Social Behavior Standards and Expectations of Australian And U.S. Teacher Groups

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative study of the responses of four Australian and U.S. teacher groups to the ecological assessment system called AIMS (Assessments for Integration into Mainstream Settings). AIMS was developed for the purposes of (a) identifying optimal placement settings for the social integration of handicapped students, (b) identifying the minimal behavioral demands and social skills required in target, less restrictive settings, and (c) providing for the postintegration assessment of pupils' social and academic adjustment status. The purpose of the present study was to assess similarities and differences between Australian and U.S. teacher groups to two of the AIMS assessment instruments (The SBS Inventory and Correlates Checklist) and to compare responses among the four Australian teacher groups, regular and special education preservice and inservice teacher samples. Results revealed (a) similarities and striking differences between U.S. and Australian teacher groups, (b) considerable overlap and consistency of responding in the level and content of behavioral expectations/ standards among the four Australian teacher groups, (c) a high degree of consistency in responding to the instruments between regular and special education teachers representing a variety of teaching levels, and (d) an overall tendency for special educators to have lower demand levels in their behavioral standards/expectations and greater tolerance levels in relation to conditions and characteristics associated with child handicapping conditions. Three possible explanations for the results obtained are discussed, as are future research implications.

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