Childhood Special Education Research Articles

Broadening the Cultural-Organizational Perspective in Exclusion of Youth with Social Maladjustment

Tbis article reviews the problem of exclusion from special education of children or youth with social maladjustmerit, but expands the conceptualization by placing it in the context of the historical need to limit services to cbildren or youth with emotional or behavioral disorders and the current underidentification of such pupils. Definitional issues that tend to confuse the debate, at both the microand macroperspective level, are also considered.

Correlations among Special Education Students' Wisc—R IQS and Sra Scores

For 50 children in special education from rural north central Kansas school districts (30 boys, 20 girls) were recorded SRA scores (Composite, Reading, Mathematics, and Education Quotient) and WISC-R IQs (Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance). There were no sex differences on any variable and all variables intercorrelated (Pearson) significantly. The two tests gave similar results over-all, confirming that the individually administered WISC-R and the group-administered SRA provide information on children's academic abilities and, used together, give a basis for appropriate judgments regarding academic abilities.

Development of a Treatment Rating in School Systems: Service Determination Through Objective Measurement

This paper introduces the Capital Area Treatment Rating (CATR) being developed by the occupational and physical therapists of the Capital Area Intermediate Unit in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This rating assists therapists in identifying children in special education who require occupational or physical therapy treatment. The CATR consists of two measurement categories - functional levels and clinical judgment factors - each of which is rated on a 4-point ordinal scale. The scores from each of these categories are then added together for a final rating score. A pilot test involving 180 children in special education indicated that the need for treatment is most consistently associated with a score of 28 points or above on the CATR. A survey of 17 pediatric occupational therapists revealed strong support for the instrument's content and resulted in a revised version. Suggestions for future research and ongoing development are discussed, as are general guidelines for use of the instrument in special education occupational therapy programs.

Federal Early Childhood Special Education Policy: A Model for the Improvement of Services for Children with Disabilities

Services in early childhood special education for children with disabilities, birth through 5 years, and their families have expanded and improved substantially in the past 25 years. The federal government, through legislation, regulation, and a variety of incentives, has played an integral role in this progress. The authors review the evolution of federal education policy in early childhood and the accomplishments achieved, including the development of the Handicapped Children's Early Education Program, the Early Childhood Research Institutes, and Public Law 99-457, the Handicapped Infant and Toddler Program (Part H). This history can serve as a model for federal involvement in the improvement of services for other groups of individuals with special needs.

Leadership in the Language Arts: Dear Principal, Please Let My Special Education Child Read and Write

Leadership in the Language Arts: Dear Principal, Please Let My Special Education Child Read and Write

An Attributional Analysis of Maternal Beliefs about the Importance of Child-rearing Practices

2 principles from attribution theory, covariation and hedonic bias, were employed to examine mothers' attributions for their children's outcomes in the academic, social, and personality domains. Mother of 5–17-year-old gifted, regular, and special education children who were from only-child or multiple-child families made attributions for offspring outcomes to childrearing practices, genetics, and the environment. Based on the covariation principle, it was predicted that mothers of only children would attribute greater importance to child-rearing practices as causes of their children's outcomes than would mothers of multiple children. In addition, predictions based on the hedonic bias led us to hypothesize greater endorsement of child-rearing attributions for gifted (perceived high success) than special education (perceived low success) children. Both hypotheses were supported across all 3 domains. The dilemma of perceived parental responsibility and the usefulness of an attributional approach for understanding parents' causal beliefs are discussed.

Redundancy in Perceptual-Motor Testing: Confirmation and Generalization

The Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration was administered to 63 children in regular classrooms and 51 children in Special Education. Prediction based on total score (r = .68) was similar to a multiple R utilizing only five scores (.67). The over-all raw test score, based on all 24 designs, correctly classified 85% of the children while a combined abbreviated score utilizing only 5 designs achieved an 80% differentiation. Results were interpreted as confirming the hypothesis of redundancy in this perceptual-motor test.

Classification of children in special education: Importance of pre-assessment information

The records of 137 students for whom complete data files were available were examined in order to determine the extent to which pre-assessment data (teacher referral information and standardized reading test scores) could successfully be used to predict the handicapping classifications decided on by child-study teams. We were specifically interested in the predictive power of pre-assessment information above and beyond that provided by handicapped children's race and gender. Results of our analyses indicated that pre-assessment data can successfully predict the handicapped classifications of the majority of special education students, as well as differentiate students who are found eligible for special education from those found to be ineligible.

