Michael Grosche

Response-to-intervention (RTI) as a model to facilitate inclusion for students with learning and behaviour problems

Many students with learning and behaviour problems are routinely excluded from regular education. Although calls have been made to educate students with these problems in the same settings as their typically developing peers, it remains unclear how best to support their needs for academic and behavioural support. We address this question first by describing response-to-intervention (RTI), a specific model of prevention and early intervention for learning and behaviour problems. A comprehensive summary of the RTI literature is provided. Second, we will discuss the feasibility and applicability of RTI as one approach to facilitate inclusion of students with learning and behaviour problems. Specifically, we will demonstrate how RTI can be used to address at least four barriers to inclusion by (1) providing a clear implementation strategy for inclusion practices; (2) clearly defining the roles, responsibilities and collaboration of general and special education teachers; (3) enabling the allocation of resources for instruction and intervention; and (4) avoiding early and unnecessary labelling of students with learning and behaviour problems. Third, limitations of RTI as a model to facilitate inclusion will be discussed.

Was ist Inklusion

Der vorliegende Artikel betrachtet die theoretische Diskussion uber Inklusion durch die Brille der empirischen Bildungsforschung. Die empirische Bildungsforschung steht bei der Erforschung von Inklusion vor grosen Herausforderungen, die sich vor allem aus begrifflichen Unklarheiten und der damit verbundenen mangelhaften Operationalisierbarkeit von Inklusion ergeben. Es werden folgende Schlussfolgerungen gezogen: Bislang liegt keine anerkannte, konkrete Definition von Inklusion vor. Das verbreitete Verstandnis von Inklusion als der gemeinsame Unterricht von Schulerinnen und Schulern mit und ohne Forderbedarf in allgemeinen Schulen greift zu kurz. Die Abgrenzung von Integration und Inklusion erfolgt nicht trennscharf. Auch die Kategorie „sonderpadagogischer Forderbedarf“ ist kritisierbar. Insgesamt wird daher pointiert vorgeschlagen, in Studien der empirischen Bildungsforschung den international anschlussfahigen Begriff Inklusion statt Integration zu verwenden und in der jeweiligen Studie das temporar, singular und reduziert untersuchte Verstandnis von Inklusion starker als bisher explizit und konkret zu definieren. Dazu werden abschliesend Vorschlage fur mogliche Facetten einer solchen Definition von Inklusion unterbreitet. So konnte die Interpretierbarkeit empirischer Untersuchungen der empirischen Bildungsforschung und die vergleichende Einordnung ihrer Ergebnisse erhoht werden.

What do I think about inclusive education? It depends on who is asking. Experimental evidence for a social desirability bias in attitudes towards inclusion

ABSTRACT Recently, research has focused on attitudes towards inclusive education, and the majority of studies use questionnaires to measure this vital variable. In two consecutive experiments, we showed that attitudes towards inclusive education are not stable but instead are significantly influenced by social context. We manipulated information on the organisation conducting a survey regarding attitudes of participants towards inclusive education. The results show that the attitude of the organisation conducting the survey – as perceived by the participant – outperforms well-documented variables (e.g. sex, age, and contact to a person with disability) in predicting the attitudes of the participant towards inclusion. This one variable explains as much variance as all other predictors combined. We argue that social desirability is a neglected issue in research on attitudes towards inclusive education. Our findings challenge the validity of numerous studies on this topic because they show a positive bias in the attitudes of participants when they were surveyed by a university. Thus, we outline the first steps to reduce social desirability-induced validity problems in research on attitudes towards inclusion.

Implicitly measuring attitudes towards inclusive education: a new attitude test based on single-target implicit associations

Abstract Recent research on attitudes towards inclusion uses almost exclusively explicit measures such as questionnaires. Unfortunately, explicit attitude measures are biased by social desirability, particularly when the attitude object is ‘sensible’, as with inclusive education. Implicit attitude measures are less prone to social desirability, but research on implicit attitudes towards inclusive education is scarce. Thus, we introduce a new attitude measure based on the Single-Target Implicit Association Test (ST-IAT). In our study, 163 teacher students took the new implicit attitude test and completed questionnaires on their explicit attitudes towards inclusive education and persons with disabilities and a comprehensive scale on socially desirable responding. The results support the psychometric quality of our ‘Inclusion ST-IAT’. The implicit and explicit attitude measures are correlated but empirically distinct. Furthermore, the social desirability scores were associated with explicit but not with implicit attitudes towards inclusion, i.e. our measure of attitudes towards inclusion (a sensible topic) was not biased by social desirability. We propose that implicit measures should be used to reduce the influence of social desirability in inclusive education research. To encourage replications, we outline important research questions and provide the source code of our ST-IAT, which is open and free to use.

A universal behavioral screener linked to personalized classroom interventions: Psychometric characteristics in a large sample of German schoolchildren

The current study represents the first psychometric evaluation of an American English into German translation of a school-based universal screening measure designed to assess academic and disruptive behavior problems. This initial study examines the factor structure and diagnostic accuracy of the newly translated measure in a large sample of 1009 German schoolchildren attending grades 1-6 in Western Germany. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor model for both male- and female- students. Configural invariance was supported between male- and female-samples. However scalar invariance was not supported, with higher thresholds for ratings of female students. Results of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were indicative of good to excellent diagnostic accuracy with areas under the curve ranging from 0.89 to 0.93. Optimal cut-off scores were 10, 5, and 13 for the Academic Productivity/Disorganization, Oppositional/Disruptive, and the Total Problems Composite scores of the Integrated System Teacher Rating Form respectively. This initial study of the newly translated measure supports further investigations into its utility for universal screening in German speaking schools.

Measurement Invariance of a Universal Behavioral Screener Across Samples From the USA and Germany

The current study examines the item and scalar equivalence of an abbreviated school-based universal screener that was cross-culturally translated and adapted from English into German. The instrument was designed to assess student behavior problems that impact classroom learning. Participants were 1,346 K-6 grade students from the US (n = 390, Mage = 9.23, 38.5% female) and Germany (n = 956, Mage = 8.04, 40.1% female). Measurement invariance was tested by multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) across students from the US and Germany. Results support full scalar invariance between students from the US and Germany (df = 266, &khgr;2 = 790.141, &Dgr;&khgr;2 = 6.9, p < .001, CFI = 0.976, &Dgr;CFI = 0.000, RMSEA = 0.052, &Dgr;RMSEA = −0.003) indicating that the factor structure, the factor loadings, and the item thresholds are comparable across samples. This finding implies that a full cross-cultural comparison including latent factor means and structural coefficients between the US and the German version of the abbreviated screener is possible. Therefore, the tool can be used in German schools as well as for cross-cultural research purposes between the US and Germany.

A Dissociation of Implicit and Explicit Spatial Sequence Learning in a Group of Students With Learning Difficulties

Traditionally, research on learning difficulties focuses on deficits in explicit learning processes. However, the impact of implicit (incidental, unconscious, and unaware) learning has sparsely been investigated. Hence, this study aims to dissociate implicit and explicit learning abilities in a group of 50 students with severe and persisting learning difficulties and compares their learning performance to non-impaired students. Individuals accomplished two different versions of a computerized serial reaction time task (SRTT) as a measure of implicit and explicit learning. Analyses revealed that (a) both learning processes can be dissociated by psychometric IQ; (b) students with learning difficulties have deficits in both implicit and explicit learning processes; and (c) it is possible to identify subgroups of adolescents with implicit and explicit learning difficulties. Theoretical as well as educational implications are discussed.