Educators' Perceptions of Effectiveness of Programs for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Perceptions of staff in self-contained programs for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in a district committed to inclusion, interagency coordination, and staff training were compared with perceptions in the same programs when the programs were newly developed and of staff working with children with EBD in mainstream settings. As self-contained programs for children with EBD became well-established, parent/school relationships noticeably improved. Even when relatively new, self-contained programs were perceived by staff to be superior to mainstream programs in resources and teaching strategies. Well established self-contained programs were perceived as superior to relatively new mainstream programs in resources, teaching strategies, program components, and parent/school relationships. Regardless of program, students with EBD were perceived as making moderate progress and as being moderately aggressive.