Assessment of Children's Fantasies With the Make a Picture Story: Validity and Norms

One purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the Make A Picture Story (MAPS) for assessment of children's fantasies. Children from a university laboratory school who were exhibiting good adjustment comprised our first sample. The second sample was composed of children from special education classes who were experiencing behavioral and/or academic difficulties. Children told stories to seven MAPS backgrounds. Stories created by special education children contained more dysphoric and fanciful fantasies than did nonproblem children's stories. Behavior disordered children had more aggressive fantasies in their stories than did nonproblem and learning disabled children. Another purpose of this study was to provide norms for children's choice of figures, number of figures used, moving and adding figures, story length, and choice of backgrounds. These norms should facilitate clinicians' interpretations of children's responses to the MAPS.

The Generalizability of the Confirmation Bias Among School Psychologists

Research has highlighted the possibility of bias in special education decision-making practices. This study explored the potential biasing effects of prior special education placement (and associated diagnostic label) on a national sample of school psychologists. A total of 240 randomly selected NASP members were asked to make diagnostic and placement decisions in response to fictitious, written case studies that were mailed to them. Each psychologist received one of four case studies that varied the referred child's educational placement (special vs. regular class) and current psychological test results (LD vs. normal). Eighty-eight school psychologists returned completed materials. The findings indicated that the school psychologists' decisions were not biased by knowledge of the child's prior special education placement but were influenced appropriately by current psychological test results. School psychologists who reevaluated a child who had been previously placed in a resource program for learning disabled students, but who currently demonstrated average academic functioning, were likely to re-classify the child as non-handicapped and recommend return to regular class programs. The findings question the generalizability of theories of a 'confirmation bias' set among school psychologists.

Bilingual special education: training issues.

Bilingual special education, in its brief history, has undergone several shifts in emphasis—for example, from nonbiased, native-language assessments to bilingual services. Increasingly, training programs for teachers of students with both limited English proficiency and disabilities have emphasized an interface between special education and bilingual education. Though cuts in federal funding have reduced the number of training programs, the quality of training has improved. This article describes a pilot program of the California Special Education Project. Begun in 1984, this 3-year staff development program included a combination training and implementation phase, and in 1988 it won an award for exemplary services to language-minority children in special education.

The Effects of Prior Special Education Placement and Current Test Data on School Psychologists' Decisions

This study investigated the possible biasing effects of prior special education involvement (and associated diagnostic label) and current psychoeducational test data on 82 school psychologists' prognostic, diagnostic, and placement decisions for a case study child. The findings indicated that the school psychologists' decisions were not influenced by the child's prior special education placement but were influenced by current psychological test results. School psychologists who reevaluated a child who had been previously placed in a resource program for learning disabled students, but who currently demonstrated normal academic functioning, were likely to re-classify the child as non-handicapped and recommend return to regular class programs. The findings suggested that school psychologists are not biased by knowledge of previous special program involvement and diagnostic label and that individual psychological test data may act to minimize potential bias effects.

Selecting Children For Special Education In New York City: William Maxwell, Elizabeth Farrell, And The Development Of Ungraded Classes, 1900-1920

The first two decades of the twentieth century witnessed efforts in many of America's great cities to provide special classes for mildly retarded children. Many of today's special education issues on such questions as defining programs, selecting children, and preparing teachers were already concerns then. This paper concerns the efforts of Elizabeth Farrell and City Superintendent of Schools William Henry Maxwell to establish ungraded classes in New York City between 1900 and 1920. Their effort was a successful one, but it also included struggles to find and train qualified teachers, correctly identify children to be served, provide ample classroom space—and do all of that in a fair and equitable manner. Teachers and principals frequently wanted to refer for special class assignment students who were troublesome, but not necessarily mentally retarded. By 1920, proponents of special education believed that intelligence testing had finally given educators a fair, objective, and scientific means to determine which children should be admitted to special classes. Of equal interest, however, is that intelligence testing had nothing to do with beginning the special class policy in New York City. Rather, Farrell and Maxwell responded to a social and human need that was apparent to social and political progressives early in the century, and to the appeals for relief from teachers and principals who were frustrated by having children present in their classes whom they could not reach.

Health services utilization and special education: development of a school nurse activity tool.

