DIFFERENTIAL BEHAVIORAL AND ACADEMIC CHARACTERISTICS AS RE-ENTRY CRITERIA FOR MAINSTREAMING
Abstract
This investigation sought to provide information which would aid in dealing with the large number of children who would be returning to the mainstream from segregated special education facilities. The participants included a total of 583 boys who were originally enrolled in segregated classes according to a discrete grouping as either emotionally disturbed or brain injured. The subjects ranged in age from 5 through 13.9 years of age. For each of three age groups (5 to 8.9; 9 to 11.9; 12 to 13.9) a tenure group was formed: Group I consisted of children who were in the segregated facility for one year; Group II consisted of children who were in the facility for two years; Group III's length of tenure was three years, and Group IV, four years. The Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) was used to evaluate academic achievement; behavioral functioning was measured by the School Behavior Check List (SBCL). The purposes of the study involved an assessment of academic and behavioral changes which occurred for each group at each age level to determine which variables acted to distinguish the groups with the shorter tenure from those who remained in the segregated facility for two, three, or four years. Another purpose was to determine if the rate of return to district differed for those subjects who were initially characterized as brain injured or emotionally disturbed. The first question asked which academic or behavioral characteristics acted to differentiate the shortest tenured group from the other groups and was tested by a single classification analysis of variance; the .05 level of significance was set as the critical level. The data revealed that superior academic achievement served to distinguish the shorter tenured group at age levels 9 to 11.9 and 12 to 13.9. Improved behavioral adjustment had a significant but less important impact on effecting re-entry to the mainstream. The second question sought to determine the academic or behavioral characteristics which differentiated the group with a two-year tenure from the groups with three or four years. Academic superiority distinguished the two groups, the group with a shorter tenure obtaining higher mean scores on the PIAT. Significant differences were also noted on the SBCL. Thus, for the two-year tenured group, a combination of academic and behavioral change acted to foster earlier re-entry to the mainstream. The third question sought to determine the distinguishing academic and behavioral characteristics between the group which left the segregated facility after three years and the one which remained for four years. For this group, slight but significant academic superiority served as the differentiating factor. The fourth question examined the successive differences in academic achievement and behavioral adjustment for each tenure group at each age level. The data revealed that there were significant mean differences with regard to academic achievement at all groups and at all age levels, with one exception, the 9 to 11.9 age level in Group III. Similarly, significant differences were noted in connection with the behavioral variables but with less consistency and covering less than the total behavioral spectrum. Question 5 sought to compare the rate of re-entry to the mainstream with initial diagnostic category. The data revealed that no significant differences were obtained for either diagnostic category among the groups at any of the age levels. Areas of future research might consider the replication of the study examining female subjects as this study dealt only with male subjects; correlational studies between academic achievement and the behavioral variable to determine if there are behavioral characteristics that influence academic achievement; follow-up studies of the students who return to the mainstream to determine what their ultimate placement and adjustment to the mainstream entailed.
Subject Area
Special education
Recommended Citation
ROSENBAUM, JACQUELINE DINA, "DIFFERENTIAL BEHAVIORAL AND ACADEMIC CHARACTERISTICS AS RE-ENTRY CRITERIA FOR MAINSTREAMING" (1981). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8119786.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8119786
