on the Behavior Problem Checklist

To establish the validity of the Behavior Problem Checklist, using the method of contrasted groups, 1,999 white and 192 Mexican-American children in regular classes and 192 white and 17 Mexican-American children in special education classes were tested. Teachers provided general information and checklist ratings. Multiple correlations and multiple regression analyses of variance were used. Children in regular classes had fewer problems on all four of the factors on the checklist than the children in special education classes. On the basis of these results and a review of previous research using the method of contrasted groups, it was concluded that all four of the factors on the checklist were valid.

Use of Music Training to Actuate Conceptual Growth in Neurologically Handicapped Children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of musical experiences designed to develop specific musical concepts, on the neurologically handicapped child's improvement in spatial, temporal, and ordinal concepts and in his ability to relate these concepts to their verbal symbol. The researchers, while working with children in special education classes at the Institute of Logopedics in Wichita, Kansas, observed that the severely neurologically handicapped child often demonstrated a keen sensitivity to musical stimuli. The child often seemed to develop functional understanding of musical concepts more readily than concepts in other areas. Basing their work on these observations, the researchers undertook an experimental project under controlled conditions to investigate the possible relationship between the development of musical concepts and the development of similar concepts in other contexts.

A Problem of Involvement with Parents of Mildly Retarded Children

Questionnaires were sent to parents of mildly retarded children in special education classes. The results of the study, designed to involve the parents concerning their child's education, were of two kinds. First, significant differences were found between respondents and nonrespondents on socioeconomic status and children's IQ level. Second, those who did respond evidenced intense feelings toward the problem under question, the classificatory labeling of the children. Parental responses reinforced changes planned by the school. An obvious need for parents of mildly retarded children is a parent education program to provide an opportunity for increased involvement and to strike at many misconceptions which persist regarding retardation.