Increasing competition exists for resources to support health services for children receiving special education. Consequently, management tools to document services when claiming these resources need to be developed. The purposes of this study were to develop a time study instrument based on nursing activities in the school, compare nursing time provided to special education children and their nondisabled peers in general education settings, compare nursing process activities in traditional settings and in special education settings, and elicit feedback from nurses to improve the validity and reliability of the time study process. Eighteen nurses representing rural, urban, and suburban schools completed a time study for two weeks, quantifying services provided in the health room. Nurses recorded student educational status, special education category or not, nursing process activity, and the time utilized per student contact. Results indicated 48.2% of school nursing time was attributed to services for special education students during the study period. Most nursing process activities for both settings were in assessment of problems and in direct services. Findings indicate the instrument can provide objective documentation of special education health services, providing a base for claiming important resources for school health services.

The Conners Teacher Rating Scale: Effects of age, sex, and race with special education chilren

The Conners Teacher Rating Scale was completed on 581 special education children and 45 regular education children in eight county school systems in the state of Georgia in order to examine the effects of age, sex, and race on the Cohen and Hynd Factor Analysis. Comparison of the behavioral profiles of the four special education subgroups also was carried out. As in the previous study, distinct behavioral profiles were obtained for the special education subgroups, which appear to be fairly stable across studies. Of further interest were the findings of an age x group interaction effect on the conduct disorder and depression subscales, in the emotionally disturbed children, and a sex × group interaction effect on the conduct disorder subscale for the emotionally disturbed and behavior disorder subgroups. These results lend further support to the contention that the Cohen and Hynd factor analysis provides the user with a more clinically meaningful description of a child's overall behavior pattern.

New Information Technologies in Special Education

Abstract The aim of this study is to examine possible applications of new information technologies (NIT) in special education within different educational, socio‐economic and socio‐cultural contexts and, in particular, the possibilities of transference of these applications from the industrialised nations to the developing countries. The study also contains references to positive and negative results of the use of NIT in the special education of children, youth and adults.

Media Review: Placing Children in Special Education: A Strategy for Equity

Media Review: Placing Children in Special Education: A Strategy for Equity

Graphic Characteristics on the Draw-A-Person Test for Identification of Physical Abuse

This study utilizes two common assessment procedures of school-aged children, the Draw-a-Person test (DAP) and the Wechsler Intelligence for Children-Revised (WISC-R) to identify characteristics of physically abused children. Sixty developmentally disabled children are included in the sample of children studied. Twenty of the children are in learning disability (LD) classes; twenty are in classes for emotionally disturbed (ED); and twenty are known physically abused (PA) children who are either in classes for learning disabled or for emotionally disturbed children. All children are of average intelligence. In the cognitive domain, difference scores of the DAP and WISC-R tests are compared across the three groups of special education children. In the emotional domain, two separate DAP graphic scoring systems assessing emotional functioning of children are analyzed for significant graphic elements in the drawings. Results of the statistical analyses of the WISC-R and the DAP intellectual differences indicate that the physically abused students in special education have significantly greater minus difference scores between the WISC-R and the DAP than other developmentally disabled children. Analyses of the emotional indicators of the DAP test result in 9 graphic items that are significantly associated with physical abuse. A decision tree model is presented for identifying physical abuse in school-aged children of average intelligence.

Preparing Infant Interventionists: Interdepartmental Training in Special Education and Maternal and Child Health

The provision of services to handicapped newborns, Infants, and their families challenges traditional approaches to preparing special educators. Early childhood special educators working with handicapped infants increasingly must assume new roles and work In a variety of settings, Including homes, daycare centers, and medical settings. Furthermore, they work intensively with families and must work within the context of broader community systems. This article describes one alternative approach to preparing infant Interventionists by providing Interdepartmental training In Special Education and Maternal and Child Health. The program recognizes the transactional nature of Infant development, the fact that Infants are a part of a family system, and the ecological notion that the family system is nested within larger systems.

Characteristics of Special Education Placements: Findings From Probability Samples in Five Metropolitan School Districts

Characteristics of classroom placements were studied for a probability sample of approximately 950 special needs children enrolled in kindergarten through sixth grade in five major metropolitan school districts. Across all special education students, 58% spent the majority of their school day in a regular class, 38% spent the majority of their school day in a special class, and 4% attended special schools. The regular classes in which special education children were enrolled resembled other regular classes in overall size and student composition. By contrast, special classes were smaller and more heterogeneous, and classes in special schools were especially small and heterogeneous. The proportion of time spent in regular education varied significantly both by the child's primary handicap and the school district in which the child lived, but sizable variations also were found within disability groups and within districts. For learning-disabled, mentally retarded, and physically/multiply handicapped children, variations in placement were found to be associated with student socioeconomic status and race or ethnicity.