Barbara Larrivee

Mainstreaming: a Study of the Variables Affecting Teacher Attitude

An attitude scale was constructed using the method of summated ratings. The scale was used to investigate the effect of selected institutional variables on the attitude of the regular-classroom teacher toward mainstreaming special-needs children. The scale was administered to a sample of nearly 1,000 public school teachers in the 6 New England states. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the effect of the institutional variables on teachers attitude toward mainstreaming. Results of the analyses indicated that of the 7 variables considered, the regular-classroom teachers perception of degree of success in dealing with special-needs students had the most significant relationship to teacher attitude.

Factors underlying regular classroom teachers' attitude toward mainstreaming

Nearly 1000 regular classroom teachers were administered a scale designed to assess attitude toward mainstreaming. To determine the underlying dimensions of teacher attitude, a factor analysis of the intercorrelations of the items was conducted. Five dimensions were isolated that accounted for 52.4% of the variance. They were defined as attitude toward: (a) general philosophy of mainstreaming, (b) classroom behavior of special needs children, (c) perceived ability to teach the special needs child, (d) classroom management with special needs children, and (e) academic and social growth of the special needs child.

Social Status: A Comparison of Mainstreamed Students with Peers of Different Ability Levels

This study compared the peer acceptance of main-streamed elementary school students with that of their class peers of differing ability levels. In each classroom, a mainstreamed student and a student of low, average, and high ability, defined in terms of reading-group placement, were selected randomly. To assess peer acceptance, a sociometric scale was group-administered to each of the participating 100 classes while the mainstreamed student was present. ANOVA indicated that the main effect due to ability level was significant. The Scheffe test revealed that peer acceptance was significantly lower for the mainstreamed student as compared with both the average- and the high-ability student. However, the mainstreamed and low-ability students were not significantly different from each other, nor were the average- and high-ability students.

Effective Teaching for Mainstreamed Students Is Effective Teaching for All Students.

This article summarizes the results of a longitudinal study designed to identify teaching practices associated with desired outcomes for mildly handicapped students educated in regular classroom settings. The research represents an attempt to extend process/product research findings to the education of mainstreamed students by providing a research base for identifying the teaching competencies necessary for teaching mainstreamed students. The research design called for development of a comprehensive list of effective teaching behaviors derived from process/product research, selection of teachers effective with mainstreamed students, identification of common teaching practices of the effective teachers, and completion of a correlational study to determine the relationship between the effective teaching behaviors identified and various performance outcomes for mainstreamed students. A descriptive profile of the teacher effective with mainstreamed students is presented which is notably similar to that of the effective teacher in general.

Modality Preference as a Model for Differentiating Beginning Reading Instruction: A Review of the Issues

This paper reviews accumulated research pertinent to the issue of modality preference as a method for differentiating beginning reading instruction. Research is considered here in the following categories: Studies providing differential instruction based on modality preference; related studies comparing auditory and visual modes as mediational channels; and studies dealing with the extent to which auditory and visual capacities are related to success in beginning reading. The following conclusions are presented: 1) Regardless of the measure used to classify learners, only a relatively small percentage of children showed a marked preference for either modality; 2) most current measurement instruments did not demonstrate the necessary reliability to be used in decisions concerning differential assignment of children to instructional programs; and 3) differentiating instruction according to modality preference apparently did not facilitate learning to read.

Identifying Effective Teaching Behaviors for Mainstreaming.

The research reported herein was supported by the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped (BEH), Division of Personnel Preparation (Grant #GOO 78

Assessing the Impact of an Intensive Inservice Training Model on Regular Teachers and Mainstreamed Students

The indispensable professional who will carry the primary responsibility for mainstreaming is the regular classroom teacher. While mainstreaming may be imposed by binding laws, the manner in which the regular classroom teacher responds to the needs of the special child may be a far more potent variable in ultimately determining the success of mainstreaming than any administrative or organizational structure.

Factor structure of classroom behavior problems for mainstreamed and regular students.

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to examine the factor structure of behavior exhibited in the regular classroom in order to provide a conceptual framework for classifying problem behavior relevant to the classroom setting, and (2) to determine the extent to which the factors generated from ratings of regular classroom children are similar to those generated from ratings of mainstreamed special education children. Thirty-five elementary-school teachers completed behavior ratings of all of their 876 students utilizing a group-administered adapted version of the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale. The factor analysis yielded five factors defined as Conduct Problem, Personality Problem, Adaptive Classroom Behavior, Inadequacy-Immaturity, and Achievement Anxiety. Coefficients of factorial congruence confirmed the similarity between the pattern generated from ratings of regular students and that of mainstreamed students.

Behavior rating scales: need for refining normative data.

The purpose of this study was to generate normative data by grade and sex to accompany behavior rating scales. Teachers rated 483 boys and girls in Grades 1 through 4. The findings suggest raring scales be re-examined since norms by grade level and sex may be desirable attributes.