Regular classroom differences in behavior and teacher ratings : at referral and after providing learning disabled students resource support services

The focus of this study was to investigate in the regular classroom learning disabled (LD), low average (LA), and average (AV) children's behavior and the behavior and perceptions of their classroom teacher. Initial data were collected at the time a teacher referred a student for a potential learning disability. At that time, LA and AV comparison students of the same sex were selected. After the LD students had been placed in a resource classroom for a month, data were again collected.

Subjects consisted of 50 elementary Caucasian students in 15 regular classrooms in 11 schools. Observers were undergraduate students trained to observe and record student behavior only in the individual seatwork classroom setting on the State Event Classroom Observation System (SECOS).

Group data were analyzed by multivariate and univariate analysis of variance. No significant behavioral differences were found between groups at the referral interval. After placement, LD students were found to spend significantly less time doing schoolwork and more time looking around than AV students, and had significantly more approaches to the teacher than both LA and AV students. Additionally, separate planned comparisons between the LD-LA and LD-AV groups revealed significant differences (p < .025) only for the LD-AV comparison. Gain score analysis did not find overall group differences. However, the comparison between LD-AV students found that over time LD students increased their amount of time looking around and their frequency of approaches to the teacher.

At both intervals, ratings of student behavior on the Classroom Behavior Inventory (CBI) indicated that teachers consistently perceived LD students less favorably than LA students and LA students less favorably than AV students on the academic competence dimension. Ratings were stable over time. Correspondence between SECOS and CBI measures within groups suggested that teachers may differentially respond in accordance to group membership.

Results suggest that teacher's perceived differences between students which led to their referring LD students were not supported by behavioral observations. Additionally, maladaptive behaviors of LD students found in the literature may be a result of placement in resource classrooms and not a manifestation of inherent neurologically-based symptoms.